The new test for primary school children introduced in 2024 to promote equal opportunities in secondary school streaming is having the opposite effect, primary schools organisation PO-Raad has said in a report.

It is the second year the test, aimed at determining what type of secondary school children will go to, has been taken by children in their final year of primary education.

Under the previous system, children had to choose a secondary school before the final tests and this meant that those who scored well could no longer move up a stream.

In the new system, schools are also be required to adjust their earlier assessment of pupils’ abilities if the tests indicate they could go to a higher level.

The PO-Raad’s analysis shows that the levelling up is taking place mainly in the more affluent villages and cities, where parents have enough knowledge and money to support their children.

It has also become clear that the six different government-approved sets of tests do not use the same standards, with some resulting in more recommendations for the pre-university VWO stream than others. “Even if the pupils get the same result, the recommendations vary according to the test used,” the PO-Raad concluded.

“The test has not led to less inequality,” chairman Freddy Weima told broadcaster NOS. “It is still a matter of which test is being offered, and the new upgrading condition benefits children who are already privileged.”

The new test had already come in for criticism and this latest report will increase the need to reevaluate its use, Weima said. For example, the council suggests that instead of six tests, there should be a single uniform test, a move supported by a majority of MPs.

However, a proposal to that effect is not expected until the autumn, which means schools will still have all six options to choose from the next school year.

The CvTE, the organisation responsible for the quality of the tests, would not comment on the analysis and said it would publish its own report shortly.

The Dutch system of streaming children at the age of 12 has also come in for considerable criticism in recent years, with the national schools council, school inspectors and the SCP think-tank all calling for change.