The Ministry of Education and Research (MEC), in collaboration with the National Agency for Curriculum and Evaluation (ANCE), announced today at a press conference the implementation of a set of measures designed to ensure the fair and transparent conduct of the national secondary school leaving exams in 2025. The new measures are aimed at both supporting students and improving their assessment process, and are designed to meet the current needs in the education system, the education authorities promise, IPN reports.

Measures to support pupils in math

One of the most important programs announced is aimed at students who face difficulties in studying mathematics. By 2025, some 6,000 ninth-graders will be able to take part in 30-40 hours of free math instruction. Lessons will be organized in small groups of 3-4 students to allow for greater attention and individualized support. The selection of students will be based on a test on February 27, 2025, in which nearly 29,000 ninth graders will participate.

"Integrity is not negotiable. It is essential that the process of conducting exams is a model of fairness in order to transmit these values throughout the education system. School not only teaches students subjects, but must be a place where fundamental values are taught, including through the way exams are organized", said Minister Dan Perciun.

Transparent and fair assessment

To ensure the transparency and fairness of the exams, the Ministry of Education and ANCE will set up four Republican Assessment Centers in Chisinau, where all written tests will be examined by republican commissions. These commissions will analyze the students' papers from the basic and supplementary sessions, then the appeals. The evaluation process will be video-monitored to prevent any irregularities.

"Each assessment center will be equipped with video systems to monitor the process, ensuring transparency and fairness. More than 400 experienced teachers will be involved in the evaluation of the entries, which will contribute to a high quality evaluation process", explained ANCE Director Lilia Ivanov.

Teacher training for effective assessment

In addition to student support, teachers who teach exam subjects in 9th grade will benefit from training courses organized by MEC and ANCE. They will take place from November 2024 to January 2025 and will aim to improve the assessment process through interactive activities and practical tasks. More than 4,000 teachers will participate in these training sessions, which will contribute to increasing the quality of the educational and assessment process.

Legislative and budgetary changes

The Ministry of Education and the NCEA have also drafted changes to the time and expenditure regulations for the organization of exams. The proposals include a 40% increase in the norms for the evaluation of written tests for the secondary school leaving exams and a 30% increase in the norms for the baccalaureate. These changes will entail an additional cost of about 8.6 million lei from the state budget.

"In order to ensure a fair and transparent assessment process, it is important that the financial resources are also adequate. With the proposed changes, we want to effectively support assessment activities so that students are assessed fairly and fairly", said Lilia Ivanov.

Awareness campaigns and peer support

Next, MEC and ANCE will run the "Be Honest, DON'T COPY" campaign to promote correct behavior among students during exams. This campaign will include both monitoring measures and educational activities.

In addition, the "Help a Pupil" campaign will be launched to support ninth graders in preparing for their exams through the voluntary involvement of pupils in classes XI and XII. The children will receive specialized training to learn how to support their peers, both methodologically and in terms of the requirements of each exam paper. Volunteers will also receive educational materials to help them in their work.

According to the Ministry of Education, all the measures are part of a broader modernization and transparency effort in education, aimed at improving the quality of the educational process and ensuring a fair and equitable examination system.