Israel's Education Minister Cancels National Achievement Tests
Translated & summarized from Makan by baba
Education Minister Yoav Kisch has canceled the "Metzav" national achievement tests and halted cooperation with the National Institute for Testing and Evaluation. The decision overrides recommendations from the Moyal committee, which advised continuing the assessment process. The cancellation affects upcoming mathematics exams for ninth graders. Recent "Tnuva" test results revealed that only 3% of ninth graders met science and technology curriculum standards for the 2024-2025 academic year.
The story in 5 lines · by baba
- Education Minister Yoav Kisch canceled the "Metzav" national achievement tests.
- The ministry will stop cooperating with the National Institute for Testing and Evaluation.
- The decision contradicts recommendations from the Moyal committee.
- The cancellation impacts upcoming mathematics exams for ninth graders.
- Recent "Tnuva" tests showed only 3% of ninth graders met science and technology standards.
Israel's Minister of Education, Yoav Kisch, announced on Tuesday the cancellation of the "Metzav" achievement tests, which measure academic attainment. He also directed his ministry to cease cooperation with the National Institute for Testing and Evaluation (NITE) and disregard decisions made by the Moyal committee. This decision takes effect immediately, starting with the mathematics test scheduled for ninth graders next month. The move contradicts recommendations from the Moyal committee, which was formed following poor results by the Israeli education system in international assessments. Committee head Professor Ami Moyal had advocated for continuing the measurement and evaluation process and strengthening collaboration between the Ministry of Education and NITE. However, Kisch opted to halt the tests, sever ties between the ministry and NITE, and instructed ministry staff not to cooperate with the institute. Previously, in September, Kisch attempted to block the publication of "Tnuva" test results, which highlighted low achievement levels, but the report was eventually released without NITE's coordination. The "Tnuva" results indicated that only 3% of ninth graders in the 2024-2025 academic year met all curriculum requirements in science and technology.