Education Ministry Clashes With RAMA Over Test Data
Translated & summarized from Mako by baba
Israel's National Authority for Measurement and Evaluation (RAMA) is warning of immediate negative impacts on the current school year after Education Minister Yoav Kisch canceled national exams and banned RAMA staff from the Ministry. RAMA's Director General stated the decisions will cause irreparable damage and halt evaluation activities. The move contradicts a recent review that supported RAMA's professional standards and recommended increased cooperation. RAMA also accuses the Minister of attempting to suppress unfavorable academic performance data.
The story in 6 lines · by baba
- Education Minister Yoav Kisch canceled national exams and banned RAMA staff from the Ministry.
- RAMA warns of immediate negative consequences for the current school year.
- RAMA accuses the Minister of attempting to suppress unfavorable academic performance data.
- RAMA's Director General stated the decisions will cause irreparable damage and halt evaluation activities.
- The move contradicts a recent review that supported RAMA's professional standards.
- RAMA revealed low test scores, with only 3% of ninth graders meeting science benchmarks.
Israel's National Authority for Measurement and Evaluation (RAMA) has issued a stark warning about immediate negative consequences for the current school year following Minister of Education Yoav Kisch's decision to cancel the national "Mitzav" exams and ban RAMA personnel from entering the Ministry of Education.
RAMA's Director General, Dr. Gal Alon, stated in a letter to the Ministry's legal counsel that Kisch's decisions have "crossed all boundaries" and will cause irreparable damage, halting all measurement and evaluation activities. The Ministry's actions are seen as a direct contradiction to a recent review by Professor Ami Moyal, which affirmed RAMA's professional standards and recommended strengthening cooperation between the two bodies.
Kisch's directives include an immediate halt to all tests and surveys, a complete prohibition on cooperation with RAMA, and barring RAMA employees from Ministry premises, reportedly enforced by security guards. RAMA warns that these steps will disrupt national programs like "Tkuma" and "Tnufa," freeze approximately 40 accompanying evaluation studies, and withdraw Israel from international assessments such as PISA, TIMSS, and PIRLS.
RAMA further accuses Minister Kisch and his associates of attempting to interfere with research findings and suppress unfavorable data, particularly concerning the 2025 PISA study. They allege demands were made to remove a key finding indicating sharp declines in Israeli students' academic achievements compared to other OECD countries. RAMA claims they refused to alter the professional findings, leading to Kisch's retaliatory measures.
The dispute escalated after RAMA revealed low test scores in May, showing only 3% of ninth graders met the Ministry's benchmark in science, with significant gaps also found in math and English. Kisch had previously questioned the data's reliability, which RAMA maintains is valid and was leaked against Ministry orders.
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