The National Confederation of Parents’ Associations said the news about the new model of access to higher education “appears to be more positive” but “there is still room for improvement” in national assessment and examination systems.
Education Minister João Costa and Science and Higher Education Minister Elvira Fortunato announced on Monday that the national examinations to complete secondary education will continue and students will have to pass three exams, one of which is in Portuguese.
“We still don’t know the document that hasn’t been released yet, we can only comment on what was said and from what is known at the moment it seems more positive than what we had before the pandemic, but we can still improve the assessment and examination system,” said Lusa, president of the National Confederation of Parent Associations (Confap).
The idea is that national exams have a lower weight in the final grade of secondary school students, starting at 25%, which is welcomed by Confap.
“An internal assessment costs more than an exam and we appreciate that. It seems to us a little more suitable, because she evaluates the work for three years,” defended Mariana Carvalho.
However, Mariana Carvalho chose not to comment on the news that the subjects have different weights in high school graduating classes depending on whether they are one-year, two-year or three-year ones, as the details remain to be clarified.
For students who turn 12 this year, there will be no change in the rules for calculating final secondary education or in terms of access to higher education.
Changes will begin to be felt only next year. Students who are currently in 10th grade will be covered by a model of three required exams.
The new model will fully apply to students starting secondary education in the next academic year, meaning subjects will have different weights on average depending on whether they are three-year, two-year or annual.
Three-year subjects such as Portuguese or Mathematics will carry a higher weight in the final average than one-year or two-year subjects.
In the new model, national exams no longer have a weight of 30% for the final grade in the studied subject, and now only have a weight of 25% in this weight.
With regard to access to higher education, the rules of which will be presented on Friday, the national examinations confirming access will have a minimum weight of 45%.
“Confap advocates for higher education to have a student selection process, with entrance tests or strategies different from those that are exclusively national examinations,” said Mariana Carvalho.
Lusa tried to find out the position of the Council of Rectors of Portuguese Universities (CRUP) and the Coordinating Council of Higher Polytechnic Institutes (CCIPS) on the news, but has not yet received a response.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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