Standards of achievements - the basis for the development of effective educational practices

The effects of educational practice, which are reflected in the results of international research and studies, such as the PISA or OECD evaluation study on the system in Serbia, and the results of evaluating the quality of schoolwork in the five-year cycle, raised the issue of reviewing standards of achievements in primary and secondary education.

The main purpose of the standard is to define the expected outcomes at the end of a particular education cycle. In that sense, the standards represent guidelines for improving curricula and the quality of teaching and learning, the basis for state exams at the end of primary and secondary education, and thus the starting point when creating important educational policies.

With introductory training for members of working groups held in Belgrade in the second half of October 2020, work began on the revision of achievement standards. This critical undertaking is led by the Institute for the Quality and Evaluation of Education, and significant support is provided by two European Union projects - the State Matura Project and the EU Support to Reform of Education Reform in Serbia (REdiS).

The strategic commitment of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, which initiated the revision of the standards, is aimed at developing a new concept of educational standards, which would represent a turn to the current practice. Namely, the new concept will, in addition to developing specific subject competencies, focus on developing general subject and key competencies and functional literacy in students. In that way, the necessary conditions will be created for the innovation of curricula and teaching methods and the improvement of the system of final exams in primary and secondary education

Work on the revision of achievement standards represents a significant change in the system, which will improve the quality of education in the coming period. The Institute for Education Quality and Evaluation has gathered relevant associates from the ranks of teachers (practitioners) in primary and secondary education and university professors (methodologists) who, with their knowledge and experience, will make a significant contribution to achieving goals and working together to develop relevant educational standards and make substantial progress in the development of quality education, following the new education strategy prepared by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development for the next ten years.