Kerameos on the evaluation in SKAI 100.3: For the first time we have data on the progress of education in schools

The Minister of Education was hosted on Aris Portosalte’s show on SKAI 100.3 Niki Kerameoswhich, among other things, talked about the evaluation that has started in schools.

The minister emphasized that “we supervise the country’s schools as a whole. The evaluation as we have defined it, is at three levels:

1) The evaluation of a school unit. It started 1.5 years ago with severe reactions. We took legal action because the trade unions declared a permanent boycott, as if to say “we don’t like the law, we don’t implement it”, but this government stands out because it passes laws and implements them. This year is the 2nd year.

2) Educational system evaluation. Forty years in the country, we have been making educational policy without knowing where we are doing well and where we are not doing well. Without having data. It’s like going to the doctor and telling him I don’t feel well and he tells you I’ll prescribe you medicine. Will he prescribe you medication without doing the exam? Now every year we evaluate the system and see where we are doing well and where we are not. And where we are not doing well, we focus on improving. And at this level the measure is applied for the 2nd year. In elementary school we do much better and in high school we have a decline. So we have to focus there. There is also a problem in understanding text, and in mathematics and spelling.

3) Teacher evaluation. I said it would start in January. It has been going on since 1982, that is 41 whole years. Since then efforts have been made but in a horizontal way it did not start. What do we evaluate? In two main axes:

A) The scientific part. That is, to explain it simply. Is the math I teach correct? Is it complete? Is that enough? No.

B) Contagiousness. I may be the best mind but fall short of contagiousness, unable to pass on knowledge and skills. Because a teacher must do both.

If someone is evaluated positively, they get points and can move up in rankto become a school director, education director, etc. which also means a salary increase. If someone is not properly assessed, mandatory training is provided.

Everyone is evaluated, even the managers, and if they are found to be inadequate, they can be removed.

The goal of evaluation is improvement. The evaluation is now mandatory for permanency.

At the moment, the evaluation has been done in about half of the schools, in 6,000 of the 13,000 that exist. The exam takes place at the end of primary and secondary school, so you see the progress of the students.

It is done horizontally and it is the first time we have data on what is happening in the school and we don’t wait for national competitions at the end of high school.

They are detailed and published by region in the Greek PISA and you see how each region is doing. This is the starting point for making policy. To see where there is a problem.

In the schools where we see that there is a problem after the evaluation of the school unit, curricula are integrated in all subjects – new material – after 20 years and we integrate these observations from the Greek PISA.

Almost 4 years after starting my term, I am much more optimistic about the human resources of education. Skills Workshops, a new course that focuses on skill building, with topics such as robotics, entrepreneurship, climate change, respect for others, etc.

We did training in July after a tough covid year and it was optional. We had 99.7% participation in a month that is supposed to be a holiday month.

This shows that our teachers had a thirst for learning. They had a fixed request and they were right, that the state does not educate them. Now the state comes and educates them. This is our task.”

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