School heads are opposed to government plans to publish school league tables with the results of the annual primary school Cito assessments, the Volkskrant said on Thursday.

Junior education minister Sander Dekker said on Wednesday he planned to publish a register of the average score per school, following pressure from broadcaster RTL news.

Head teachers say they are worried a league table will lead parents to opt for schools with the highest average score and will over-emphasise the importance of the tests.

Most pupils take the test in their final year of primary school. The results are used to determine what sort of secondary education they will go on to.

Independent

‘The Cito test measures the capabilities of the pupil but says little about the quality of the school,’ Ton Duif, head of the school heads’ association AVS told the Volkskrant. ‘It is meant to be an independent aid to support teachers’ recommendations [about secondary schooling].’

The primary schools council is also opposed, arguing that the background of pupils should also be taken into account when comparing school performance.

MPs are also against the publication of a list.

Average Cito scores are not currently secret and most schools display them on their websites, the Volkskrant said. But currently only Amsterdam publishes them in a single list. That was brought in by Lodewijk Asscher, now social affairs minister in the current government.