"The alleged results presented by the press regarding the mathematics pretest refer to a thematic test carried out in November 2024 for eighth and ninth graders,” the Ministry of Education and Research says in a press release. The authorities announced that the actual pretest in mathematics for ninth graders will be held on February 27, IPN reports.

The Ministry of Education and Research noted that the thematic test staged in November 2024 for eighth and ninth graders was meant to assess students' progress in assimilating the subject between September and November. "This is the first time that such a centralized evaluation at national level was organized by the Ministry of Education and the National Agency for Curriculum and Assessment," said the Ministry.

In October 2024, the Ministry of Education approved the methodology on the organization and conduct of thematic testing in general education in order to assess the implementation of the curriculum and compliance of the educational process with current policies. Such thematic tests will be organized every semester in order to monitor the progress of students and identify any difficulties, explained the institution.

The Ministry noted that the obtained results reflect the trends observed in the international PISA test, which shows that one in two students in the Republic of Moldova does not reach the minimum level of competence in mathematics.

In order to help ninth graders to prepare for the mathematics exam, the Ministry of Education in the next period will implement a program for 6,000 students, who will have access to free math lessons.

Also, within the "Mathematics from equal to equal" campaign, 600 high school students will help their ninth-grade mates to prepare for the secondary school graduation exam.