Report: Just 3% of Israeli Students Meet Science Standards

Only 3% of Israeli ninth-grade students met the Education Ministry’s science curriculum requirements in the latest national assessment exams, according to leaked results reported Saturday by Channel 12.

The results, from tests conducted last year by the National Authority for Educational Measurement and Evaluation, known as RAMA, point to significant gaps in Israel’s education system. While the Education Ministry published partial results earlier this month, Channel 12 reported that the science scores were withheld and sent only to school principals before being leaked to the media.

According to the leaked data, another 16% of ninth graders came close to meeting the science standard but did not reach it. The remaining 81% fell short of the expected level for ninth-grade science.

The report said the problem was not limited to science. Only 37% of sixth-grade students met mathematics requirements, while 36% met the English curriculum standard.

The findings follow earlier RAMA results showing that only 22% of Israeli ninth graders met English language requirements. In Arabic-speaking schools, the figure was 9%, compared with 27% in Hebrew-speaking schools. The weakest results were recorded in southern Bedouin communities, where 86% of students showed low English proficiency and only 1% met the required standard.

Haredi students participated in the exams for the first time. Among them, 7% met ninth-grade English requirements, compared with 16% in the national religious system and 31% in the Hebrew secular system.

The results come after years of repeated disruptions to schooling, including the COVID-19 pandemic, teachers’ strikes and wartime closures.

Channel 12 said the decision not to publish the ninth-grade science scores with the rest of the exam data was made at the instruction of Education Minister Yoav Kisch.

Kisch responded by accusing RAMA of leaking the data illegally and conducting what he called a misleading political and media campaign. He did not explain why the science results were withheld from the public release.

A total of 30,256 students from 318 schools took part in the RAMA exams. The tests were held for the first time since the 2018-2019 school year.

Because the content of the exams was changed, the latest results cannot be directly compared with previous years. Even so, the figures have intensified concerns over learning gaps and student performance in core subjects.