engleski

External Evaluation in Croatian Educational System – Conceptualization and Implementation

One of the most efficient mechanisms for ensuring educational quality is external evaluation. The implementation of such a system requires deep insight into possible consequences and a clear cost-benefit analysis. The majority of developed countries already have such systems, and I will mention some of them ; the USA, the UK, the Netherlands, France, etc. A lot of the countries of the New Europe implement external evaluation into their secondary schools through social and economic transition. Good examples are Slovenia, the Czech Republic and Hungary. Croatia made the first step in 2003 by analyzing the opinions of secondary school teachers and university professors about the implementation of the state matura. These analyses were encouraging and in 2004 the Ministry approved a new project titled ‘ Implementation of the state matura in secondary schools’ proposed by the Institute for Social Research. In 2005, the Croatian parliament voted for changes into the law on secondary education and thus made a legal framework for the first national exams which were administered in May 2006. There are two main aspects of external evaluation in Croatia. The first one consists of a system of national exams. These exams develop a new testing culture in schools, give evidence for the quality and accountability of schools and set standards that will be used for the state matura. The Generation that was the first to take the national exams in 2006 will be the first generation that will take the school leaving exam (state matura) in 2009. It will first be administered in grammar schools only because vocational schools have to wait for a system reform. National exams that took place in 2006 tested the knowledge of mathematics, Croatian language, foreign languages (English, German, French) and Italian as a mother tongue. They were based on Bloom’ s taxonomy for defining the cognitive levels. The idea was to introduce a different approach which takes into consideration more demanding levels of knowledge and skills such as analysis, evaluation and creation. This shift was hard to achieve because the exams had to be based on official curriculums which don’ t follow new approaches in education ; they are outdated and represent a burden for the implementation of new ideas and concepts. In 2007, the national exams were taken by the first and second grade of secondary school students. The list of subjects was expanded (Latin, Greek, Italian as a foreign language, Biology, Physics, Chemistry and Informatics/ICT were added). In 2008 that list will probably include even more subjects. In that way the preparation for the state matura will be completed. The issue that remains unresolved is – How will this testing system affect our schools? The Example of the UK provides an insight into a highly developed testing system. Although the main certification for secondary schools is A levels, there are numerous other certifications, especially vocational. The UK testing system functions as a very sophisticated market where private awarding bodies provide exams and prepare materials but the standards are set by the government-run Qualification and Curriculum Authority. In Croatia, the government-run National Center for External Evaluation in Education is supposed to take on both roles, i.e. to determine standards and to develop exams. However, the problem remains because the standards are still not defined and the only role fulfilled is mere logistics.

external evaluation; education; national exams

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