Although the unions announced that a large number of teachers would boycott the simulations, the tests were held in about 98% of schools, according to data from the Ministry of Education. “I think the most important signal is that when it comes to students and the emotions before exams, teachers choose to be with them,” says Gabi Bartic, specialist in Education. On the other hand, the parents of the students from the more than 100 schools where the simulation was not organized feel disappointed both by the boycott and by the delayed reaction of the authorities, who did not find solutions so that all the children who wanted could participate in the simulation. In Bucharest, parents say, a school where there was a boycott today appears in the ISMB data as if the exam had been organized.
What shows us the large number of schools where the simulation was organized
According to the data collected by the Ministry of Education from the inspectorates, the simulation of the Romanian Language and Literature test took place in 4,545 educational units (97.8% of the total). This despite the fact that last week the trade union federations Spiru Haret and FSLI threatened that “national exam simulations will be seriously disrupted” and that over 50% of the union member teachers decided not to participate in the two tests.
“I think the most important signal is that when it comes to students and their emotions before exams, teachers choose to be with them. Simulations are not just an administrative formality: they help children understand what the test looks like, how to work in the limited time and how they are evaluated. For many students, this reduces exam anxiety. The fact that they have been organized in most schools shows that, beyond the perfectly legitimate claims of teachers, the responsibility towards the students remains a priority. Basically, I think that in this situation the interest of the child, the care towards the students and the responsibility towards them and their families have won”says Gabi Bartic, specialist in education and evaluation.
What unions could learn
The result could also be a signal to the unions, it shows:
“Unions have an essential role in any democratic society, they are the mechanism by which a profession defends its rights and corrects imbalances in the system.
However, I think that the trade union movement in education could gain even more public support if, in addition to the demands related to salaries, norms or working conditions – absolutely legitimate – they also put more visibly on the agenda things related to the quality of the educational act: reducing bureaucracy, relevant training for teachers, better initial training, modern teaching resources or better assessment tools, possible correct mechanisms for self-cleaning of the profession”.
Moreover, says Gabi Bartic, unions become stronger when their demands are also perceived as demands for a better school for children.
“At that point, not only will teachers win, but parents and students will become their natural allies.”
Parents from schools where the simulation did not take place are also disappointed by the way it was communicated
Officially, the simulation for the Romanian Language and Literature test was not organized in 104 schools. Unofficially, the number could be higher. Until the day of the simulation, the Ministry of Education did not know exactly how many schools would organize the test and how many would not.
One of the parents of the students from School no. 56 from Bucharest declared for truth that, including on the morning of the simulation, the representatives of the School Inspectorate of the Municipality of Bucharest (ISMB) specified that the educational unit did not send any official information regarding the non-organization of the test, and in the system it appeared as if the simulation was taking place. A few hours later, at the editorial request, the representatives of the inspectorate replied that, in the platform, it appears that the simulation did not take place.
At the school, it was already known on Thursday that the students would not take the tests.
“The headmistress forwarded us on WhatsApp a message from the union leader, who is a teacher in School No. 56, as if she intends to boycott the simulations. There might have been rumors among the children, but we didn’t know. The teachers told them in class that 99% would not give the simulation. (…) I don’t understand why the message from the union leader was sent to us. The parents are apolitical, they are not part of the unions, nor are they representatives of the Government. (…) On Friday, I requested an official communication from the school, so that there is an official information. The school sent this statement to parents on WhatsApp at 1:36 p.m. (…) There was, in my view, complicity on the part of the school principal, who should not have been involved in boycott actions, because he sent the information extremely late, so that there was no time to react“, said one of the mothers, under the protection of anonymity.
Schools divided under the specter of the boycott: between “it’s a gesture of protest” and “the children are not to blame”
No simulation, but also no solutions
The representatives of the educational unit would not have been open to other formulas so that the students could support the simulation in one form or another.
“The director said that the school no longer has access to the platform, and even if they wanted to, they would not be able to organize the simulation. The parents asked to at least organize it in the classroom, even if the papers are not scanned, uploaded to the platform and not corrected at the national level. We were not offered this possibility either. (…) There was no willingness on the part of the teachers, the director or the director to offer a solution. We only asked for a solution: rescheduling, relocation”, says mom.
The parents are also disappointed by the fact that the competent authorities did not have a procedure for such cases:
“It was an anticipated situation, it wasn’t a surprise. The inspectorate, if it didn’t have a procedure, means that someone didn’t do their job. (…) Neither the Ministry of Education nor the ISMB officially communicated if there is any obligation on the part of the institutions so that these children benefit from a right. The children wanted this simulation. It resulted in a national level statistic that was very relevant for the child. He saw exactly where he was at the level of his generation.”
Parent: “We understand their grievances and the shortcomings of the system, but children always suffer”
The disappointment of the parents at the school in Bucharest is all the greater since the simulation was organized in most schools. And the children wanted to participate.
If there had been a general boycott, this simulation would have been abandoned. But it is not fair that 97% of the schools organize the simulation and a few children, the majority from Bucharest, are discriminated against. Basically, they stayed on the outside.
The woman also says she would like more empathy from teachers when it comes to students.
“And we parents work, either in the private system or in the public system. We are also affected. We support them, but we don’t want to be a table for maneuver and our children sacrificed. The child wanted enormously to support the simulation. For them, on a psychological level, it was a turning point.”
The subjects and grading scale for the simulation of the Romanian Language and Literature test within the National Assessment. In how many schools was the exam held?
Poor communication by the authorities, also reported by a teacher
Communication would not have been the most efficient at the level of the central authorities, which should have managed the situation, also accuses mathematics teacher Cătălin Osiceanu.
“Sunday, 6:45 p.m. Less than 12 hours before the National Assessment mock. A message is circulating on WhatsApp in the territory that should handle the situation of schools not holding the mock. Not on the ministry’s website. Not through a public procedure. On WhatsApp.
The message says that the Ministry of Education <
But the really interesting part comes below. Inspectorates are requested that the message be transmitted <
What solution could there be for the students who did not pass the simulation
About 5,000 students did not take the mock because of the boycott. Secretary of State Sorin Ion declared that schools will be able to organize their own assessments, with topics written by specialists from the National Center for Curriculum and Evaluation (CNCE). Moreover, the Ministry of Education can give them access to the evaluation platform.
