RESULTS OF INTERNATIONAL ASSESSMENTS – INDICATORS OF THE NEED FOR SYSTEMIC CHANGES IN PRIMARY EDUCATION IN THE REPUBLIC OF NORTH MACEDONIA

Abstract

National and international assessments involving primary school students in our country show exceptionally poor results, regardless of the specific assessment (PIRLS—assessing reading comprehension in 9–10-year-olds; PISA—conducted among 15-year-olds to evaluate attitudes, skills, and knowledge, TIMSS measures mathematics and science achievement among 4th and 8th-grade students. The results will be presented later in the paper; however, there is an evident need for systemic changes—first within the primary education process, followed by alignment with preschool, secondary, and higher education. Specifically, following the example of Slovenia and the Republic of North Macedonia—and based on my own reflections and experience within the education system—the nine-year primary education model should be reformed into an eight-year one, with one year of preschool education made mandatory for all students. This would also shift the starting age for primary education (instead of the current five years and eight months, students would enroll in the first grade at the age of seven). Furthermore, a fundamental shift is needed in the approach to learning and teaching: the student should be at the center of the process, learning through experience; instead of merely memorizing content, they should engage in critical thinking and logical reasoning, achieving results aligned with their own abilities, interests, and needs through well-designed activities and carefully selected content.
Research objective: To achieve better learning outcomes and improved performance in international assessments through systemic changes in teaching and learning methods, as well as to foster the personal and professional development of students—both individually and in groups—at the school, local community, and societal levels, in alignment with their personal characteristics and aptitudes.
Research Methodology – The research is broad, longitudinal, complex (Nursing in Mosby, 2001), multidisciplinary, descriptive, introspective, multi-method, and long-term. The following methods were employed: analysis and synthesis; substantiation and refutation; the inductive-deductive method; description; the causal (cause-and-effect) method; and comparative and statistical methods.
The research results reveal inconsistencies and irregularities in the fundamentals of the educational process, as well as inversely proportional phenomena: never have there been more straight-A students, yet never fewer students with adequate literacy skills; never more teachers, yet fewer students; and never more time spent in school, yet lower levels of achievement, never have parents been more involved, yet the quality of cooperation between school and parent—or teacher and parent—has never been poorer; never has there been more testing, yet results remain weaker. Institutional guidance and oversight, specialized training and professional career development for teachers, and innovations in curricula have all been implemented, yet the results are lacking.