Hungary

Assessment of Educational Progress in Compulsory Education in Hungary

The aim of the project was to assist the Budapest Institute of Education in achieving the following:

• the establishment of a monitoring system i.e. the development of test designs, tests and evaluation procedures to monitor educational progress of pupils under the old curriculum and of those pupils working according to the requirements of the newly introduced National Core Curriculum (NCC);
• dissemination of know-how regarding test construction, sampling and monitoring techniques among evaluation experts and teacher trainers in the Budapest area and elsewhere in Hungary.

The NCC was introduced in the academic year 1998-1999. The goal of the project was to compare the results of the 8th grade cohort in the old curriculum with the 8th grade cohort in the new curriculum. Pupils were monitored in the following subjects: German, Physics, Mathematics, Mother Tongue, English, Informatics and Integrated Science. The comparison was based on the evaluation of the skills that are relevant in real life. Students in the basic schools still following the old curriculum were tested in 1998 and 1999 at the end of grade 8. Students of the new curriculum were tested in 2000, also at the end of grade 8.

Cito's technical assistance covered all important aspects needed for the establishment of a modern sustainable monitoring system: test construction, test production, test administration, development of background questionnaires, sampling techniques, data analysis and reporting of students' progress. The technical assistance team consisted of consultants in the field of test administration and logistics, psychometrics, national monitoring systems, and of testing consultants for seven school subjects. The partnership between Cito and the Budapest Institute of Education aimed at developing expertise in Hungary for monitoring educational progress according to the most modern professional standards.

Project facts

	Name of Client:	Ministry of Education of Hungary
	Funding:	CROSS
	Type of activities:	Training Consultancy Implementation of monitoring system Monitoring of progress
	Project time:	September 1996 - December 2000
	Project scope:	8 staff months