The NBE is not just an exam. It is a mirror of the system. And when we look into it, we must have the courage to admit what we see – and the will to change it.
This is stated in the position of the Parents Association in relation to the implementation of the National External Assessment (NEA) in grades 4, 7 and 10.
As an organization that has focused its work and expertise on education and good interaction between the school, teachers and parents for more than 20 years, on building an active school community and ensuring a safe and supportive environment for Bulgarian children, the Parents Association once again expresses its position on the implementation of the National External Assessment (NEA) in grades 4, 7 and 10 - in its current form it does not meet the initially announced intention to serve as a “diagnostic“ of the education system and as a tool for establishing to what extent students have mastered key competencies and learning content. In short - in its current format, NEA is not in the interest of children and needs serious revision. At the same time, its annual implementation requires enormous financial and organizational resources, without clear and visible positive results.
Every year, thousands of Bulgarian students enter the exam hall with a heaviness in their chests and fear in their eyes. They do not just take an exam - they cross the threshold of a premature competition, the stakes of which are often not related to knowledge and personal development, but to tension and the feeling that the future depends on a few sheets of test questions. In its current form, NFE has become a source of inequality, anxiety and a replacement of the educational goal. It creates an environment in which preparation for tests pushes real learning, creativity and personal growth into the background. Our children are not taught how to think, but how to answer “correctly”. They often lose faith in themselves because they are not “good enough” according to an artificial scale.
Why do we think so?
A serious consequence of the current model of higher education is the growing social division. Preparation for higher education in grades 7 and 10 often involves expensive private lessons - a reality that many families cannot afford. This creates a system in which not all children start from the same starting line. Students from different socio-economic backgrounds have different access to preparation, which distorts the real assessment of the school system. Success begins to depend more on financial opportunities than on the student's work, talent or interests. This is not fair. This is not acceptable!
According to the National Representative Survey “Bulgarian School - the Parents' Perspective“ (2023), implemented by the Parents Association team and conducted by the marketing research company “Noema“, a total of two-thirds of parents either intend to enroll their children in private lessons for the application after the 7th grade (48%), or have already done so (9%), so that their child can have a chance to enter the desired school. 24% of parents claim that their children attend or have attended private lessons outside of the applications in order to be able to advance in a given area. In a certain sense, it can be said that parents feel blackmailed by the system to pay for private lessons for their children because the school is not able to provide sufficiently good preparation.
The data is also confirmed by the audit of the Court of Auditors (the period covers 2019 – 2023) – In order to compensate for the deficits in the quality of the educational process, a significant share of parents additionally pay for lessons outside of school to prepare students of all ages. The extent of parallel education in the country is alarming - nearly 60 percent of parents pay for private lessons.
The 7th grade NBE exam is directly related to the application and admission to specialized and vocational high schools. This exam is perceived as "decisive" for the future of children. The stress begins months, even years earlier. A large percentage of students attend private lessons, which become a standard without which many families feel uncompetitive. The 7th grade school year is focused on preparing for NBE. All efforts - in school and outside of school - are concentrated on two subjects (Bulgarian language and literature and mathematics), at the expense of the others. Arts, foreign languages, science, technology, social and civic skills remain out of children's sight. Thus, education is limited to two subjects and two dates on the calendar, which distorts the idea of comprehensive personal development.
The emotional and financial burden and the feeling of a “battle” for a good school sometimes bring students and parents to the brink of exhaustion. Children are forced to make a choice about their future education at the age of 13-14, often without a real idea of their interests and opportunities. And parents are most often worried about the exam results and whether their child will be able to enter the desired school
Additional tension is created by the fact that the results of the NBE are the basis for applying after the 7th grade. This turns the exams into the main tool for “sorting” children, without taking into account individual differences, personal interests or development potential. Such a system leaves no room for choice, only for competition – at a too young age. Even in the so-called “elite schools” the problems of the system do not disappear. Overload, tension, formalism – all this is present there too. This is a clear sign that the problem is not in individual schools, but in the very model to which they are all subject.
