Education in the Netherlands – Another High Performing Country

A short time ago we took a brief look at Finland, the highest scoring country on the 2006 PISA Exams (Programme for International Student Assessment). The tiny country demonstrated extraordinary results taking the top spot in science, the number two slot in Reading (only trailing Korea), and the number two slot in Mathematics (trailing only Chinese Tapei).

The exams feature a two-hour test with both open and multiple-choice tasks and have been given in three year intervals, first in 2000, then in 2003, and most recently in 2006. The most recent edition of the exam that is coordinated by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) was taken by more than 400,000 students in 57 countries.

An Assignment for Our Site Editor
When site editor Tom Hanson indicated he would be vacationing in the Netherlands in late April and early May, we asked if he would do some research on the Dutch School system. Also one of the highest performers on the PISA exams (ranked the ninth best in the world as of 2008), the children from the Netherlands scored eleventh in Reading, ninth in science (twenty places higher than the US) and fifth in Mathematics (thirty places higher than America).

What Tom found was an extraordinarily complex system that is vastly different than what is found in America or in Finland. One very interesting aspect of the test results for the Dutch is the variation of student performances both within a school and from school to school. While in Finland there proved to be almost no variation in school to school performances or student performances within a school, in the Netherlands the performance variation between schools was over one and a half times the average performance variation of those countries taking the PISA exam.

That result mirrors what is found within the American school system. However, unlike America where the between-school performance variation is most often related to socio-economic differences, in the Netherlands it was due in greater part to student study paths within the schools.

Over the next few days we will present a great deal of information about the complex system that forms the basis of public schooling in the country. We will begin with a general overview of the programming available and the various educational paths that exist as students leave primary school, move on to secondary school and then to post-secondary school. We will also look at the methodology used to ensure that schools have the resources necessary to educate the students in their buildings, resources that vary based on the clientele in the classroom.

We will also present an overview of the variations that occur when students complete their primary school program and move into one of the many different secondary school paths available. Students as young as 12-years-old face the enormous stress of exams that will dictate after just 8 years of primary school what secondary school option they may pursue.

Multitude of Vocational Training Options Available
Lastly, we will take an in depth look at one of the craft school options available to students who have completed their secondary school option and elect further study but seek a program that is anything but traditional college fare. Tom spent a day at Hout-en Meubileringscollege, a wood & furniture school that mixes academics with the craft of woodworking in a manner unlike anything offered in America. We think you will find that the Dutch are on to a concept that should see great consideration in the U.S.

In our first piece we will take a look at primary school, the dreaded Cito test (developed by the Centraal instituut voor toetsontwikkeling), the various secondary school options (VMBO, HAVO, and VWO), the procedure for dealing with dropouts, and the incredible offerings available for postsecondary school students.