Portugal

Monitoring Student Progress in Mathematics and Science

Schools have pedagogical autonomy to define the assessment and monitoring criteria for each grade and study cycle in accordance with the orientation and goals of the national curricula. Criteria generally are agreed upon by teachers and cycle coordinators for the first cycle and by subject-specific departments for the other cycles of basic and secondary education. Student progress is evaluated directly through teacher observations, as well as regular tests. Students receive formal grades, given by teachers, at the end of each school term and school year. Written tests may be created by individual teachers or by departmental councils.

There are first cycle midterm national tests provided by the National Education Assessment Institute (IAVE) to monitor student progress in Portuguese and mathematics. IAVE is the independent institution, under the supervision of the Ministry of Education and Science, in charge of producing the mandatory national statewide examinations that take place by the end of each study cycle (Grades 4, 6, and 9 for Portuguese and mathematics, and by the end of either Grade 11 or Grade 12 for several other courses including mathematics, biology, geology, physics, and chemistry).^c,30 The midterm national tests are optional, but end of cycle final examinations are mandatory, accounting for 30 percent of students’ final grade in those courses.

Student promotion is decided by grade and by cycle. For the first cycle, students cannot be retained before the second grade. A class council decides, based upon teacher grading and school policy, if students should be promoted or retained in a given grade. In order to be promoted to the next cycle, students cannot have more than three below-pass marks (3 out of 5 points), with none of those marks being in Portuguese or mathematics. At the upper secondary level (Grades 10 to 12), students attending technological, specialized arts, and vocational/professional tracks are promoted if they obtain a final grade average of at least 10 out of 20 points on the track summative assessment.

Students following the scientific-humanistic track have, in addition to the school summative assessment, national examinations for some courses defined by specific legislation. These examinations account for 30 percent of the final grade, and students cannot have a secondary education diploma if they do not get at least a 10 point mark out of 20 points in all courses taken. If approved, by the end of Grade 12, students completing secondary education receive one of two kinds of diploma, depending on the secondary education track they followed: a diploma that certifies academic qualifications or a diploma that certifies both academic and vocational/professional qualifications. To pursue higher education, all students, regardless of the secondary track followed, must earn a passing and minimum mark in specific subject examinations that are required by different areas of study at higher education institutions.