Although the 10th grade NBE is conducted at the national level, it has no role in application, choice of profile or profession. This creates confusion and a sense of formalism. Students are at a key age when they begin to orient themselves professionally, and instead they fall back into the routine of tests without practical value.
Without a real reward or consequences of the result, some children lose motivation, which makes the process meaningless. At the same time, others strain themselves unnecessarily, trying to prove themselves. Often parents do not understand why this exam is taken, what is done with the results and what benefit it brings to students. The lack of transparent feedback creates distrust.
In addition to the financial burden, there is also psychological pressure on children, parents and teachers. Turning education into an exam competition leads to anxiety, emotional exhaustion and a sense of failure at an early age. It is especially painful when this happens to children in the 4th grade. Instead of motivation and joy from learning, they carry within themselves the fear that they will not cope, that they will disappoint, that they will fall behind.
The 4th grade NCE aims to measure the knowledge and skills of students at the end of the primary stage of education. Children are placed in a situation in which the exam format often generates anxiety and uncertainty. For many, this is the first serious contact with formalized assessment. The results are expected to provide a clear idea of the level of acquired knowledge, as well as the need for upgrading or changing education, but in practice this does not happen.
Although they are not used for admission or transfer to another school, the NCE results are often perceived by parents and teachers as an indicator of prestige or quality of education. This makes them a source of tension. In some cases, parents use the results as an argument for early profiling of children or orientation to “elite“ schools.
The Big Questions
After all that has been said, here comes the big questions.
What is the role of the NFE actually? What exactly are we assessing – the knowledge and skills of the student, the work of the teachers, the level of the school or the effectiveness of the education system?
What happens to the exam data – Are in-depth analyses being conducted that lead to real policies for improvement, or is activity simply being reported?
When will we see serious analysis and real reforms, so that higher education has real meaning for the development of the education system?
Isn't it time to place greater emphasis on measuring skills and competencies, instead of relying mainly on reproducing learned knowledge?
What specific care do we take for the mental health of children, especially during stressful periods such as 7th grade? Are conscious measures taken to reduce stress?
The lack of transparency creates a sense of formalism - we conduct exams without it being clear what follows from them and what in the system actually changes as a result of their conduct.
Let's be honest
Are analyses conducted by the Ministry of Education and Science (MES)? Yes, the Ministry of Education and Science publishes reports on the results after each NVE - for example, how the country performed as a whole, which tasks were difficult for students, etc. The problem is that: the analyses are often formal and insufficiently in-depth, rarely leading to changes in curricula, teaching methods or support for students at risk; public debate on these results is weak - the media reports a few figures and then the topic dies down.
Time for dialogue: NVE and the future of Bulgarian education
The “Parents“ Association believes that the education system should serve children - not them in it. We believe that every child has the right to support, respect for their individuality and a chance to develop their full potential without being put into a mold.
We insist on:
1. A clear answer to the question of what we actually want to measure with NFE.
2. An urgent review of the role, function and form of the current NFE model.
3. An in-depth analysis of NFE results at all stages with the aim of using them to actually improve the content and methodology of education, and not just for statistics. The collected data should be used for real strategic actions to improve education.
4. An open and responsible public conversation with the participation of parents, students, teachers and specialists. Until the problems in the system are recognized and addressed with attention, any effort will be meaningless.
5. The focus in education should be directed towards the development of knowledge and skills in children, and not towards “pressing the right answers".
Children's success cannot be measured solely by the results of standardized tests. As long as the main problems in the education system remain unresolved, any assessment will be incomplete, and any effort - insufficiently effective. That is why the Parents Association calls for a comprehensive review of the current model of higher education and for the creation of a space for a reasonable, open and constructive dialogue with the participation of parents, teachers, students and experts. And at the heart of this dialogue should be the big question - what do we actually want Bulgarian education to be. And last but not least - what kind of children do we want to raise? Children who think critically, know how to work in a team and feel confident in themselves. Children who are not afraid of mistakes, because they recognize them as part of the learning process. Children who grow up in an environment of respect, freedom and support - because these are the foundations of a truly modern and meaningful education.