Pupil assessment

Assessment is an integral part of educational practice, enabling the systematic collection of information essential for making appropriate decisions to improve the quality of student learning.

According to Decree-Law No 55/2018, 6 July, student assessment includes formative and summative assessment.

• Formative – continuous and systematic, it employs a variety of information collection mechanisms suitable for the variety of learning and the circumstances in which it occurs, allowing the teacher, student, parent/guardian and other people or bodies legally entitled to obtain information on learning, to adjust processes and strategies.
• Summative – consists of an overall assessment of students’ learning, for the purposes of classification and certification, including:
  • the internal summative assessment at the end of every term is the responsibility of teachers, as well as school academic management and administrative bodies.
  • external summative assessment, which is the responsibility of the respective Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation (MECI)  services and bodies.

External assessment of learning, which is the responsibility of MECI services and bodies, consists of two types of standardised tests given to all pupils:

• learning monitoring tests (ModA tests)
• basic education end of cycle exams.

For the first time, ModA tests will be held in the 2024/2025 school year for students in grade 4 (1st cycle) and grade 6 (2nd cycle), in accordance with the Legislative Order No. 2-A/2025, 3 March. These tests, which are undertaken digitally and have no impact on student progression, are designed to monitor student performance in a way that is comparable between school years and between school grades (grades 4 and 6). They are designed to assess reading and writing literacy, mathematical and scientific literacy and other literacies to be monitored on a rotating basis every three years, using the Profile of Students Leaving Compulsory Education as a benchmark. Their purpose is to assess the development of the curriculum in basic education and to provide annual information on the development of learning to the education system, schools, students and parents/guardians.

The final cycle tests are taken by grade 9 students to certify the completion of basic education and monitor their performance in a way that is comparable between school years. They assess the curriculum content for Portuguese, Portuguese as a foreign language, Portuguese as a second language and maths, using the Profile of Students Leaving Compulsory Schooling and the Essential Learning as benchmarks. They are done in digital and hybrid format (maths), with a weighting of 30% in students' final classification.

The results of the students' ModA tests and final basic education tests will be returned to the educational communities each year through individual student reports, school reports, municipality reports and national reports.

These reports are tools to support autonomy, curriculum management and decision-making by the school, according to the specific characteristics of its students.

The results of the ModA tests will be published anonymously and sorted by school and municipality, so that educational establishments can be ranked, like the national exams. 

A report will be published every year with the rankings by school and municipality.

For more information, see steering documents: Test information for external assessment tests - 2024/2025 school year; Preparing digital@l - Tests 2025 and the following legislation: Decree-Law No. 12/2025, 21 February - Amends Decree-Law No. 55/2018, of 6 July 55/2018, consolidating the implementation of the learning monitoring tests at the end grades 4 and 6; Normative Order No. 2-A/2025, 3 March - approves the regulations for the external assessment tests and equivalence tests for basic and upper secondary education for the 2024/2025 school year.

Internal summative assessment in the first cycle of basic education is descriptive in all areas, as well as a qualitative assessment (Very good, good, satisfactory and unsatisfactory).

In the second and third cycles, all the information resulting from summative evaluation is presented on a scale of 1 to 5 in all subjects, where 3 is the minimum grade to pass.

Until the beginning of the academic year, the school’s pedagogical council defines the assessment criteria for each cycle and academic year using proposals from different subject departments, in accordance with the Ministry of Education's curricular guidelines.

Internal summative assessment is done at the end of each term and is the responsibility of the teachers and school management bodies, with special responsibility for the class form tutor in the first cycle and teachers that are part of the class council in the second and third cycles.

End of cycle exams in the third cycle (grade 9) of basic education in mathematics, Portuguese, Portuguese as a second language (for students who follow the bilingual syllabus in benchmarked schools) and Portuguese as a foreign language (for students at beginner proficiency level A0, A1, A2 or intermediate proficiency level B1) assess students' learning outcomes in this cycle of education.

At different times during a student’s school life, and whenever students demonstrate learning difficulties in any subject, the different types of assessment facilitate the definition of strategies and decision-making.

The measures envisaged include, among others, drafting plans that consider students’ characteristics, study support, teaching assistance in the classroom, temporary teacher exchanges in the first cycle, the implementation of tutorials or temporary formation of groups of students according to their needs and/or capabilities.

According to the legislation in force, basic education students progress according to their level of achievement in relation to knowledge and abilities stipulated in the syllabuses and curriculum documents.

