For more than a decade, Montenegro has been dealing with the only data on the number of elementary illiterate citizens, and it will not get new information about it even through the last population census, which was completed at the end of last year and whose data is still being processed.
Yesterday, September 8, the world celebrated the International Literacy Day, and the Directorate for Statistics (Monstat) did not collect data on literacy in the last population census. Census data from 2011 showed that 8.149 residents, with an average age of 62, signed with their fingers.
"Since the rate of illiterates determined by the 2011 Census is 1,5 percent and the average age of illiterates is 62, and on the other hand, the rate of primary school attendance is very high, the 2023 Census did not collect data on literacy," replied Monstat.
Students acquire non-functional knowledge
The fact that the country does not have data on the elementary illiterate population, periodically receives the results of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) tests, according to which our fifteen-year-olds are generally at the back when it comes to reading literacy. In the previous PISA test (Programme for International Student Assessment), they achieved the worst result in the past decade and took 56th place in the reading literacy segment.
From the Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation (MPNI), which he heads Anđela Jakšić-Stojanović, They told "Vijesti" that these results speak "about the fact that our students acquire non-functional knowledge that they reproduce for evaluation".
"But they don't know how to apply that knowledge in a real context. It is worrying that we have a small number of outstanding students. In basic schools, we have 8,5 recipients of the Luča diploma. We have a problem with the evaluation criteria," said the department.
They pointed out that the Institute for Education, the Examination Center and MPNI are working on the project "PISA 2025 - Science in Focus" from December 2022.
"Also, the Examination Center, in cooperation with the Ministry, published materials related to PISA testing on its website: interactive tasks in reading, mathematics and science that students can solve on their phones. Thanks to that and the program of the Institute for Education 'PISA 2025 - Science in focus', we believe that the majority of students in the third cycle of primary school and the first and second grade of secondary school and their teachers are familiar with some of the PISA tasks", they said.
They reminded that in April, a trial PISA test was held.
"And the Examination Center received feedback from the schools on the implementation of the testing, as well as suggestions on what should be done to improve the results of Montenegro on the PISA test. The schools stated that one of the main causes is the lack of motivation of students to take a test that is not for evaluation," said MPNI.
Girls are more successful in reading than boys
From the Examination Center of Montenegro, which he manages Miloš Trivić, told "Vijesti" that during the first cycles of PISA testing, Montenegro recorded steady progress in reading literacy.
"And she achieved the best result (427 points) in 2015, when for the first time the testing was completely conducted on a computer. The texts and questions from reading literacy were identical to those that the students answered in the paper-pencil tests," said the Examination Center.
They told "Vijesti" that the decline was recorded in the PISA 2018 cycle when, as they claim, "reading becomes the main area".
"The new texts and assignments had digital reading features (hyperlinking, scrolling, tabs, interactive communication tools, content reliability assessment). The relatively sharp decline occurred in the last cycle of student testing in 2022, a period when schools were largely closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. How significant the drop of 22 points compared to 2015 is is shown by the fact that the difference in points of 20 points represents one year of learning," they said.
The Examination Center said that the results of the second reading literacy test - PIRLS showed that Montenegrin students can be compared with students from Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
"And statistically they are not significantly different. Of the countries in the region, students from Montenegro had better achievements than students from North Macedonia (442) and Kosovo (421), while the achievements of students from Croatia (557), Serbia (514) and Albania (513) show a significant advantage compared to the achievements of our students", said the Examination Center.
They told "Vijesti" that it can be concluded that girls "in our country are more successful in reading than boys with a 19 point advantage".
"According to the principal's answers, only in 11 percent of Montenegrin schools included in the survey, more than 75 percent of students start school with developed literacy skills before starting school. Students from those schools scored an average of 481 points. However, the largest percentage of schools (67 percent) were attended by 'less than 25 percent' of students who had developed reading skills before starting school, with students from these schools scoring 494 points on average. Therefore, the results of students from Montenegro do not agree with the global trend. It turns out that students who did not have much experience with reading before school have the best results", concluded the Examination Center.
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