The level of standardised exams worsened this year for second-grade students in French-speaking secondary schools, La Dernière Heure reports.
"It was like a primary school exam," one teacher posted on an online forum, criticising the standard of exams being prepared by Belgium's French-speaking community.
The country’s education system is such that each linguistic community is in charge of three standardised academic tests: at the end of primary school, as well as in the second year and at the end of secondary school.
Teachers are criticising CE1D exams for 13 to 14-year-old students on various forums seen by La Dernière Heure.
"All my colleagues tell me that it was abnormally easy, and indeed the results are surprising," one teacher said. They explained that "pupils who have been failing for two years and can barely write were passing their CE1D French with flying colours."
Another teacher event stated that students wondered whether they had done “all of that for this,” in response to the easier level of exams this year.
Related News
- Teacher shortage: Preschool staff increasingly hired in primary schools
- Students evacuated from Walloon school during exam
- 'No more TikTok in class': Phones to be banned from Dutch classrooms
In light of these reports, La Dernière Heure contacted the teachers’ union Appel, whose spokesperson Elisabete Pessoa confirmed the overall feeling that "the level of these exams was indeed lower this year."
However, she also stated that "we must take this with a grain of salt" given that these were only online testimonies, with no numbers to back this up and the French-speaking community choosing to push back against these claims.
"These tests are drawn up by a working group made up of teachers and inspectors," a spokesperson explained. "The group's members ensure that the level is as stable as possible from year to year," they concluded.
