OECD Reviews of Evaluation and Assessment in Education
Over the past three decades, Bulgaria has carried out important structural reforms which have helped the country reach higher levels of socio-economic development. However, long-standing social disparities and income inequalities remain and Bulgaria's overall productivity gains have not fully t...
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| Other Authors: | , , , , , |
| Format: | eBook |
| Language: | Inglés |
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Paris :
Organization for Economic Cooperation & Development
2022.
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| Edition: | 1st ed |
| Subjects: | |
| See on Biblioteca Universitat Ramon Llull: | https://discovery.url.edu/permalink/34CSUC_URL/1im36ta/alma991009705238006719 |
Table of Contents:
- Intro
- Foreword
- Acknowledgements
- Table of contents
- Abbreviations and acronyms
- Executive summary
- Making student assessment an integral part of student learning
- Ensuring that investment in the teaching profession is strategic and leads to improvements in quality
- Establishing a common understanding of school quality and helping schools to lead their own development
- Building a system-level monitoring framework that can advance national education goals
- Assessment and recommendations
- Education in Bulgaria
- Educational improvement aims to support inclusive and resilient growth in Bulgaria
- Bulgaria's education system has evolved over recent years but challenges remain
- Participation in early childhood education and care is a central education priority
- Despite previous gains in secondary enrolments, participation in basic education appears to be falling
- Many young people have not mastered foundational competencies
- Teaching practices and the school environment are not conducive to student learning and engagement
- Learning outcomes are notably lower for ethnic minorities and those living in rural areas
- Bulgaria is working to improve teaching and learning
- Evaluation and assessment in Bulgaria
- Applying the OECD framework for evaluation and assessment policies to Bulgaria's education system
- Policy issue 2.1. Building a shared understanding of student assessment as a means to support teaching and learning
- Policy issue 2.2. Developing the capacity of teachers to use assessment formatively
- Policy issue 2.3. Enhancing the validity and fairness of examination and selection processes into and out of upper secondary education
- Policy issue 3.1. Ensuring that appraisals support teachers' ongoing development
- Policy issue 3.2. Meeting the demand for new teachers and supporting their development.
- Policy issue 3.3. Ensuring that continuous professional development addresses the learning needs of teachers and students
- Policy issue 4.1. Building a common understanding of school quality
- Policy issue 4.2. Ensuring that external school evaluations support school improvement, especially in at-risk schools
- Policy issue 4.3. Making regular school self-evaluation mandatory and building schools' capacity for development
- Policy Issue 5.1. Ensuring Bulgaria's new EMIS becomes a source of quality data for a variety of users
- Policy Issue 5.2. Establishing a national assessment system that supports system monitoring and helps improve learning outcomes
- Policy Issue 5.3. Strengthening regular performance monitoring to guide system improvement
- References
- 1 The Bulgarian education system
- Introduction
- National context
- Economic and political context
- Economic growth is hindered by a declining population and a skills mismatch
- Emigration, especially among young and skilled professionals, is a major challenge
- Bulgaria has been undertaking significant governance reforms but public sector accountability remains a concern
- Social context
- Despite improvements in living standards, poverty rates remain high
- A significant share of Bulgaria's population and economic output is concentrated in the southwest region of the country
- Key features of the Bulgarian education system
- Governance of the education system
- Bulgaria's National Development Programme 2030 highlights the importance of a highly-skilled population for the country's socio-economic development
- Education policy is driven primarily by the Ministry
- Bulgaria has introduced several major education reforms in recent years
- The Ministry relies on specialised bodies for technical expertise.
