Schools urge caution over proposed grading changes

School principals say Latvia’s proposed changes to student assessment should not be introduced hastily or during the current school year, LSM reported. The State Education Quality Service and the Ministry of Education and Science, however, see merit in the proposals.

The government did not review the changes this week because of disagreements, but they have been included on the agenda for next Tuesday’s meeting.

Česlavs Batņa, chairman of the Saeima Education, Culture and Science Committee, said a government decision alone would not be enough to change the assessment system. He said schools’ internal regulations would also have to be amended.

Batņa said on the Latvian Television programme Today’s Question on Thursday that any new assessment procedure would not take effect immediately. Schools would need to coordinate with education authorities so that institutions in each municipality or city followed similar procedures. He said the new system could therefore come into force around the middle of October.

Elita Rītere, principal of Riga’s Valdis Zālītis Primary School and deputy chairwoman of the board of the Association of Mathematics Teachers, has previously criticised the current assessment system, saying it is particularly unsuitable for primary school pupils.

Rītere said it was especially important for younger pupils to ensure that they had properly mastered the basics. Young children also react more emotionally, which can affect their performance, she said.

She warned that pupils could lose motivation if they were not allowed to retake poorly completed tests. The ministry’s proposal would give pupils through the third grade greater opportunities to improve their marks.