Fenprof warned today that many students are being assessed in national tests on content they have not yet learned, because classes are still taking place or because they spent the year without a teacher.
On the day that the third and final week of the Monitoring and Learning tests (ModA) begins, which replaced the assessment tests, the National Federation of Teachers once again lists problems that it had already identified, such as students without classes, technical problems with computers and computer networks or “teachers' workload”.
But now he warns that "many younger students", in the 4th year, are being assessed on subjects they have not yet learned: some because the school year only ends at the end of June, others because they did not have a teacher during the year.
“Many students are being subjected to these tests without ever having had regular English classes, due to the chronic lack of teachers in this subject throughout the school year”, warns in a statement sent to newsrooms today.
Students in the 4th and 6th years began their Portuguese tests in the week of May 19th, followed by the History and Geography of Portugal tests for those in the 2nd cycle and the English tests for the youngest students.
And it is precisely in this last discipline that Fenprof says it has detected “the biggest constraints”.
To carry out these tests, it was necessary to “suspend English classes in the 1st CEB, and some in other cycles, for three weeks, due to the deployment of teachers to administer the tests”, states the largest federation representing the class.
Fenprof has called a strike on tasks associated with this new test and guarantees that the lack of conditions to carry it out has led to more and more teachers joining the strike, especially in the municipalities of Sintra, Oeiras, Amadora and Lisbon.
This week, until June 6th, the 4th year Mathematics and Environmental Studies and 6th year Mathematics and Social Sciences exams will take place, and Fenprof will continue the teachers' strike.
The Ministry of Education has not yet given a response on the situation.