Meisch said that, given the unusual circumstances, they would not have been surprised if the standardised tests yielded negative results, after much of the last school year was disrupted due to the health crisis. However, the tests, conducted in November, show a level of stability in line with the previous years.
The results were mostly attributed to the dedicated hard work put in by teachers, parents and pupils, but they also benefited from a strong digital infrastructure when schools closed and classes were forced to switch to distance learning, said the minister.
However, questionnaires completed by parents and students revealed the inequalities affecting pupils and their performance. Pupils in less advantageous circumstances compared to their peers struggled with the challenges of homeschooling, particularly in terms of available space and resources, while students with immigrant background showed declining results in German at primary school level.
Prof Dr Antoine Fischbach, director of the Luxembourg Centre for Educational Testing (LUCET), said that pupils in difficult socio-economic circumstances coped less well than pupils in higher-income families. The disparity between such pupils was thrown into stark relief as a result of the pandemic, although it would have affected their results prior to the crisis as well.
At secondary school level, the subject with the most issues as a result of homeschooling was mathematics.
Meisch announced that further support resources would be put into place for students requiring additional tuition. The summer school programme, which proved crucial in 2020, will once again take place in the last two weeks of the summer holiday this year. Additional staff members have been recruited to assist with these demands.
