Israel's school achievement tests show higher scores in four core subjects

Education Minister Naftali Bennett announced that there is still a lot of work to be done, particularly in the ministry’s ongoing effort of ‘closing the gaps’ within the Arab school system.

By SARAH LEVI
Updated: NOVEMBER 29, 2017 23:17
Children in classroom (photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM)
Children in classroom
(photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM)
Showing noticeable improvements in math and science, the results for the 5777 (2016-17) school year’s “Meitzav” tests were released to the public on Wednesday.
Education Minister Naftali Bennett and Director-General Shmuel Abuav announced that the results showed an improvement in the four core subjects measured in standardized tests: math, science, English and Hebrew.
“After collecting all of the data from the Meitzav test I can safely tell you today – the strong are getting stronger, and the weak are becoming even stronger,” Bennett said.
The Meitzav test is administered annually to pupils in fifth and eighth grade throughout Israel and measures their aptitude in core subjects.
Compared to the previous school year (5776: 2015-16), average math scores for fifth graders jumped 12 points from 554 to 566 and there was a 23 point increase in eighth-grade science average scores, rising from 564 to 587 points.
Among pupils in the Arab sector, improvements were found in language test results.
There was a 19-point increase in the Arabic-language test scores for eighth graders that went from 573 to 592 points.
There was also a five-point increase in Hebrew-language average test scores for fifth graders, rising from 537 to 542.
However, the average English-language test scores showed a slight decline in the Arab sector, dropping three points from 542 to 539 in eighth graders.
Despite the list of achievements found in the results, Bennett announced that there is still a lot of work to be done, particularly in the ministry’s ongoing effort of ‘closing the gaps’ within the Arab school system as well as in the periphery.
He added: “We will continue to make sure that the gaps continue to be narrowed, along with implementation of the national program for spoken English studies (‘Give me Five’) and an effort towards improving teacher quality – with an emphasis on the periphery.”


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