Education Ministry Releases National Test Results Amid Controversy

The Israeli Ministry of Education released the results of its national "Mitzav" (now "Tnu'fa") standardized tests on Tuesday evening, without prior announcement. This follows the recent release of disappointing PISA international test results, which also indicated the education system is failing to meet its goals.

The "Mitzav" data reveals a challenging situation in the education system. Only 3% of ninth graders fully met the curriculum requirements in science and technology, with an additional 16% coming close. In mathematics for sixth graders, just 37% met the curriculum standards fully, and 26% were close.

For Arabic-speaking sixth graders, a new test conducted by the National Institute for Testing and Evaluation (NITE) showed that 20% fully met the curriculum requirements in Arabic language studies, and 36% were close. These results come after Education Minister Yoav Kisch previously blocked their publication, claiming they were biased and blaming NITE's CEO, Dr. Gal Alon.

The data was released following a directive from Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, but the ministry published them independently, breaking with years of practice and excluding NITE's involvement. The Ministry of Education issued a strong criticism of NITE, stating that the presentation of results and NITE's work processes are under external professional review by Professor Ami Moyal, chairman of the Planning and Budgeting Committee of the Council for Higher Education. This review was initiated due to significant professional claims made by the ministry regarding the presentation of results and work procedures.

The ministry added that the reports are presented as received from NITE, without the ministry's endorsement of the data or its implications. Due to the ongoing professional dispute, the Director General of the Ministry of Education instructed educational personnel not to use the data pedagogically until the review is complete. NITE rejected the ministry's criticism, stating in a letter to the review committee chairman that the recent NITE study results are indeed among the most difficult, and that international studies show Israel has regressed significantly in achievements, with a severe shortage of qualified teachers. NITE asserted that the national tests reflect a wide gap between actual learning and curricula, and that the ministry's policies on promoting coexistence are failing. NITE accused the ministry of deflecting attention from core educational challenges by attempting to undermine the data and its publication.