Expert Appointed by Minister Rejects His Claim on Test Result Reliability
Translated & summarized from Haaretz by baba
An external examiner appointed by Israeli Education Minister Yoav Kisch has ruled that the "grim" results of the "Meitzav" national student achievement tests are reliable. Minister Kisch had attempted to suppress the results and questioned the credibility of the National Institute for Testing and Evaluation (NITE). The examiner, Professor Ami Moyal, rejected the minister's stance, affirming NITE's professionalism and stating that ministers should not interfere with test result publication. The findings could lead to the ministry lowering its future academic expectations.
The story in 6 lines · by baba
- An external examiner found Israel's "Meitzav" test results reliable, contradicting Education Minister Yoav Kisch.
- Minister Kisch had attempted to suppress the "grim" test results and questioned the National Institute for Testing and Evaluation (NITE).
- Professor Ami Moyal affirmed NITE's professionalism and expertise in his findings.
- Moyal ruled that education ministers should not interfere with the publication or presentation of test results.
- The report may prompt the Ministry of Education to lower future academic expectations.
- The examiner's recommendations could influence how future test results are handled.
An external examiner appointed by the Minister of Education, Yoav Kisch, has determined that the "grim" results of the "Meitzav" (national student achievement) tests are reliable. Kisch had attempted to suppress the results and questioned the credibility of the National Institute for Testing and Evaluation (NITE), which presented the original data. As part of this effort, he appointed Professor Ami Moyal to review the findings. However, in the examination's conclusions published Monday, Moyal rejected the minister's position, stating that NITE is a professional body with unique expertise. Moyal also commented that education ministers should not suppress or delay the publication of test results, nor interfere with how they are presented to the public. He suggested that if the ministry wishes to comment on the findings or offer its own interpretation, it should do so in a separate announcement. The report may lead to the Ministry of Education lowering its future expectations in an effort to improve future scores.
