The assessment system in the educational system of Montenegro could be changed and this is being considered, but, as the director of the Examination Center Dragana Dmitrović said, it cannot be done quickly.
Dmitrović, as one of the models that could be applied, mentioned the one that would result from the balance of the current summative and the one that is aimed at - the formative evaluation of student achievements.
In school practice, summative assessment should represent the sum of all student engagement, and this assessment is actually performed on the basis of formative assessment. Summative assessment shows how much the student has learned up to a certain point, that is, what competencies he has developed.
Formative assessment is the regular and planned collection of data on student progress during the process of acquiring knowledge. Unlike summative assessment, which is focused on results, formative assessment is the evaluation of the learning process itself.
Dmitrović, in the online interview Parents Ask, which the Association Parents and the MINA agency implement as part of the project Parents between facts and opinions, said that professors sometimes find enough time to evaluate and complete a complete test of students' knowledge in the classroom.
She reminded that grading is prescribed by the rulebook, so professors must adhere to the norms and grade students at classification periods.
One of the conclusions of the recently published Analysis of Education from 2015-2020. is that classroom assessment is a serious problem in the educational system in Montenegro.
According to the opinions of the interviewees, assessment in classrooms was the most neglected area within the framework of educational reforms so far. It is suggested that formative assessment be introduced, instead of inflated summative assessments.
Speaking about the suggestion to introduce formative assessment, Dmitrović said that it is a subject that is being considered, that it is not new and that the Institute of Education has created a manual on assessment in the function of developing and improving teaching and learning.
"It is a good model, but perhaps it would be best to find a balance between summative and formative assessment. And then it is possible to revise some legal solutions, but we leave that to the policy makers", said Dmitrović.
Asked if she thinks it should be returned to the method of grading in two classification periods, because some teachers often complain that the method of grading as it currently functions at the end of the quarter is unnecessary, Dmitrović said that she would, if formative grading were applied.
"If that were to happen, then the national evaluation framework would have to be revised, and again it is a process. If thoughts, experiences, and practice are confronted, then the best joint model could be found," Dmitrović said.
She did not want to prejudge the results of the PISA test of Montenegrin students during the last year because they are secret until the day of publication, but she hopes that they could be better compared to the previous ones, as was the case in 2018 when a certain shift was made compared to in 2015
As she said, the results of that testing may not always be the most realistic, because students sometimes do not complete the entire test, they also switched to a digital form, but that they are definitely usable.
When asked if the number of students with Luča recognition is realistic and corresponds to the results shown by the PISA tests, Dmitrović said that this is a question for all subjects in education.
"There is no grading on the PISA test, and the question arises of the motivation of the students, how involved they are in taking the test," explained Dmitrović.
Dmitrović, answering the question of whether the Montenegrin system does any analysis of the achievements of students who had Luča in their later education, said that she thinks that it is carried out by schools, but that it is their individual approach.
"Perhaps it could be a systemic obligation prescribed by law," Dmitrović believes.
She said that external tests are always subject to analysis at the level of institutions, schools, and systems.
"As for the external tests at the end of the ninth grade, they are compiled by the best and most expert subject teachers from primary and secondary schools," said Dmitrović.
She said that with matriculation exams, the situation is different from the 20/21 school year, and the subject committees compile the tests proposed by the Examination Center.
Dmitrović emphasized that she hopes that everyone will understand that the most important thing is knowledge, not grades.
When asked about the comments that it happened that areas that the children did not study during their schooling appeared on the tests, Dmitrović said that this cannot be said to be the rule but the exception.
"It happened during the corona era, because you know that the curriculum is implemented uniformly, but the teacher has the ability to make a schedule of teaching units on a monthly basis, and it happened that some schools realized some areas, and some did not," Dmitrović added.
As she explained, the schools in direct communication with the Examination Center immediately resolve it, report it and after that the Center makes an instruction defining such a situation.
Speaking about the high school entrance exam, Dmitrović said that perhaps we should think about it, but that she thinks that the mid-term exam is a good instrument.
As part of the project Parents between facts and opinions, financed by the European Union in Montenegro and the Program Office of the Council of Europe in Podgorica, the association Parents and the agency MINA will deal with topics from the field of education, which should help parents gain a clearer picture of the problems they face. often indicate.
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