Monitor '95 [antikvár]

THE ASSESSMENT OF STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT IN HUNGARY AND ABROAD 1.1 Monitor studies serving education management Nation-wide student achievement assessrnent in Hungary has a 25 year history. The first studies were carried out with the international coordination and guidance of the IEA (International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement) in 1970. The researchers of the National Institute of Education, Department of Curriculum Development undertook the first independent study in 1980. The test series, named TOF-80, was the first Hungárián study whose aim was to prove, with objective data of student achievement, that empirical studies can provide valuable information for decision making in education policy. Considering the results of TOF-80, the wish has arisen to account alsó for the changes of student outcome in time. The Monitor '86 project already concentrated on somé areas of understanding that were judged to be important (that is cultural literacy) and set the aim of repeating the tests at regular intervals. Thus, Monitor '91 and Monitor '93 were carried out. These were the antecedents of the monitor-type achievement survey, carried out for the fourth time in March 1995. Data were collected from 600 primary school classes and 300 secondary school classes throughout the country. Altogether, 20123 students were involved. Today, the Monitor study plays a significant part in educational planning in Hungary because it provides important empirical data about student outcome and, thereby, indirectly about the effectiveness of the education system. We alsó have had the possibility to carry out international comparative analyses on somé elements of the tests twice, which has allowed us to see the achievement of Hungárián students in international perspective. 1.1.1 International overview Somé national education systems employ examinations as the instrument of content reguládon. The best example is the United Kingdom, where prior to the introduction of the National Curriculum, examination had been basically the only regulator. Even today, in the implementation phase of the curriculum, the exam established in the 4th, 7th and lOth grades provides the most