Ultra-Orthodox Boys' Schools Score Significantly Lower in National Exams
Ultra-Orthodox boys' schools in Israel have received significantly lower scores than other educational sectors on the new "Tnu'fa" exams, equivalent to the national matriculation exams. In English for sixth graders, Haredi boys scored an average of 249 points, compared to 308 in the state system and 311 in the Arab system, a gap of 59 points. In mathematics, Haredi boys averaged 268, versus 305 in the state and Arab systems. The Tnu'fa exams, administered by the National Authority for Measurement and Evaluation in Education (RAMA), set an arbitrary average of 300 points. Haredi girls, in contrast, scored 284 in English. Among Haredi boys, students in "recognized but unofficial" Talmud Torah schools performed best with 269, followed by Shas's Bnei Yosef network at 253, and the state-Haredi system (Mamach) at 216. The low Mamach score is attributed to the recent influx of new institutions. A shortage of English speakers in the Haredi community also hinders teacher training.
Education Minister Yoav Kisch had previously attempted to withhold the Tnu'fa results for four months, including science exams for ninth graders where only 3% met curriculum requirements. Kisch cited the results as "unreasonable," but subsequent PISA exam results showed a significant decline in Israel's science performance. The Attorney General later ruled Kisch could not prevent the publication of exam results, leading to the release of four withheld Tnu'fa reports. Kisch then released draft results of four Tnu'fa exams, seemingly to overshadow Israel's poor performance in the PISA exams for tenth graders. RAMA officially published the results, including breakdowns by Haredi educational networks, following legal challenges that ensured enough Haredi boys' institutions met core curriculum requirements for statistically significant results.
While Haredi boys' schools underperformed, Haredi girls in post-secondary seminaries showed less decline than the national average in PISA reading and math exams. Haredi girls gained an advantage in reading and a slight edge in math compared to secular students. This is partly attributed to the impact of the October 7th events and the subsequent war being less prevalent in Haredi households. The article notes that most Haredi tenth-grade boys attend "small yeshivas" without core curriculum studies and are therefore not included in PISA exams.
