- 2017Pilot
- 2018Pilot
- 2019Pilot
- 2020Pilot
- 2021Pilot
- 2022Implementation
- 2023Discontinued
Background
National exams allow standardised external evaluation of learning-outcome achievement in particular VET qualifications. The VET Act designates the National Centre for External Evaluation of Education (NCVVO) as the body responsible for external evaluation in VET.
Initially, the design and the pilot of national exams in theoretical subjects for general care nurses started in 2011. The exams have been regularly administered in all VET providers that deliver programmes for nurses since 2015. The NCVVO delivers exam results to schools that use them in student assessment, and from 2017/18, some higher education providers in nursing have also begun to include the national exam results among their enrolment criteria.
Objectives
The national exams provide precise feedback to students, VET providers and the education system on the level of competences attained in mandatory VET subjects, measured against the occupational standard, the qualification standard and the vocational curriculum for the qualification in question. By supporting feedback loops, national exams contribute to the quality of qualifications and VET delivery in general.
Description
In 2017, the National Centre for External Evaluation of Education started work on (re-)designing and administering national exams in vocational education. The design phase lasted from 2017 until 2019 and consisted of assessment framework development, test item development, and test items pretesting for three qualifications (IT technician, salesperson and general care nurse). In 2018, test materials were prepared and reviewed for national exams for IT technicians and salespersons. Although it is voluntary, there is strong support to national exams from VET providers in nursing: 97% of all final grade students took the national exam in theoretical subjects in 2018. In 2018, the first national skills exam was developed and piloted for the general care nurse qualification, marking a shift towards the skills-oriented approach. 30 final grade students participated in the pilot of the skills examination in one VET provider for general care nurses.
National exams were piloted for the qualifications of IT technician and salesperson. The sample comprised one-half of all third (final) grade students in programmes for salespersons and one-quarter of third (junior) grade students in programmes for IT technicians. The exam results were processed and analysed by the end of 2019.
The administration of national exams in theoretical subjects for general care nurses continued in 2019 and 98.5 % of all final grade students took the exam. VET providers received the reports analysing the exam results. The skills exam for general care nurses was reviewed and 100 final grade students participated in the second pilot exam administered in five VET providers, followed by another review.
Results of the piloted national exams for the qualifications of IT technician and salesperson were disseminated to participating schools, which signalled the end of the piloting phase of the project. There are no further activities implementing national exams in vocational education as of 2020.
As in previous years, national exams in theoretical subjects for general care nurses continued in 2020, with the 92.7 % participation rate of all final grade students, as the only permanently established national exam in vocational education. The skills exam for general care nurses continued its review cycle. In 2020, 40 final grade students participated in the third pilot skills exam administered at two VET providers.
Exams for general care nurses continued with two exams: one theoretical and one skill-based. As in previous years, the theoretical exam continues to be administered in all schools that provide general care nurse education as a quality assurance tool required by European nursing standards. After the piloting phase in 2019, skill-based exams continue to be administered in several schools for the promotion of excellence and quality in nursing.
Exams for general care nurses continued in 2022. As in previous years, the theoretical exam was administered in all schools providing general care nurse education, while skills-based exam was still in pilot phase.
The exams were discontinued.
Bodies responsible
- National Centre for External Evaluation of Education (NCVVO)
Target groups
Learners
- Learners in upper secondary, including apprentices
Entities providing VET
- VET providers (all kinds)
Thematic categories
Governance of VET and lifelong learning
This thematic category looks at existing legal frameworks providing for strategic, operational – including quality assurance – and financing arrangements for VET and lifelong learning (LLL). It examines how VET and LLL-related policies are placed in broad national socioeconomic contexts and coordinate with other strategies and policies, such as economic, social and employment, growth and innovation, recovery and resilience.
This thematic category covers partnerships and collaboration networks of VET stakeholders – especially the social partners – to shape and implement VET in a country, including looking at how their roles and responsibilities for VET at national, regional and local levels are shared and distributed, ensuring an appropriate degree of autonomy for VET providers to adapt their offer.
The thematic category also includes efforts to create national, regional and sectoral skills intelligence systems (skills anticipation and graduate tracking) and using skills intelligence for making decisions about VET and LLL on quality, inclusiveness and flexibility.
This thematic sub-category refers to further development of national quality assurance (QA) systems for IVET and CVET, for all learning environments (school-based provision and work-based learning, including apprenticeships) and all learning types (digital, face-to-face or blended), delivered by both public and private providers. These systems are underpinned by the EQAVET quality criteria and by indicative descriptors applied both at system and provider levels, as defined in Annex II of the VET Recommendation. The sub-category concerns creating and improving external and self-evaluation of VET providers, and establishing criteria of QA, accreditation of providers and programmes. It also covers the activities of Quality assurance national reference points for VET on implementing and further developing the EQAVET framework, including the implementation of peer reviews at VET system level.
Subsystem
Further reading
Country
Type of development
Cedefop, & ReferNet. (2025). Piloting national exams in vocational education: Croatia. In Cedefop, & ReferNet. (2025). Timeline of VET policies in Europe (2024 update) [Online tool].
https://www.cedefop.europa.eu/en/tools/timeline-vet-policies-europe/search/28819