The National Students’ Council opposes the organization of a secondary school entrance exam in addition to the national assessment, as this would only lead to huge differences between secondary schools and violate the basic principle of mandatory access to secondary school for students.

We remind you that in the new draft law on pre-university education, which must be sent to the Verkhovna Rada for approval, in addition to the ZNO, 8th grade students who wish to enter the lyceum by competition. will also take another entrance exam organized by the high school, with a maximum of two profile tests, official sources told HotNews.ro. For example, a child who chooses a mathematics and informatics profile in high school, where there are 29 candidates for 28 places, can take an exam in informatics, but also in mathematics with more difficult tasks than the external examination.

The National Council of Students states that it is “strongly opposed” to support secondary school admissions in a decentralized way, taking into account both the uncertainty about the final structure of the entrance exams and their indirect results, which can materialize in private reflections, high stress levels and increased complexity in choosing the right track and high school.

“It is extremely necessary to restart the law for public discussion”

In a press release sent on Friday, student representatives say that given that secondary education in Romania is compulsory, the admissions process should be unitary (computerized distribution) based on clear assessment standards that are conducted without – a competitive method.

• “High school admissions as it has been presented the other day will bring with it many problems, such as differences between students, school segregation, and an increased possibility of inequitable distribution in high school.
• Decentralized setting of admissions criteria, such as ensuring that the entrance GPA percentage represents a national assessment average in addition to the average of one’s own competition, will only lead to huge disparities between high schools and violate the basic principle of affordability that is required for students in high school through various difficulties caused by differentiated admission,” the National Student Council notes.

Student representatives believe that the first priority for high school graduates should have been to increase the number of vocational guidance hours, noting that the reform of the admissions structure is superficial and not meaningful.

At the same time, they say, the expected changes raise questions about the applicability and real effects of differentiated enrollment, “especially in the context of the reform of the education system, which should be based on standardized assessment, clear evaluation standards and desegregated schools. , taking into account the partial results of last year’s census, which show that 40% of Romanians did not reach high school.”

• “The consolidated form of the law on pre-university education must be discussed in advance with all subjects of the education system – students, parents and teachers.
• Therefore, it is extremely necessary to restart the law for public discussion and ensure the accredited composition of expert commissions that will analyze the new draft laws.
• Last but not least, we must ensure that the reform is oriented towards the real needs of students. It is inappropriate to talk about school desegregation when there are also proposals such as differentiated admission to high school, which carry with them a number of actions of competition and excessive elitism.
• However, we are optimistic about the new baccalaureate exam structure, which will be based on the assessment of some of the key skills contained in the Common Core, as well as the development of new skills-focused secondary school curricula and frameworks for students entering the 9- th grade in September 2023,” says the president of the National Council of Students Miruna Kroitoru.

How would senior schools organize their reception

The new draft of the Law on pre-university education, revised by Ligia Deka, provides that any competitive lyceum will be able to organize its own admission, with a maximum of two subjects per profile. An excess of the number of candidates over the number of places is considered a competition. For example, 29 candidates for 28 seats.

That is, an 8th grade student who wants to follow a natural science profile could also take the final exam in chemistry and biology, a child who wants to go to the mathematics-informatics profile could also take the final exam in informatics, but also in mathematics, with points. of greater difficulty compared to the national assessment, in time for social sciences, the exam can also be taken in history. Thus, the meditation industry is encouraged even more, of all subjects.

The high school must notify the school in advance of the intention to organize its own exam and specialized subjects, a maximum of two of which the children will take the exam.

The exam will be organized after the national assessment, it will be related to the chosen profile, and the study unit will determine its own admission criteria. He will also decide whether and in what proportion the student’s average score in the national assessment will be taken into account, quoted official sources told HotNews.ro.

After the national assessment, which all 8th grade students take, and after their own exam set by the high schools, a computerized task will be created. Pupils who did not have time to get to a place after entering a lyceum or did not register for an exam at any lyceum are automatically placed in the computerized distribution based on the results of the external examination.

Self-test items administered by high schools will be created for each subject by the National Assessment Center and will be the same for all high schools, whether it is a college or a small-town high school in the country.

The lyceum that organized the entrance exam and in which the places will not be filled, loses the right to organize its own exam in the following year.

If new education laws are passed this year, 2028 could be the first year new high school admissions rules apply.