Student progression or retention is indicated by the terms passed or not passed at the end of each year, and approved or not approved, at the end of each cycle. The decision to pass to the next year of schooling is a pedagogical one, and retention is considered exceptional in non-terminal grades of each cycle. The decision to retain a student can only be taken after pedagogical monitoring, applying measures designed and implemented to resolve difficulties detected.

In grade 1, no student is retained, except when the class teacher makes this decision after having exceeded the number of unjustified absences permitted.

At the end of the first cycle, a student does not progress and obtains a not approved grade if they have obtained unsatisfactory in Portuguese or PLNM or PL2 and mathematics; unsatisfactory in Portuguese or mathematics and unsatisfactory in two other subjects.

In grades 2 and 3, the decision to retain a student can only be made after the student is given pedagogical support and occurs exceptionally. There may also be grounds for retention if the student exceeds the number of unjustified absences, if the class council so determines.

A student retained in the first, second or third year of schooling can be return to the class to which he belonged by decision of the head teacher, on the proposal of the class teacher.

At the end of the second and third cycles, students do not progress to the next cycle when they receive marks under three in Portuguese (or PNNL/PL2) and mathematics or in three or more subjects. 

Retention in basic education means that the student will have to repeat the grade, attending every subject in the curriculum.

Schools must ensure parents’ or legal guardians’ involvement in their children’s learning assessment. The conditions of this involvement are defined by each school.

In situations when students demonstrate exceptional learning abilities and the appropriate degree of maturity they can progress more quickly, as they can complete the first cycle at the age of 9 (until the 31 December of the current year) and/or they can progress sooner to another grade one single time during the second or third cycles (see Ordinance No 223-A/2018, 3 August in its current wording).

Student evaluation on specialised artistic education courses includes end-of-cycle exams (external evaluation) at the end of grade 9 to complete the cycle. Successful completion of subjects in the artistic training component are not considered in relation to retention during general primary education or end-of-cycle exams in grade 9.

Any grade lower than three at the end of the final term in any of the specialised artistic training component subjects in basic dance, drama, music or Gregorian chant courses prevents progression in those subjects, without preventing progression in the remaining subjects of that component.

Regarding education and training courses (CEF), Joint Order No. 453/2004, 27th July, in its current wording, assessment is undertaken by training component and classified on a scale of 1 to 5. It is undertaken in predefined sequential times throughout the course, with no retention in the case of a two-year course.

If the student has failed the technological training component, they will not attend the practical training component, nor will they take the final assessment test in cases where it is required.

The final assessment test (FAT) is a professional performance test and consists of one or more practical assignments before a jury, based on the activities in the targeted competences profile, and should assess the most significant knowledge and competences.

For successful completion, students/trainees must obtain a final classification equal to or higher than level 3 in all the training components and in the final assessment test, in the courses that comprise it.

Mention is also made of the CEFJAM - Youth Education and Training Course in Music, which complies with the provisions set out in the regulations governing general basic education and specialised artistic courses, regarding assessment criteria, internal, formative and summative assessment, as well as final exams.

The progression of students covered by universal and selective learning and inclusion support measures occurs under the terms defined by law. The progression of students covered by additional measures to support learning and inclusion (according to Decree-Law No 54/2018, 6 July, in its current wording, Article 29), occurs under the terms defined in the technical-pedagogical report and the individual educational programme.

Students who successfully complete grade 9 are awarded a basic education diploma and a certification that details the completed subjects or modules with respective grades, as well as the results of the end-of-cycle exams (in basic education).

Regarding specialised artistic education courses, learners who successfully complete primary level courses in dance, drama, music or Gregorian chant are entitled to a diploma and a certificate, which confer a level 2 qualification in the National Qualifications Framework (Quadro Nacional de Qualificações - QNQ).

Statements of the qualifications acquired, discriminating subjects completed and results of the assessment can be issued at the request of interested parties, at any moment during the student’s time at school.

Certification is the responsibility of the school management bodies. In the case of education and training courses (CEF), students obtain dual certification - basic education and vocational certification - at the end of the course, conferring a level 2 National Qualifications Framework qualification (Ordinance No 782/2009, 23 July).

With the publication of Ordinance No 194/2021, 17 September, which defines the models of electronic diplomas and certificates for basic and upper secondary education and training provision, those relating to basic education began to record participation in projects and activities, such as school sports, sports days, Erasmus projects or projects in the artistic area. Other mentions include representation of students in school bodies, being class delegate, member of the student council or student representative on general councils, and participation in Citizenship and Development projects.