Assessment and Evaluation

According to Points e) and f) of Paragraph (1) of Article 19 of Act LXXIX of 1993 on Public Education in connection with his or her job, a teacher has the right to evaluate the work of the students and to grade their performance, in other words, the grades awarded at the end of terms and school years are determined by the teacher based on the students' performance and the grades they received during the school year. Teachers have considerable freedom in evaluating and grading the work of students, both in terms of the methods of evaluation and the determination of the grades . Nevertheless, this autonomy of the teacher is not unlimited: its limits are marked by other provisions of the law, the rights of parents and students, and the regulations pertaining to the operation and the internal policy of the institution.

As for grading, pursuant to the provisions of Article 48 (1) (b) of the Public Education Act, the teaching program of a school shall define the local curriculum of the school, and within its framework the form of evaluating and grading students' performance, conduct and diligence.

Article 70 (1) of the Public Education Act provides that the performance of and the progress made by students shall be assessed with marks during the school year by teachers, and by stipulating this it also states that teachers may evaluate only the performance of and the progress made by the students. A further statutory provision states that in evaluating and grading students' performance and conduct, the grades and grading shall not be means of disciplining.

A teacher inquired at our Office about the evaluation of performance at physical education classes and about sanctioning students who fail to bring the required equipment for the class. Failure to bring equipment in our opinion can be considered only if such equipment is necessary for performing the exercises specified for assessment in the class. If the student is not able to perform the exercise specified for assessment - either because he or she has failed to bring his or her equipment -, his or her performance can be graded as fail. (K-OJOG-581/2005.)

Year by year we are asked the question whether teachers must award an 'excellent' (5) mark to students holding a certificate in a foreign language.

In his letter, a student wanted to know if on grounds of his 'C' category intermediary level certificate in English, which he obtained at the end of the term, the teacher had to give an 'excellent' grade for his performance during the term. We informed him that in accordance with the provisions of Article 12 (1) (a) of the Public Education Act, students have the duty to attend compulsory and optionally chosen classes. At the same time, pursuant to the provisions of Article 69 (2) of the Public Education Act, in case the individual endowments, special educational needs or particular situation of a student justify it, the school principal may, at the request of the student, exempt him or her from attending the compulsory classes partly or entirely. Therefore the student must submit an application to the principal if he wishes to request exemption from language class due to his state-recognised certificate in the given language. The head of institution can deliberate whether he grants the exemption or not. If the student is required to continue attending the classes, it is the right and duty of the teacher who teaches the given subject to evaluate the performance of the student. The teacher is not liable to consider the foreign language certificate in his or her assessment. (K-OJOG-107/2005., K-OJOG-113/2005.)

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