Monitoring Student Progress in Reading
One of the main goals of the Program for Development of Education, Science, and Youth Policies in Bulgaria (2009–2013) is the development of a modern, effective, and objective evaluation system of the quality of education.16 In 2010, the Center for Control and Assessment of the Quality of School Education, the official national testing agency, administered a project called The Development of a System for the Evaluation of the Quality of General Education with the support of the European Social Fund. This project included the development of a strategy for the internal and external evaluation of the educational process and guiding principles of assessment.
Assessment throughout the education system is carried out internally and externally. While internal assessments are administered by teachers, external assessments are administered locally by school principals, regionally by the Regional Division of Education, and nationally by the Ministry of Education. The regulations of the System of Evaluation in addition to school curricula stipulate the types of assessment to be used for each subject. Assessments may include oral, written, and/or practical examinations.
Designed to test academic subject knowledge, examinations may be administered to individual students, groups of students, or entire classes. The required number of examinations depends on the number of hours spent studying a particular subject. Subjects with only one hour of instruction time per week or every two weeks use an annual grade but no term grade.
Over the last few years, standardized national tests have become the leading form of external assessment. The results of these tests provide policymakers with indicators regarding the state of the education system as a whole. Student achievement is evaluated according to the objectives outlined in the curriculum for each grade and subject.
At the beginning of Grade 1, students are evaluated to determine their level of readiness for school. These results help teachers differentiate students’ individual needs. An assessment at the end of Grade 1 is carried out using qualitative indicators only.
In Grades 2 to 12, student knowledge and skills are evaluated on a six point scale with five levels based on qualitative and quantitative indicators: Excellent (6), Very Good (5), Good (4), Fair (3), and Poor (2). Students complete their grade level if their annual grades average Fair (3) or higher. Term and annual grades reflect students’ academic performance throughout the year. Upon completing Grade 4, students receive a certificate of completed primary education. Upon completing Grade 8, students receive a certificate of completed basic education.
In primary school (Grades 2 to 4), students who receive a grade of Poor (2) in a subject for the year still progress to the next grade level, during which teachers will work with them individually. In Grades 5 to 12, students who receive a grade of Poor (2) are required to pass a correction exam. Students who fail the exam must repeat the grade level.
The Ministry of Education has launched a program financing additional school hours for talented students as well as students falling behind. The aim of the project is to encourage all students to take an active role in their education.
During the 2006–2007 school year, national assessments based on the National Education Content Standards were introduced for all Grade 4 students in public and private schools in four subjects: Bulgarian language and literature, mathematics, man and nature, and man and society. The Ministry of Education also conducts a national assessment of students in Grade 7 in the core subject areas of Bulgarian language and literature, mathematics, natural sciences and ecology, social studies, civic education and religion, and foreign languages. The national examinations in Bulgarian language and literature and mathematics include optional additional modules that serve as admission exams for enrollment in specialized secondary schools upon completion of Grade 7.
During the 2007–2008 school year, national matriculation exams were introduced as a requirement for receiving a secondary education diploma. Students are required to take one exam in Bulgarian language and literature and another from among eight subjects: mathematics, geography, physics, chemistry, biology, history, philosophy, and foreign languages. In addition to conducting their own entrance exams, some colleges and universities offer admission based on national matriculation exam results. Students who wish to continue their education at an institute of higher education are required to pass the two compulsory matriculation exams to receive a diploma of completed secondary education. Students who do not pass the exams still receive a certificate for having completed secondary education, and can choose to sit for the matriculation exams any time thereafter.