Israel's Education Minister Cancels Standardized Tests

The move follows a severe crisis between Kisch and RAMA's Director General, Gal Alon, exacerbated by recent test results that showed low student achievement. Results from the "Tnu'fa" exams, which Kisch had previously attempted to suppress, showed that only 3% of ninth graders met science and technology standards, while only 36% of sixth graders met English standards and 37% met math standards. Kisch had questioned the reliability of these results and commissioned an external review by Professor Ami Moyal.

According to TheMarker, Moyal's report concluded that the poor results were reliable and that RAMA is a professional body, recommending that education ministers should not suppress or alter test results. However, Kisch adopted the report's findings as evidence of systemic failures in the relationship between the ministry and RAMA. Kisch stated that RAMA's operations are suspended until a comprehensive overhaul is implemented, which will include a new English assessment framework, a redefined educational baseline standard, and faster digital reporting. Critics, including former Arab Education Department director Abdullah Khatib and the Coalition for the Rescue of State Education, accused Kisch of creating chaos and politically motivating the decision to avoid confronting poor academic results just one week before the national elections.