The Ministry of Education and Science is preparing to cancel the part of the national external assessment after Grade 7, which includes tasks with elements of natural science. The format of the exam and the duration remain the same as in the proposed model for this year. This was announced by the Minister of Education and Science Krasimir Valchev to journalists in Veliko Tarnovo.
The decision is related to the latest ruling of the Administrative Court-Sofia, which creates uncertainty especially in the current political situation. “In order to avoid unpredictability in the system, the exam for seventh-graders will have 24 entirely mathematical tasks“, explained Minister Valchev. He specified that the national external assessment for Grades 4 and 10 remains unchanged – as approved before the start of the school year.
We recall that the national external assessment in mathematics in grade 7 was planned to include 6 integrated tasks from the areas of biology and health education, man and nature, chemistry and environmental protection, physics and astronomy, and geography and economics.
A new order of the Minister of Education and Science is currently being prepared, which will partially amend the one approved in August last year and will only cancel the inclusion of tasks from other subject areas in the mathematics exam. The goal is to ensure peace and predictability of the system in the coming months.
Earlier this week, Minister Krasimir Valchev held a number of meetings and discussions on the topic, including with the complainants against the introduction of the integrated tasks. The participants agreed that, given the current impossibility of continuing the planned reforms for the normal functioning of the system, it is more appropriate to repeal the disputed part.