- Bulgarian schools have high levels of autonomy to manage their budget and staff and develop their curricula
- Funding of the education system
- Public spending on education has increased but remains low compared to peer countries
- Rising teacher salaries will drive expenditure in the future and increase spending pressures
- Bulgaria has been working to increase the efficiency and fairness of education funding but important disparities between municipalities remain
- Structure of schooling in Bulgaria
- Main characteristics of the structure of schooling
- Bulgaria's declining student population required a rationalisation of the school network
- Most students who finish basic education enrol in VET upper secondary schools
- Pathways through Bulgaria's school system may reinforce inequalities
- Main trends in participation, learning and equity
- Participation
- Extending compulsory education to reach higher enrolment rates in pre-primary education is a priority for the country but barriers to access persist
- Bulgaria has made impressive progress in upper secondary enrolment but this may be tested by declining levels of enrolment in both primary and lower secondary education
- The percentage of students who do not complete the academic year is similar between basic and upper secondary education
- More Bulgarians are participating in tertiary education compared to the past decade but the transition to the labour market is still difficult
- Learning environment and outcomes
- International assessments suggest that many Bulgarian students have not reached baseline proficiency in core subjects
- Limited student engagement in Bulgarian schools can disrupt learning
- Bulgaria is working hard to support its teachers but lack of training tailored to teachers' needs remains a challenge
- Equity.
- Dropout rates and early school leaving are higher in rural and remote areas, and learning outcomes also differ significantly by geographic location
- Gaps in both participation and learning outcomes are persistent and observed amongst different ethnic groups and socio-economic levels
- Key indicators
- References
- Notes
- 2 Making student assessment an integral part of student learning
- Introduction
- Student assessment in Bulgaria
- Overall objectives and policy framework
- The new curriculum aligns with international frameworks and continues to be updated
- Multiple instructional documents aim to guide the organisation of teaching and learning but can lack clarity and coherence
- Teachers struggle to navigate curriculum documents and apply changes to their classroom practice
- A new national evaluation and assessment framework provides detailed instructions regarding the organisation and administration of assessments
- Implementing competency-based assessment remains a challenge
- Classroom assessment
- Teachers in Bulgaria must administer frequent classroom assessments
- Bulgarian teachers use qualitative and quantitative descriptors when assessing students
- Formative assessment is not consistently applied in classrooms
- National assessments
- Bulgaria's national assessment system has significant implications for students
- National examinations
- The Grade 7 NEA acts as a national selective examination to allocate students to upper secondary education
- The high stakes associated with the Grade 7 NEA have implications for educational quality and equity
- State Matriculation examination results certify completion of upper secondary education and support progression to tertiary education
- Administration and marking of the State Matriculation examination is highly trusted.
- Safeguards are in place to mitigate potential negative effects of the State Matriculation
- Recent revisions indicate efforts to embed a competency-based approach within examination materials
- National student assessment agencies
- The Center for Assessment is responsible for national assessments and examinations
- Policy issues
- Policy issue 2.1. Building a shared understanding of student assessment as a means to support teaching and learning
- Recommendation 2.1.1. Establish a coherent national vision of student assessment
- Formulate a high-level national vision of student assessment
- Engage stakeholders in developing the new vision of student assessment
- Clarify and better communicate expected learning outcomes to guide student assessment
- Ensure alignment and coherence with wider evaluation and assessment practices
- Communicate the vision in a strategic way to build trust and support for change
- Recommendation 2.1.2. Adapt the reporting of student learning information to promote a broader understanding of assessment
- Make classroom and school-level marking practices more conducive to student learning
- Strengthen reporting to help students and parents understand broader progress
- Policy issue 2.2. Developing the capacity of teachers to use formative assessment
- Recommendation 2.2.1. Promote the use of diagnostic assessments to help teachers better understand and adapt to the learning needs of students
- Prioritise younger students and core subjects to have a greater impact in the long term
- Support teachers to make full use of start-of-year diagnostic assessments
- Recommendation 2.2.2. Foster real change at the classroom-level by making training on formative assessment a priority for all teachers
- Strengthen the development of formative assessment practices in initial teacher education (ITE).
- Ensure that teachers have access to quality continuous professional development on formative assessment.
