Seven teaching organisations and unions have raised the alarm about the quality of the compulsory arithmetic test for secondary school pupils.

From next year the test will become a key part of the high school diplomas and pupils who fail it will fail the diploma as well. The aim is to improve standards following complaints about college students’ poor skills.

The unions and secondary school council say pupils should not be the victim of hasty rule-making, bad tests and poor levels of education in some areas. In addition, the test is being given ‘undue weight’, the teachers say in a letter to junior education minister Sander Dekker.

MPs are due to debate Dekker’s plans for the arithmetic test next week.