Monitoring Student Progress in Mathematics and Science
The performance and progress of students are assessed regularly by teachers throughout the school year. Students are assessed separately in each subject by their respective subject teachers. Teachers collect information on student achievement in a form agreed upon by the school. Cumulative assessment results from the entire school year are taken into account in the end-of-term (midyear) and end-of-year assessments. In Grades 1 to 3, these summative assessments are descriptive in nature and address students’ academic and social achievements, as well as their strengths and weaknesses. Polish law does not permit the use of conventional grades.
Starting in the fourth grade, teachers assess student achievement based on a grading scale of 1 to 6. School grades and assessment criteria should be made available to students and their parents. Students take their first external examination in the final grade of primary school (Grade 6, age 13) and their second at the end of lower secondary school (Grade 9, age 16). The first examination comprises two standardized paper-and-pencil tests, one of which covers Polish language and mathematics, the other modern foreign language. This examination has no bearing on student selection or placement. The second examination consists of three standardized tests covering Polish language, history, civic education, mathematics, natural sciences (biology, chemistry, physics, and geography), and a modern foreign language, and the results are appended to the lower secondary school leaving certificate. This examination provides information about student achievement, but graduation is not contingent upon the results. The importance of the examination increases, however, if the number of applicants to upper secondary school exceeds the number of available places. Under these circumstances, typical admission policy calls for selecting applicants based on examination scores.