Latvian Parents' Organization criticizes education reform pace

The Latvian Parents' Organization has criticized the pace and manner in which the Ministry of Education and Science is implementing changes to student assessment and grading standards. Inga Akmentiņa-Smildziņa, leader of the organization, expressed concerns that significant proposals were introduced only weeks before the new school year, with a very short consultation period provided for amendments to basic and general secondary education standards.

Key points of contention include the changing status of 9th-grade centralized exams. While the organization noted that failing a single exam should not disproportionately force a student to repeat a year, they argued that removing minimum result thresholds does not solve underlying issues without a clear definition of exam purposes and support for low-achieving students.

The organization also emphasized the need for a unified assessment framework to ensure comparable results between different schools and to prevent discrepancies between school grades and external exam results. While some proposals, such as increased teacher autonomy and the ability for students to redo at least one test, were viewed positively, the organization warned that education policy should be less dependent on political and election cycles to ensure long-term stability and trust.