Israeli Education Minister Cancels National Tests Against Expert Advice
Translated & summarized from N12 by baba
Education Minister Yoav Kisch has canceled the national "Mitzav" achievement tests and barred RAE officials from the Ministry of Education, defying a report by Professor Ami Moyal that affirmed the RAE's professionalism and recommended increased cooperation. The Moyal report advised stable, long-term evaluation policies and enhanced coordination, but Kisch's actions create chaos and avoid confronting poor student performance. The cancellation comes after test results showed only 3% of ninth graders met the science standard, with Kisch previously questioning the data's reliability.
The story in 6 lines · by baba
- Education Minister Yoav Kisch canceled national "Mitzav" tests, defying a professional assessment report.
- Professor Ami Moyal's report affirmed the RAE's professionalism and recommended strengthening cooperation.
- Kisch also banned RAE personnel from the Ministry of Education, escalating a dispute.
- The cancellation aims to avoid confronting low student achievement scores, including only 3% meeting science standards.
- The Moyal report advised stable, long-term evaluation policies and enhanced coordination.
- A senior education source criticized Kisch for creating chaos and acting against expert recommendations.
Israeli Minister of Education Yoav Kisch has decided to cancel the national "Mitzav" (Meitzav) achievement tests and has banned personnel from the National Authority for Measurement and Evaluation in Education (RAE) from entering the Ministry of Education. This decision escalates a severe crisis between the minister and the RAE.
A report by Professor Ami Moyal had previously determined that the RAE is a professional and thorough body and recommended strengthening cooperation with it. However, Kisch's actions directly contradict several key recommendations from Moyal's report, which advised establishing stable measurement and evaluation policies for at least three years, enhancing coordination mechanisms between the ministry and the RAE, and ensuring the RAE's professional independence. The report emphasized the ministry's need for measurement and evaluation data to inform decision-making and improve teaching and learning.
A senior source in the education system strongly criticized the minister's conduct, stating, "Kisch is acting in complete opposition to Moyal's recommendations." The source elaborated that Moyal called for continuity in measurement, while Kisch is canceling tests and creating chaos. Moyal recommended strengthening cooperation, but Kisch is forbidding it and instructing ministry staff not to work with the RAE. The source also claimed Kisch refuses to invite the RAE's director-general to ministry management meetings, despite Moyal's report confirming the director-general's position on the ministry's management team.
The Moyal report described the RAE as a "professional body with unique expertise in measurement and evaluation," operating with thoroughness and high professional standards. It did identify shortcomings in the working interfaces between the RAE and the Ministry of Education and recommended clarifying responsibilities. A central recommendation was to develop a stable, multi-year evaluation policy defining test objectives, assessment areas, and frequency, warning that a lack of continuity hinders knowledge accumulation and trend analysis.
Senior officials believe Kisch's decisions are an attempt to avoid confronting the low achievement scores revealed by the tests. In May, it was revealed that only 3% of ninth graders met the required standard in science, with 81% falling far short. Similar low scores were reported in math and English. Kisch had previously questioned the reliability of these results and accused the RAE of attempting to mislead the public. Following the Moyal report's validation of the RAE's professionalism, Kisch proceeded with canceling the tests, stating, "We cannot continue to work in a broken manner."
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