Page 50 - Šolsko polje, XXX, 2019, št. 5-6: Civic, citizenship and rhetorical education in a rapidly changing world, eds. Janja Žmavc and Plamen Mirazchiyski
P. 50
šolsko polje, letnik xxx, številka 5–6
ic subject knowledge during and at the end of primary education, includ-
ing via comparison of their achievements with those of their peers and
the national average. The NAK is not only intended for pupils to provide
them with information on their achievements, but it is also designed to
allow teachers and schools to evaluate the quality of their work. At the
system level, the NAK can provide a basis for further decisions regarding
the development of the education system, evaluation curricula, the devel-
opment of teacher training and changes or revisions to teaching materi-
al (Gornik, 2013, p. 3).
Looking into the development of the NAK within the Slovenian
formal education system, we need to underscore its relation to the in-
troduction of great changes within basic schooling at the dawn of the
21 century. Based on the idea from the second half of the 1990s that the
duration of basic schooling needs should be extended from Years 8 to 9,
the so-called nine-year project (devetletka) started. The direct introduc-
tion of the nine-year basic school (single structure of primary and lower
secondary education) began in the 1999/2000 school year, and the intro-
duction process was completed in the 2008/2009 school year, when all
Slovenian basic schools implemented the nine-year program. The basic
school program in Slovenia is therefore systematized within three edu-
cational cycles, each of which comprises three classes (Taštanoska, 2015).
These three educational cycles of the basic schooling are a basis
also for the systematization and implementation of the NAK. The lat-
ter is in its current full form along with its formative role has been im-
plemented since the 2005/2006 school year. Each year, a national as-
sessment is carried out at the end of the second educational cycle (Year
6) and at the end of the third education cycle (Year 9) (RIC, 2015c). In
both cases, the NAK has a formative function, as already said, which
means that the central objective is to obtain and disseminate informa-
tion regarding pupils’ knowledge and the implementation and effective-
ness of education (the success of lessons, for example, in terms of the
curriculum of a particular subject) (Slavec Gornik, 2013). Another rele-
vant fact is that the National Examination Centre (RIC) organizes and
manages the implementation and analyses the results and achievements
(RIC, 2015c).
Both (Year 6 and 9) NAK iterations are compulsory for students in
both public and private basic schools. At the end of Year 9 (pupils aged
fourteen or fifteen), pupils’ knowledge in Slovene (or Hungarian or Ital-
ian), Mathematics and the so-called third subject is tested. The Minister
48
ic subject knowledge during and at the end of primary education, includ-
ing via comparison of their achievements with those of their peers and
the national average. The NAK is not only intended for pupils to provide
them with information on their achievements, but it is also designed to
allow teachers and schools to evaluate the quality of their work. At the
system level, the NAK can provide a basis for further decisions regarding
the development of the education system, evaluation curricula, the devel-
opment of teacher training and changes or revisions to teaching materi-
al (Gornik, 2013, p. 3).
Looking into the development of the NAK within the Slovenian
formal education system, we need to underscore its relation to the in-
troduction of great changes within basic schooling at the dawn of the
21 century. Based on the idea from the second half of the 1990s that the
duration of basic schooling needs should be extended from Years 8 to 9,
the so-called nine-year project (devetletka) started. The direct introduc-
tion of the nine-year basic school (single structure of primary and lower
secondary education) began in the 1999/2000 school year, and the intro-
duction process was completed in the 2008/2009 school year, when all
Slovenian basic schools implemented the nine-year program. The basic
school program in Slovenia is therefore systematized within three edu-
cational cycles, each of which comprises three classes (Taštanoska, 2015).
These three educational cycles of the basic schooling are a basis
also for the systematization and implementation of the NAK. The lat-
ter is in its current full form along with its formative role has been im-
plemented since the 2005/2006 school year. Each year, a national as-
sessment is carried out at the end of the second educational cycle (Year
6) and at the end of the third education cycle (Year 9) (RIC, 2015c). In
both cases, the NAK has a formative function, as already said, which
means that the central objective is to obtain and disseminate informa-
tion regarding pupils’ knowledge and the implementation and effective-
ness of education (the success of lessons, for example, in terms of the
curriculum of a particular subject) (Slavec Gornik, 2013). Another rele-
vant fact is that the National Examination Centre (RIC) organizes and
manages the implementation and analyses the results and achievements
(RIC, 2015c).
Both (Year 6 and 9) NAK iterations are compulsory for students in
both public and private basic schools. At the end of Year 9 (pupils aged
fourteen or fifteen), pupils’ knowledge in Slovene (or Hungarian or Ital-
ian), Mathematics and the so-called third subject is tested. The Minister
48
