A technical error has forced more than 56,000 voorbereidend middelbaar beroepsonderwijs (vmbo) students to wait an extra day for their practical exam results. Kim van Strien, a board member of the Algemene Onderwijsbond (AOb), called the situation incredibly annoying for students and noted that it creates significant extra work for teachers.
Disruption to the examination timeline
For these vocational students, the final examination consists of both a written and a practical component. Schools usually release the practical exam results a week before the written results, with the announcement originally scheduled for this Wednesday. However, the Board for Tests and Exams reported that a technical glitch delayed the publication of the “n-terms” by one day.
These n-terms are the national grading coefficients that standardise test difficulty. Without them, school digital systems cannot calculate the final, official marks for individual students.
Increased pressure on school staff
The delay has caused widespread logistical frustration across secondary schools in the Netherlands. Van Strien emphasized the human impact of the delay, noting that many of the affected students likely suffered from a restless night due to nerves.
She added that teachers sat ready at their computers this morning to process the data and finalise reports. Instead of celebrating with their classes, educators had to spend their morning calling every student and parent to deliver the bad news. Consequently, educators will have to repeat the entire round of phone calls tomorrow once the board resolves the system error.
@ anp | NEWS BRAINPORT
