Pupil assessment

Continuous assessment takes place several times a year. At most schools, parents receive three to four progress reports per year. Some schools also give six-weekly interim reports on pupils’ progress. Report card marks are based on numerous data about a pupil’s performance. While each school has its own assessment system, report card marks generally reflect a pupil’s combined performance on:

• written and oral tests to check that homework has been done;
• written tests;
• projects.

The Secondary Education Act shows the obligations that the school board must meet. The school board must offer its supply so that it meets the attainment targets and reference levels (only available in Dutch).

The attainment targets are drawn up under the responsibility of the Minister of Education, Culture and Science and describe what pupils are expected to achieve in terms of knowledge and skills in the lower years. Schools monitor pupil's progress by means of regular testing. Usually, the progress of the student is discussed with the parents / guardians of the pupil.

The summative evaluation is achieved through the use of tests and observations. In secondary education a national exam takes place in the last year:

• Year 4 of VMBO
• Year 5 of HAVO
• Year 6 of VWO

 This result, together with the school exam is the final exam results.

Progression of pupils

The school plan outlines the school’s policy on educational and other matters. The educational policy is established herein, including the rules for promoting pupils to the next year. At the end of the second school year, the school will advise pupils about the type of education that would be most appropriate for them: VMBO, HAVO or VWO.

There are no legal rules that mention how long a student can do about completing VMBO, HAVO or VWO. The school regulations of most schools mention that pupils:

• can repeat in the same class, with a maximum of one time;
• may fail the exam one time;
• are allowed to remain seated two times in different classes.

In the school guide mentions the rules used by the child's school.

Certification

The school-leaving examination consists of two parts: a school exam and a national exam. The examination syllabus for both parts is approved by the Minister of Education, Culture and Science. It specifies:

• the elements to be tested in the school exam and the national exam;

• the number of tests which make up the national exam, and their length. Schools decide the number of tests for the school exam.

Every year, schools are required to submit their school exam syllabus to the Inspectorate. To help schools, the National Institute for Curriculum Development (SLO) publishes school exam guidelines for every subject and level of education. The school exam syllabus sets out:

• what elements of the syllabus are tested, and when;

• how marks are calculated, including the weight allocated to tests, and opportunities to resit them.

The school exam usually consists of:

• two or more tests per subject. These may be oral, practical or written;

• practical assignments for which no marks are given, only an acknowledgement that the candidate has completed them properly.

The school exam must be completed and the results submitted to the Inspectorate before the national exam starts. For some subjects there is only a school exam.

The national exam consists of:

• tests with open or multiple-choice questions;

• in some cases a practical component.

The national exam can be sat at three times during the school year – in May, June and August. All candidates sit the examination in May. The June and August sessions are for pupils doing resits, or those who were unable to sit the examination in May.

The headteacher is responsible for determining each candidate’s final marks. The final mark in each subject is the average of the mark for the school exam and the mark for the national exam. To obtain a leaving certificate, a candidate must have scored pass marks in a specified number of subjects (see below). For subjects with only a school exam, the mark obtained is the final mark (rounded off).

Marks are awarded on a scale ranging from 1 (very poor) to 10 (excellent). Candidates receive a pass mark for the VWO or HAVO school-leaving exam if: 

1. the average of their marks for all final examination subjects is 5.5 or higher; and

2. one of the following requirements has been met:

• all their final marks are 6 or higher; or
• one final mark is 5, provided all their other final marks are 6 or higher; or
• one final mark is 4, provided all their other final marks are 6 or higher and the average of all their final marks is 6 or higher; or
• their final marks include one 4 and one 5 or two fives, provided all their other final marks are 6 or higher and the average of all their final marks is 6 or higher;

3. their final marks for the core subjects include no more than one 5 and the other final marks for the core subjects are 6 or higher. The core subjects are:

• Dutch;
• English;
• mathematics (except mathematics D);

and

4. they have sat the arithmetic test. The results of the arithmetic test no longer count towards the school-leaving certificate. 

Successful and unsuccessful candidates

All candidates who complete the exam receive a transcript from their headteacher listing the marks scored in the school exam, the marks scored in the national exam, the final marks for each subject and the outcome of the school-leaving examination. Successful candidates also receive a certificate. Candidates who fail the examination, even after resitting the exam, may decide to:

• repeat the final year;
• transfer to an institute for adult secondary general education (VAVO) and take the school-leaving examination there; or
• study for the state examination.

Examination portfolio

The examination portfolio comprises all the elements assessed in the school exam and documented in a form decided upon by the school, e.g. a list of grades or examples of project work.

The separate elements of the school exam are not all scheduled in the final year. Each school can decide when the various parts of the exam are to be held. In the case of subjects for which there is a school exam only, the exam can be held before the final year, for instance at the end of the fourth year.

The national exam consists of a test with the same questions – or questions of an equivalent degree of difficulty – for all pupils and is assessed against national standards. It is taken at the time specified by the government, which is the same for all HAVO schools and all VWO schools respectively.

Examination syllabus for the revised curriculum

The SLO has published examination guidelines listing the elements to be assessed in school exams. The guidelines are not compulsory, in contrast with national examination syllabuses, but can help schools set exams.

The examination syllabuses for history, geography and social studies have been completely overhauled, while few if any changes have been made to the remaining syllabuses. The old and new systems do, however, differ fundamentally for all subjects as regards the descriptions contained in the examination syllabuses. There are other differences, too:

• The syllabuses have become shorter and less detailed.
• Under the revised curriculum, the national exam no longer covers the entire syllabus. This applies to nearly all subjects.
• Schools can add their own elements to those described in the syllabus.
• The new syllabuses no longer prescribe how elements must be tested or how they must be weighed.
• Some examination syllabuses have been partly or completely revised:
  • there are new examination syllabuses for history, geography, social studies, and science, life and technology;
  • the maths syllabuses have been radically restructured.

Early examinations

The competent authority may allow pupils to sit the national exam in one or more of their final exam subjects in their penultimate school year, provided they have completed the school exam in the subject or subjects concerned.