WILLEMSTAD - Minister of Education, Science, Culture, and Sport, Sithree van Heydoorn, announced that the EFO test will not be held this school year, as the government works on developing a new assessment to measure student progress and cognitive skills. The announcement came during a parliamentary session in response to questions from MP Giselle Mc William.
Mc William inquired about the evaluation of students who advanced to secondary education in 2020 without taking the EFO test due to the pandemic. Van Heydoorn revealed that 52% of the students who entered secondary school with a recommendation for the HAVO level (higher general secondary education) have successfully continued their studies.
During the session, Van Heydoorn also discussed the official decision to discontinue the EFO test. The ministry, in collaboration with relevant departments, is working on a new system for providing school recommendations, which will be implemented for the 2024-2025 school year.
Concerns were raised about how schools' final educational outcomes would be evaluated. Van Heydoorn clarified that evaluations will be conducted according to inspection standards to prevent discrepancies in testing levels across schools. "In primary education, progress is measured using interim goals, while in secondary education, final attainment levels are applied," the minister explained.