Israel's Education Minister Orders Cancellation of National Exams Amid Credibility Dispute
Translated & summarized from Haaretz by baba
Education Minister Yoav Kisch has ordered the cancellation of Israel's national "Mitzav" exams and instructed the Ministry of Education to stop cooperating with RAMA, the national testing authority. This decision follows Kisch's dispute over the exams' credibility, despite an external examiner's report finding the results reliable and RAMA professional. Kisch had previously accused RAMA of flaws and sought the dismissal of its director-general.
The story in 6 lines · by baba
- Education Minister Yoav Kisch ordered the cancellation of the national "Mitzav" exams.
- Kisch also instructed the Ministry of Education to cease cooperation with RAMA.
- An external examiner's report found the "Mitzav" exam results reliable.
- The examiner stated RAMA is a professional body and cautioned against interfering with exam results.
- Kisch had previously accused RAMA of flaws and misleading publications.
- Kisch had requested the dismissal of RAMA's Director-General, Dr. Gal Alon.
Israel's Minister of Education, Yoav Kisch, announced on Tuesday the cancellation of the national "Mitzav" exams. The decision came after Kisch reviewed an expert report examining his claims against the exams' credibility. According to sources present at a meeting in the Ministry of Education, Kisch instructed the ministry to cease cooperation with the National Authority for Measurement and Evaluation (RAMA) and to cancel this year's scheduled exams in mathematics, language, science, and English.
This move follows a dispute over the reliability of the "Mitzav" exams. Kisch had previously attempted to suppress the results and questioned RAMA's credibility after receiving reports of low scores. He appointed Professor Ami Moyal as an external examiner to investigate his concerns.
However, Moyal's report, released on Monday, largely refuted Kisch's claims, stating that RAMA is a professional body with unique expertise and that the "grim" results of the "Mitzav" exams are reliable. Moyal also cautioned that education ministers should not suppress or delay the publication of exam results or interfere with their presentation to the public, suggesting any commentary should be issued separately.
Kisch had previously accused RAMA of serious flaws and misleading publications, alleging that the authority made changes to the exams without coordinating with the ministry. He had also requested the dismissal of RAMA's Director-General, Dr. Gal Alon, from the Civil Service Commissioner, citing alleged "tendency" and poor work in defining the exams.
Moyal's findings, however, rejected these assertions, confirming that relevant bodies had jointly analyzed the results and reviewed reports and data. The Director-General of RAMA was not present at Tuesday's meeting.
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