The number of pupils going to trade schools has fallen by an average 14% since a new test was brought in, a survey by vocational training council Sectorraad Praktijkonderwijs has shown.

In Rotterdam, student numbers are down 25%, in Almere by 35% and in Zutphen applications have halved.

Experts claim this is the result of changes to the controversial compulsory early streaming tests for group eight primary school pupils.

The tests are designed to monitor children’s language and mathematical skills and provide and are meant to be an independent tool to help determine what type of secondary school they will go to.

The so-called doorstroomtoets was introduced last year to prevent teacher prejudice from influencing that choice. Schools have also been told that if a child does better in the test than expected, the school should recommend them for a higher secondary school stream.

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.

Meant to promote equal opportunities for all primary school leavers, and those from disadvantaged backgrounds in particular, the tests are not helping to find the right type of education for each child, said Stan Termeer, spokesman for secondary education council VO-Raad.

“This is a problem for pupils as well as schools, which will have to get rid of teachers and then recruit more when pupils enter the trade school stream in a year or two after all,” he told the AD.

One of the problems of the tests is that there are no less than six providers and that not all are of the same level, a failure highlighted by D66 MP Ilana Rooderkerk. A proposal to bring that number back to a single test has since been approved by MPs.

Test monitor College voor Toetsen en Examens is currently investigating the tests but will not have the results until September.

Demotion

If children are streamed beyond their abilities, a subsequent “demotion” to a trade school can be “traumatising”, said Nicole Teeuwen, from the council’s vocational training sector.

“The education minister has banned us from using the terms “higher” and “lower” but because of this test the emphasis is on: higher and higher”, she said.

Several primary schools have already refused to use the tests and another 30 are thinking about it. “It’s an idiotic tool which only compares pupils to each other and tell us nothing about the child’s individual development,” one head told the Volkskrant.

School inspectors have said that impact of the new system will only become clear after a number of years and that schools who refuse to do the test may face financial consequences.

Earlier, the Volkskrant reported that almost 25% fewer children being recommended for the top stream at secondary school, but more children from disadvantaged backgrounds being placed at a higher level.