According to the results of national exams, fourth-grade elementary school students do better in mathematics and Croatian than in science and social studies, and eighth-grade students do better in English and biology, but this year's results are slightly worse than last year, it was said at the presentation on Tuesday.
At the presentation of the results at the National Center for External Evaluation of Education (NCVVO), it was said that 38.969 eighth-grade students and 36.970 fourth-grade students of elementary school wrote national exams in eight subjects.
Fourth grade students wrote national exams in Croatian language, mathematics, and science and society, and eighth grade students wrote national exams in Croatian language, mathematics, first foreign language, history, geography, biology, chemistry, and physics.
The practice of conducting national exams varies around the world, and Croatia is the only country that has eight subjects, said the director of the NCVVO, Vinko Filipović.
"We decided on eight subjects because they are taken as criteria for admission to secondary school and can be a guideline for students which school to choose," he explained.
As for fourth grade and Croatian language, the average completion rate is 48,7 percent, in mathematics 50,1 percent, and in science and social studies 45,6 percent.
"The science and society test was somewhat more difficult this year, so the basic level of completion was 56,2 percent, the intermediate level was 39,8 percent, the advanced level was 1,1 percent, and 3 percent of students completed the test below average," said Filipović.
He said that this year's generation of students who wrote the national exams achieved almost ideal results according to the Gaussian curve, but that the results were slightly worse than last year.
For example, the average pass rate for the fourth grade Croatian language exam in 2024 was 53,5 percent, and 48,7 percent for 2025. For mathematics last year it was 62,1 percent, and this year it was 50,1 percent, and for nature and society it was 61,8 percent, compared to this year's 45,6 percent.
"This does not mean that the students are worse than the previous generation, but partly the tests are harder, and partly the children are different," said Filipović.
Two students scored 100 percent correct on the Croatian exam, 36 of them scored 100 percent correct on the math exam, and none of them scored 100 percent correct on the science exam. 24 students scored zero points on the Croatian exam, 11 on the math exam, and 6 on the science exam.
Results for eighth grade
In eighth grade, compared to last year, Croatian has almost equal results, and there are no major differences in mathematics. "In English, there was a slightly larger difference in average proficiency compared to last year, 55,7, and this year 65,8, and the same in German and French," said Filipović.
The average proficiency in the Croatian language is 56,9 percent, 1,5 percent was insufficient, 14,4 percent was sufficient, 36,1 percent was good, 40,6 percent was very good and 7,4 percent was excellent.
Eighth-grade students did the best in English and biology, and the worst in mathematics. Mathematics had an average solution of 44,3 percent, 10,4 percent were insufficient, 35,2 percent were sufficient, 28,6 percent were good, 18,2 percent were very good and 7,6 percent were excellent. The English language had an average resolution of 65,8 percent, insufficient 3,3 percent, 11 percent sufficient, 18,1 percent good, 38,6 percent very good and 28,9 percent excellent.
Filipović said that this year the slightly easier exam was in biology as well as in physics, which is in these acceptable ranges, i.e. at 50 percent. The geography is almost identical last year and this year according to the resolution process. The average solution in chemistry is 49,6 percent for this year, while in 2024 it was 57,2 percent. Filipović explained the results from history, which this year were 61,8 percent compared to last year when they were 46.9 percent, with an easier test.
No one has written a 100 percent accurate Croatian language test.
None of the eighth graders who took the tests got 100% correct answers on the Croatian language exam, but 231 of them got the English test right, and 145 got the physics test right. 14 students got zero points in Croatian, 20 in mathematics, 14 in English, a maximum of 41 in physics, 38 in chemistry, and 25 in history.
National exams will be written next year in March, and when asked whether these exams could become a grading requirement for admission to secondary schools, he said that there are no plans or announcements at this time.
Filipović said that due to the strike on March 19, exams were not held in 24 schools, while they were held partially in three schools, and during the strikes that followed, all exams were held regularly. He also commented on a possible strike during the upcoming state graduation exam, saying that teachers know how important the state graduation exam is for students and their future education. "Just as firefighters do not refuse orders when there is a fire, teachers should not go on strike during the graduation exam," he said.
Photo: HINA/Zvonimir Kuhtic
