Other Indices of Success

Success in school has other indices than student performance. Such are the rate of admission into higher education, the results of inter-school competitions at secondary level, or the rate of students taking foreign language examinations. This data has been regularly gathered and analysed extensively for all secondary schools, for years. Similar indicators related to primary education are not yet available. Educational statistics also contain indicators that are appropri-ate for the evaluation of success, such as data on end-of-year failures or drop-outs. In the past years there have been efforts to devise other indicators, such as the index of the frequency of deviant behavioural patterns observable in schools, or the degree of consumer satisfaction with the institutions.

The rate of students admitted into higher education is an index which is relatively easy to meas-ure. This, however, only reflects one dimension of success. Admission into higher education and successful performances at entry tests may be studied according to several indices. The most fre-quently surveyed rate is the number of students admitted compared to the number of school-leavers (the F/L rate). Data gathered between 1991 and 1998 indicate that the typical F/L rate of second-ary schools in different settlements, and in the regions nation-wide had slightly improved, as a result of the increasing number of seats and the decreasing number of school-leavers. The rate was 27.8%

when calculated on the whole period between 1991 and 1998, and 29.3% between 1994 and 1998. At the same time, the F/L rate of separate settlement types and regions is nearly stagnating.

For example, the highest rate is typical of Gyõr-Moson-Sopron, Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg, Bács-Kiskun and Hajdú-Bihar Counties, where it is constantly above 30%, whereas the lowest is in Budapest and Nógrád County, where it is below 25%. In regards of settlement types, the highest rate is in schools located in the eight largest cities (over one hundred thousand inhabitants), and the low-est is in schools located in the eight smalllow-est settlements (below 5 000 inhabitants) (Table 8.3).

Hungary Czech Republic USA Iceland Norway New-Zealand Slovenia Australia Canada The Netherlands

3rd grade 4th grade 7th grade 8th grade final grade (school-leavers)

Figure 8.2

The differences in the performance of different grades in mathematics and the international average, 1995 (standard scores)

Source: Vári, 1998

Table 8.3

The average rate of the number of students admitted into higher education and the number of school-leavers (the F/L rate) and settlement types, 1991-1998 and 1994-1998

Source: Neuwirth, 1999

As for the admission rate, there seem to be large and growing discrepancies between different groups of secondary schools. While an average of 44.7% of students leaving general secondary schools were admitted into higher education between 1991 and 1998, the rate was 24.6% with mixed secondary schools (schools which integrate general and vocational education), and 16.3% with secondary vocational schools. The discrepancies between the F/L rate of different-ly structured general secondary schools is worth noting: the highest rate is in six-grade general secondary schools and the lowest in four-grade schools, but the index is almost as low in eight-grade general secondary schools as in the latter (Table 8.4).

Table 8.4

The average rate of the number of students admitted into higher education and the number of school-leavers (the F/L rate) and the types of secondary schools, 1991-1998

Source: Neuwirth, 1999

Another indicator of the achievement of secondary schools is the participation and possible suc-cessful performance in the OKTV and the OSZTV (the former is a competition between sec-ondary schools, the latter is the same for vocational schools). From data gathered for twelve years, we may conclude that students ranked in the OKTV came from 444 secondary vocational schools (50% of Hungarian secondary schools), out of which 208 are general and 128 second-ary vocational schools. 90% of the total scores were won by 154 schools (17% of all schools).

Another index for success and efficiency is the rate of students who have passed foreign lan-guage examinations. This index has improved remarkably in the decade. Whereas out of all

stu-The Quality and Success of Education 115

Settlement size

(number of inhabitants) Number of settlements 1991–1998 1994–1998

Budapest 1 23.04 24.28

100 thousand or above 8 33.14 35.42

50-100 thousand 11 30.29 31.98

25-50 thousand 26 27.20 28.53

10-25 thousand 72 28.16 29.84

5-10 thousand 37 23.43 24.61

5 thousand or below 8 21.41 21.90

Total / Average 163 27.87 29.47

Secondary-school types Number of schools 1991-1998 1994-1998

All secondary general schools 297 44.7 47.9

Six-grade 31 49.6 51.9

Four and eight-grade 36 47.3 51.4

Four and six-grade 79 45.1 49.6

Eight-grade 24 42.7 46.5

Four-grade 127 41.7 43.7

Mixed secondary schools 157 24.6 26.6

Secondary vocational schools 435 16.3 17.0

Total / Average 889 27.8 29.3

dents applying to universities and colleges in 1991 only every third had a state language exam, the index changed to every second by 1998. In order to arrive at a reliable analysis of the suc-cess of schools, there would be a great need for other indices: for example ones which meas-ure the success of students in finding a job on the labour market, participating in professional training as adults, and integrating into society. The reason is that for a large proportion of insti-tutions these indices would be the primary standards for measuring success. From this stand-point it is worth noting that Hungarian schools perform rather well, compared to international standards, when it comes to students’ knowledge of subjects, however, their score is fairly low in indices that measure the school system’s success in guiding students towards the world of labour.

Special Needs in Education

In school education there are several student groups whose education must take place based on an individual curriculum, particular pedagogical principles and in many cases applying spe-cial education organising devices. Public education assumes a spespe-cial responsibility related to the education of these groups, which responsibility is recorded clearly in a set of Hungarian laws. Two such groups of students in Hungary duly deserve distinguished attention: the handi-capped and children belonging to ethnic minorities.

9.1 T

E

H

C

The various categories of deficiencies related to special medical or educational responsibilities are itemised in Hungarian legal regulations. However, the borderlines dividing classes defined in accordance with different kinds of deficiencies frequently appear to be indistinct. In 1986 national and county level committees were established to assess physical and mental handicaps, sensory or speech impediments. National boards of experts deal with the examination of visu-al, hearing and speech abilities. Examining and supervising professional boards are operated in the capital as well as at the county level. These committees consist of teachers of the handi-capped and leaders with such degrees, psychologists and medical specialists. The committees form their opinions regarding the examined handicapped child which serve as a base for rec-ommending possibilities for his/her positioning in school or nursery school. Educational Counselling Services operate in each district of the capital and in every major town on an out-patient basis with a mission to explore, diagnose and surmount problems in the behaviour, edu-cation and learning process of children under family care between the age of 3 and 18.

Professional services for speech therapy function in divisions according to districts in the cap-ital and to regions in the country where those with speech impediments may receive individual or group therapy. Boards of teachers of the handicapped might decide not only on sending chil-dren to special classes but also on transferring chilchil-dren from special classes into normal ones.

On the other hand, according to the provisions of the 1998 Act on Equal Opportunities, par-ents of handicapped children do have the right to decide which of the offered institutions shall educate their children.

Early development is of key importance in the case of handicapped children. The teachers of the handicapped have two types of responsibility: one is counselling in reference to the prob-lems of the parents and the direct environment of the child, the other concerns the control of a deficiency-specific improvement. As a travelling educator, the teacher of the handicapped in charge of the controlled counselling and specific development personally visits the family home or the parents attend the counselling service with their child.

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