2023-06-18 08:10:55
Why the grades they get in the Panhellenic exams are significantly lower than those they get in the high school diploma
Just above base 10! Greek students get this grade. At the peak of their school journey, the National Examinations, where they strive to achieve their best and the grading is strict and unchanging, they have an average of 11.5! The data presented today by “K” are revealing, not only because they outline an average student of a mediocre level, but also because they demonstrate a structural problem of the Greek school: the absence of a meaningful assessment with responsibility and of the parents, who “hunt for grades” in favor of the children their.
In particular, from the processing by the mathematician-analyst Stratos Stratigakis of the latest available data for 2022, it appears that the average performance of the candidates per scientific field ranges from 10.45 to 12.03. Specifically, for the candidates of the 1st scientific field (social and humanitarian studies: law, philology, pedagogy, etc.) the average is 11.35 and for those of the 2nd field (positive and technological studies: polytechnics, departments of physics, mathematics etc.) 11.87. The highest average was “caught” by the candidates for the health schools (3rd field: medicine, etc.), while on the contrary the candidates of the 4th field (economics and IT schools) had the lowest average: 10.45. The average performance for each subject per scientific field is on the same scale: from 10.3 to 13.78. However, the 6.81 which is the average performance of computer science and economics candidates in mathematics stands out.
The questions that arise are crucial. Can an achievement resulting from four three-hour course exams characterize the work done in secondary education? With 11.45 are only the schools or tutoring schools that bear the heavy burden of preparing the candidates for the Pan-Hellenic exams graded? How reliable is student assessment at school? How much do parents pressure teachers for high grades and does that ultimately help kids?
“The school has a different focus than the All-Hellenic Examinations, which is a competition of a total of 12 hours. The school has a general aim to provide children with knowledge as an educational basis and to develop their skills, while the Pan-Hellenic exams are a tough evaluation process.
However, we cannot help but be concerned about the average performance of the candidates for the level of the educational system, as they are sure to be a mirror of the students’ image after 12 years in the classrooms”, observes the philologist Pavlos Velitzelos speaking to “K”. Of course, the presence of each student in the classroom, his effort, his willingness are also evaluated for the school grades. One of the reasons why the results of the Panhellenic exams are lower than the intramural ones is the pressure and stress of the candidates compared to the friendly school environment of the school. “As a society, we have chosen high school to be an easy level, where students are promoted without difficulty and grades are almost virtual. Everything is judged in the Panhellenic Examinations”, adds Mr. Velitzelos. On the other hand, as Mr. Stratigakis reported to “K”, “students and their parents think they are at 14-15 and the grading scale that really captures the learning image of the student is much lower”. Who hasn’t heard parents brag that their child is… 19? With results comes their landing.
The political choice that has been adopted in recent decades, that all students complete high school before going to universities, also plays a role. In fact, if a student has 8 in core subjects and 12 in PE, English and religion he can be promoted. “Grading at school is very lenient. The degeneration of the grades started from the Bonds period, when the intra-school performance counted for the total points of the candidates”, emphasizes the president of the National Examination Organization, Georgios Dasios, speaking to “K”. Then began the parents’ pressure on the teachers for high grades and the protests about… flea jump that the child is being treated unfairly. As Mr. Dasios says metaphorically, “in the 60s and 70s, the teacher and the parent were allies towards the child. Now the parent and the child are allies against the teacher.”
Source kathimerini.gr
Apostolos Lakasas
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