Education Minister Kish Releases National Test Results After Attempted Delay

Education Minister Yoav Kisch unexpectedly released the results of the national "Tnu'fa" (Momentum) tests on Tuesday evening, bypassing coordination with the National Authority for Measurement and Evaluation (RAE). This action contradicts his own request from two weeks prior, when he had asked for the reports not to be published on the same day as the PISA study results. The release followed an announcement by the RAE that it intended to publish the results immediately, after the Attorney General stated that Kisch did not have the authority to halt their publication.

The "Tnu'fa" test results, described as "grim," align with the PISA study findings released earlier that day. A senior education system official commented that the "Tnu'fa" tests confirm the PISA findings, stating, "The same findings that the Education Minister tried to shelve just a few months ago are given renewed validity by the most important international study in education."

The published reports indicate that only 3% of ninth-grade students in the 2024-2025 school year fully met the curriculum requirements in science and technology, with an additional 16% coming close. In English for sixth graders, 36% fully met curriculum requirements, and 15% were close. For sixth-grade math, 37% fully met requirements, and 26% were close.

In a new Hebrew test for Arabic-speaking sixth graders, 20% of students in Arabic-speaking institutions fully met curriculum requirements, with 36% nearing full compliance.