Competency Tests in Primary Schools Start on April 23

This will check whether the students possess the intended skills in German (reading) and mathematics. The results do not affect the grades; for teachers, they are meant to be the basis for individual support measures.

The iKM Plus examines the extent to which the educational standards, which have been in addition to the curriculum since 2009, are achieved. The mandatory part, the so-called basic module, lasts 45 minutes each. Additionally, the responsible Federal Institute for Quality Assurance in the Austrian School System (IQS) offers so-called "focus modules," through which the teaching staff can voluntarily take a closer look at where a student has specific weaknesses or strengths.

Exception: For students who do not meet the educational standards in German (reading) in the iKM PLUS, the focus modules at the "easy" difficulty level are mandatory. In so-called bonus modules, teachers can query additional areas such as language comprehension or (in the 7th/8th grade) competencies in biology and physics.

Competence Tests in Primary Schools: Results as a Basis for Support Measures

The test results do not affect the grades but are intended to be the basis for individual support measures for the respective teachers and help observe learning progress. Every three years, there are also in-depth so-called cycle modules (e.g., text composition).

As part of the iKM PLUS, there are also annual automated evaluations of the results of students, classes, and schools. In the future, reports are to be published every three years, analyzing and preparing the results of the regions, federal states, and the federal government. They should then be usable for regional educational planning and quality management. Like the result reports of the previous educational standard tests, the reports will then provide an overall view of the school system.

(APA/Red)

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