First round of central tests in Flemish schools marred by technical issues
The new central tests for pupils in the second year of secondary education were held or the first time this morning (Wednesday 24 April). The aim of the test in mathematics and Dutch is to measure the level of attainment among pupils and in the medium term to improve the quality of education in Flemish schools. Numerous schools across the 5 Flemish provinces and in Brussels report that there have been technical issues with the tests that pupils complete online.
The Flemish Education Minister Ben Weyts (nationalist) says that around 20% of the schools where the test were being taken encountered technical problems. 309 of the 13,934 people that had started the test were unable to complete it. The Flemish authorities and all those involved in the organisation of the test have apologised for inconvenience caused.
.Schools reported that at times the tests' IT system was overloaded causing it to slow to a snail’s pace. Given that pupils had to complete the tests within a set time, but were unable to do so due to the IT problems, schools will be given the opportunity to request additional time to allow their pupils to complete the test.
The Flemish Catholic Schools Board says that it has contacted the authority that organises of the online tests and that they have reassured them that the issues will be resolved by this afternoon. The Flemish Community Education Board says that it assumes problem was general and that schools across Flanders and Brussels encountered issues when their pupils were taking the tests. The authority responsible for organising the tests, the Central Test Support Point, will not be issuing a reaction for the time being.
The Flemish Education Minister Ben Weyts' spokesman Michaël Devoldere told VRT News that "The system failed due to technical problems, schools will definitely be able to request additional time for pupils to catch up".
A stressful morning
A pupil at the GO! Atheneum secondary school in the Brussels municipality of Anderlecht told VRT News that the technical issues meant that taking the test was "very stressful". "It went very smoothly at first, but then not anymore. The time was running, but my screen just froze."
The school’s test coordinator Elke Allemeersch said that she hopes that students will still be able to complete their test. "Apparently the whole of Flanders has been on the system since 9am. This has resulted in the website slowing down. I don’t think that the timer slowed down though, so I hope that our pupils were able to answer all the questions”.
What are the central tests?
With the central tests, the Flemish Government aims to measure and ultimately improve the quality of education. Starting today, pupils in the 2nd year of Flemish secondary education will sit a central test in mathematics and Dutch for the first time.
Next up will be pupils in the fourth year of primary school. By 2027, all Flemish pupils will have to take the central tests at four points in their school career. This will be in the fourth and, from 2026, the sixth year of primary school and the second and sixth years of secondary school. The central tests in the sixth year of secondary school will be sat for the first time in 2027.