Comptroller report says education system ‘not meeting 21st century standards’

Israel’s education system is failing by not preparing students well enough for matriculation examinations, as well as lacking technological infrastructure, the state comptroller says in a report.

The report says that despite five years having passed since the start of a national education reform, at least half of the curricula have yet to be updated.

According to the report, 51 percent of high school curricula that were approved a decade ago have not been updated since.

“International examinations have begun to change by putting their main emphasis on skills assessment and less on knowledge assessment,” Comptroller Matanyahu Englman warns. “Matriculation exams in Israel barely address 21st-century skills, and do not test them.”

The comptroller adds that the large number of matriculation examinations students are required to go through, at least 10-11, prompt schools to invest less in “imparting required skills for students.”

Englman recommended that the Education Ministry “formulate a comprehensive policy and a dedicated strategic plan for the adaptation of 21st-century skills among students.”