To assess pupils’ achievements in different skills areas at some key moments during their career, there are two types of national tests:
- tests for the transition from primary education to secondary education (PFS);
- standardised tests (épreuves standardisées – ÉpStan).
Tests for the transition from primary education to secondary education (PFS)
The orientation of pupils at the end of the last year of primary education and their admission to classical secondary education and general secondary education is subject to a procedure leading to an orientation decision. This decision is prepared jointly by the parents and the pupil’s class teacher. The orientation decision is based on a set of elements, including joint tests.
These joint tests are organised at national level based on success criteria and are coordinated by the division of data processing on the quality of education and education offer of the SCRIPT. Their objective is to account for the development of the pupil’s skills with regard to the skill levels expected at the end of cycle 4.2. In addition, they provide information on the pupil’s performance compared to the national average of all pupils in this cycle. The "PFS" joint tests include three disciplines: French, German and mathematics. The skills assessed are oral comprehension, written comprehension, written production in French and German; the reproduction and application of knowledge and skills as well as solving problems in mathematics.
These joint tests are prepared by work groups including members of the regional directorates, teachers in primary education, professors and the coordinator of the division of data processing on the quality of education and education offer. Results are presented in form of a profile.
- More information: Transition from primary education to secondary education
Standardised tests (épreuves standardisées)
The standardised tests (épreuves standardisées, ÉpStan) are part of the school quality monitoring system developed by the Luxembourg Centre for Educational Testing (LUCET) of the University of Luxembourg and are organised each year at national level in schools.
ÉpStan is designed to assess students’ language and mathematical skills, as well as their motivation to learn and their attitude to school.
Together with the LUCET, SCRIPT’s Division for Data Processing on the Quality of Childcare and the School and Education Offer (Division du traitement de données sur la qualité de l’encadrement et de l’offre scolaire et éducative) is responsible for organising and providing logistical support for these tests.
For the time being, the ÉpStan are conducted at the beginning of cycles 2, 3 and 4 of primary education, as well as in the 7e and 5e of secondary education. As part of the pilot project to extend national school monitoring to public international schools, the same classes in primary and secondary education within the public international system have participated in the mathematics tests since autumn 2022.
Indicators for tracking skills profiles over time in relation to students’ socio-economic, language and migratory backgrounds, gender or type of education can be consulted on the www.epstan.lu website in the “Dashboard” section.