Evaluating the Quality Of School-Based Exams in the Dutch Centralized Exam System (Poster 9)

• In Event: Division H: Global Perspectives on Standardized Assessment

Abstract

In the Dutch education system, students complete secondary education with a final exam, determined by results from centralized tests and school exams. Cito produces the central exams for the Dutch Exam Board (CvTE), adhering to strict quality and content standards monitored by the Ministry of Education. In contrast, schools have flexibility in designing their school exams, which consist of multiple assessments, including practical tasks like oral presentations, science projects, and research studies, as these skills are harder to assess centrally.

The Dutch Education Inspectorate indirectly monitors exam quality through evaluations of school plans and comparisons of central and school exam results. Recent concerns over school exam quality prompted the Ministry of Education to commission CitoLab for an in-depth study, focusing on the validity of individual tests and their alignment with centralized exams.

Using Kane’s argument-based approach (1992), the study analyzes the links from observations to test decisions, identifying potential threats to validity. The research includes three phases: establishing a framework of arguments, sampling assessments from various schools, and providing recommendations for enhancing quality supervision and improving school exams. This will ultimately ensure the credibility of diplomas within the centralized exam system.

Authors

• Bas Hemker, CitoLab

• Salome Jelsma, Stichting Cito

• Britt Vliet, Cito