Education Minister Kisch Accused of Sabotaging National Tests
Translated & summarized from Calcalist by baba
Education Minister Yoav Kisch has ordered his ministry to stop cooperating with the National Institute for Testing and Evaluation in Education (RAMA), which conducts national student assessments. This follows RAMA's refusal to alter test results showing poor student performance, including a science test where only 3% met standards. Critics accuse Kisch of attempting to hide failures, citing his past actions of delaying test releases and strategic timing of publications. The move comes amid Israel's record-low scores in international PISA tests.
The story in 5 lines · by baba
- Education Minister Yoav Kisch ordered his ministry to cease all cooperation with RAMA, the national education testing authority.
- RAMA's Director-General refused to manipulate or hide test results showing significant student failures.
- Israel saw record-low scores in the 2025 PISA international tests for 15-year-olds.
- Critics accuse Kisch of attempting to obscure poor student performance and academic decline.
- Kisch previously delayed national test results and strategically timed their release to minimize impact.
Education Minister Yoav Kisch has instructed senior officials in his ministry to cease all cooperation with the National Institute for Testing and Evaluation in Education (RAMA) and halt participation in national exams. This directive follows RAMA's Director-General Dr. Gal Alon's refusal to manipulate or conceal the results of national tests, which have shown significant failures among Israeli students. Kisch's actions are seen as an attempt to obscure the poor performance of students, particularly after a RAMA report by Professor Ami Moyal indicated that only 3% of students met the curriculum requirements in science.
Kisch previously delayed the publication of four RAMA test results for four months, only releasing them under legal counsel's instruction. He then strategically released them on the same day as the international PISA test results, hoping to overshadow the domestic findings with the global ones. A document revealed that the Ministry of Education attempted to alter results from both national and international assessments. Kisch also reportedly tried to allocate funds for PISA test preparation, a move halted when Alon warned it could lead to an "advisory note" against Israel.
Furthermore, Kisch ordered the shelving of a new national test designed to assess 21st-century skills like critical thinking and digital literacy. Critics argue Kisch has been a detrimental education minister, contributing to Israel's record-low performance in the 2025 PISA tests for 15-year-olds in math, reading, and science. The article also points to a stagnation in the percentage of young Israelis with higher education between 2015 and 2025, falling behind the OECD average.
The article criticizes Kisch's tenure, citing political appointments, attempts to control academic and cultural institutions, suppression of academic freedom, and the promotion of specific ideological programs. Moyal, despite being appointed by Kisch, reportedly insisted on maintaining professional engagement, but Kisch allegedly used Moyal's report recommending ministry-RAMA cooperation to justify severing ties, demanding raw data to manipulate results.
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