Fundamental skills

This project seeks to gain a better understanding of fundamental skills development. These insights are needed by both schools and the inspectorate. This is very much needed. Dutch students too often have insufficient mastery of the basic skills of math and language. For example, the reference levels 1F and 1S at the end of primary education are by no means always met (by 85% of pupils for the basic level or 65% for the target level).

The Inspectorate of Education has therefore in recent years expressed concerns about pupils’ mastery of fundamental skills. International research also shows that an increasing number of 15-year-old students are not achieving the minimum proficiency levels in reading and/or writing. For example, students’ reading performance is steadily declining, while the European average remains stable. Meanwhile, 24% of 15-year-old Dutch pupils are at risk of low literacy. Finally, the COVID19 crisis and periods of distance learning have put pressure on pupils’ mastery of basic skills.