About 60% of secondary school students who took the mathematics pretest got grades below “5” and risk failing the secondary school graduation exam. According to the results accessed by RFE/RL’s Moldovan Service, the pass rate in the eighth grade was 44.8 percent and the average grade was “3.88”, and in the ninth grade – 37 percent and “3.56” respectively, IPN reports.
The pretests held on November 27 and 28, 2024 were for two tests. As many as 14,781 children tested their knowledge in the Romanian language and literature and 18,212 - in mathematics.
Deputy head of the Leova Education Division Lucreţia Coropceanu, who is also a mathematics teacher, explained to RFE/RL’s Moldovan Service that the tests were different from those of previous years and focused on logic, just like in the PISA (Program for International Student Assessment) test.
Lucreţia Coropceanu stressed that the results of the pretest largely reflect the real situation. "It would seem that the tasks are not so difficult, but the student must understand exactly what they have to do, especially in the application items. The problems are interrelated. If they make a mistake at one point, they can lose the entire score," explained Coropceanu.
The teacher believes that the poor results in mathematics are the effect of remote learning during the Covid-19 pandemic, but also of the lack of interest in this discipline.
The Ministry of Education and Research recognizes the problem and has launched, together with UNICEF and the World Bank, the "Mathematics from equal to equal" campaign. More than 600 students from the eleventh and twelfth grades will become mentors for their secondary school mates, helping them to prepare for the mathematics graduation exams.
Also, about 600 teachers were trained to tutor ninth graders. The additional lessons will start in April and will take place on weekends. Teachers will be paid by 350-400 lei per hour, and the payment will come from the funds of foreign partners.
On February 27, the National Agency for Curriculum and Assessment will organize a new mathematics test for ninth graders. After this test, each school will identify the students with poor results, who will participate in tutoring.
