Latvia conducts first nationwide education monitoring for grades 3 and 6

This year, Latvia implemented a nationwide education monitoring for the first time, covering all 3rd and 6th graders in general education schools. The initiative is part of the project "Support for the Development of Education Quality", co-financed by the European Social Fund Plus.

The monitoring assesses students' basic skills in literacy, numeracy, and science literacy. Unlike previous practice where comprehensive student performance was only evaluated after grade 9 exams, this new monitoring allows problems to be detected much earlier. This enables teachers and schools to react promptly and provide individual support to students in need.

The collected data will be compiled into easy-to-use dashboards for municipalities, school administrations, teachers, and parents. To promote practical use of the data, municipalities and school directors will receive training. Experts emphasize that the results are not for ranking schools or students, but for precisely determining support needs.

Inese Vilciņa, project team leader, noted in a podcast that besides quantitative data, qualitative information such as conversations with students about their learning experience and support is crucial. Senior data scientist Ģirts Zāģeris pointed out that conclusions about education quality trends will be possible only after several years of measurements.

This autumn, a preschool monitoring test will begin on a voluntary basis, measuring children's skills at ages 5–7. The goal is to make this an annual routine.

Latvian specialists have drawn on international experience from Finland, Belgium, and Wales when developing data collection methods. Partners include the State Education Development Agency, the State Education Quality Service, the Central Statistical Bureau, and several universities and research institutes.