Families say exam uncertainty is worse than the stress

Uncertainty over proposed changes to ninth grade exams and school assessment is causing anxiety for families before the new school year, LSM reported.

The proposed changes could affect ninth grade pupils most. The education and science minister has suggested awarding certificates of basic education to pupils whose final school grades are passing, regardless of their exam results. A decision has not yet been made on whether to abolish the minimum exam score required for ninth grade graduates to receive the certificate.

Katrīne Rēdliha, who will start ninth grade in September, said she was trying not to think about the exams scheduled for spring. Her mother, Ieva Zvaigzne Rēdliha, said uncertainty was the biggest source of fear for families.

She said the pupils had already experienced disruption during the Covid pandemic, when they completed a diagnostic test from home using computers, with some parents helping them connect and others unable to do so.

Changes followed in sixth grade, when traditional state-level diagnostic tests were replaced with monitoring tests. Zvaigzne Rēdliha described that as another experiment and expressed concern that the pupils could face further changes in ninth grade.

The Rēdliha family believes centralised exams provide a more objective assessment of pupils’ knowledge than grades awarded by teachers. At a recent parents’ meeting at Katrīne’s school, exams were the issue of greatest interest. The school said it was waiting for a decision.

The only confirmed change is that, from September, pupils up to and including ninth grade will not be allowed to use mobile phones at school.