Schools in the north of the country go back first after the summer holiday, and this year they return to new core targets for Dutch, arithmetic and mathematics.
The targets set out what pupils are expected to learn. They were written into law this month for the first time.
The Old Targets Were Vague
The previous core targets dated from 2006. Besides being out of date, they were criticised as vague and non binding.
The new ones cover primary education and the lower years of secondary education, and they form the basis of all teaching and examination material.
Fewer Targets, Described More Concretely
There are fewer core targets for Dutch than before, but what pupils should be able to do is described far more specifically. The intention is to give teachers something firmer to work from.
Literature now has a clear role, and the documents describe how language development should be encouraged in other subjects too, not only in Dutch lessons.
The change matters to any parent here with children in the Dutch system, and it is the education ministry’s main answer to years of declining literacy and numeracy results.
