Pupil assessment

Pupils are assessed continuously in individual subjects as well as at the end of every term and given a school report which includes an assessment of pupil's results in every course, of pupil's behaviour and overall results. The continuous assessment and assessment in the school report are provided by teachers.

The Decree on Basic Education states that assessment is based on an evaluation of the extent to which a pupil has achieved expected outcomes formulated in the curricula of the individual subjects in the school education programme. Continuous and summative assessment of pupils' education and behaviour must be justifiable from the pedagogical point of view, technically correct, and verifiable and must respect individual educational needs of pupils and recommendations of a school guidance and counselling facility.

The rules for assessment form a part of the School Code, issued by the school head. Rules of assessment are approved by the school council (školská rada). They include:

• principles and methods of assessment and self-assessment of learning outcomes and behaviour of pupils, including the acquisition of data for assessment
• criteria of assessment

Continuous assessment

The rules of the continuous assessment are set by individual schools in a school code, they must only respect the above mentioned principles.

Assessment of pupils in a school report

This school report is issued at the end of every term, its form is set by the Decree on Some Certificates on Education. For the first term pupils may receive an extract from the school report instead of the full report.

The assessment of results of education of a pupil included in a school report can be expressed:

• by marks
• verbally
• by combination of both

The school head decides on the form of evaluation with the consent of the school council. The school can convert s verbal assessment into a numerical mark or vice versa if the pupil is transferring to a school which uses a different type of assessment. A school head may agree to a verbal assessment for a pupil with a specific learning disability on the request of the pupil's legal representative. The pupils attending the special basic school (základní škola speciální) are always assessed verbally.

A pupil's conduct is assessed by means of the following marks, where marks are used (usually numerical at the first stage of education, and a respective verbal expression at the second stage of education):

Pupils' results in individual courses are assessed as:

• 1- excellent
• 2- very good
• 3- good
• 4- satisfactory
• 5- unsatisfactory

Pupils' behaviour is assessed as:

• 1- very good
• 2- satisfactory
• 3- unsatisfactory

The pupils' educational achievements in the individual compulsory and optional subjects defined in the school education programme are assessed in relation to the expected outputs, and to the pupils' educational and personality-related prerequisites and age. It comprises an assessment of his or her attitude to education, also of any circumstances affecting his or her performance (the level of knowledge of the Czech language in case of foreigners is considered a serious circumstance).

The evaluation of the pupil's learning outcomes in individual subjects and the pupil's behaviour can be supplemented by the verbal assessment, including also the assessment of the key competences set by the Framework Education Programme for Basic Education.

The pupils' educational achievements in the individual compulsory and optional subjects defined in the school education programme must be apparent from verbal assessment in relation to the expected outputs, and to the pupils' educational and personality-related prerequisites and age. Verbal assessment comprises:

• an evaluation of the pupil's educational achievements in terms of their development;
• an assessment of his or her attitude to education, also of any circumstances affecting his or her performance (the level of knowledge of the Czech language in case of foreigners is considered a serious circumstance);
• an outline of the pupil's further development;
• justification of the assessment and recommendations as to how any possible failures can be prevented and overcome.

At the end of the first term, the overall assessment of the pupil's educational outcomes can be used. The verbal assessment can be used also for the assessment of the pupil's behaviour.

From the 2024/25 school year, schools can use 'criterion-referenced' assessment as a form of verbal assessment - an assessment of a pupil's skills or knowledge based on pre-defined criteria. Specific criteria and expression of the degree of their fulfilment are determined by the school head in the evaluation rules. New report card templates designed specifically for the use of criterion-referenced assessment will be made available to schools during the 2024/25 school year.

The overall assessment of a pupil in the school report is expressed as follows:

• "passed with honours" if no mark for any compulsory subject specified in the school education programme is worse than "2" – "very good", the average is not higher than 1.5, and his or her behaviour is assessed as very good; in the case of verbal assessment or a combination of assessments, the school conforms to principles of assessment included in the school code;
• "pass" if no mark for a compulsory subject is a "5" – "failed" or the corresponding verbal assessment;
• "failed" if any compulsory subject receives a "5" – "failed" or the corresponding verbal assessment or if the pupil is not assessed at the end of the second term;
• "not assessed", if it is not possible to assess a pupil from one of the compulsory subjects of the school education programme at the end of the first term.

Non-compulsory subjects are assessed in the same manner as compulsory ones but they are not included in the overall evaluation.

A pupil of the ninth year and a pupil who has not yet repeated a year at the given stage, who fails a maximum of two subjects at the end of the second term (with the exception of subjects focusing purely on educational care), may resit the examination (by an examination board).

If the pupil's statutory representative doubts about the correctness of the pupil's evaluation at the end of the first or second term, he/she may request the school head for an enquiry on pupil assessment results.

Educational measures

Apart from assessment, the decree also stipulates so-called educational measures. A school head or a class teacher can, in certain specified cases, give a formal praise or another form of appreciation, a warning or a reprimand in the case of the School Code violation.

Since September 2017, demonstration of violence and bullying in schools are judged more seriously. If the intensity of these is classified as a very serious violation of the responsibilities set by the Education Act, the school head is obliged to expel a pupil from school. This does not apply to pupils fulfilling the compulsory school attendance and to persons placed in facilities for providing institutional or protective education. In this case, offences are dealt by the authorities providing social and legal care for children and the public prosecutor's office.

Surveys on pupils' educational results

How pupils of primary, secondary, and tertiary professional schools perform in individual educational fields and what is the level of their literacies, is determined, inter alia, in the so-called surveys on pupils' educational results, carried out by the Czech School Inspectorate (CSI). Its purpose is to determine the quality of the educational process both at the level of school and the entire educational system. 

Subject tests (i.e. tests in individual educational fields) are prepared for pupils at the two key points of basic education – the 5th and 9th year (and the corresponding years in multi-year general secondary schools). They should be organised once every four years. First testing was carried out in 2017. The survey planned in 2020/21 has been moved to May 2022 due to Covid-19 pandemic (however, in autumn 2021, schools were able to participate in the voluntary survey on pupils' results).

Literacy surveys take place every year. The grades and levels of schools included in the literacy sample survey alternate in such a way so as all literacies are tested at all levels of schools in the long run. Until 2019/20, three literacies were always tested. In 2020/21, the testing was not organised with respect to Covid-19 pandemic. From 2022/23, one of these five literacies is tested each school year: science, reading, mathematical, language, and information.

Usually, literacy surveys are supplemented by one more thematically focused test (e.g. traffic education, media education, etc.).

For more on sample surveys, see section Other evaluation activities in early childhood and school education in Chapter 11.

Progression of pupils

According to the Education Act, a pupil who at the end of the second term (or upon resits) has succeeded in all compulsory subjects specified by the school education programme with the exception of subjects focusing only on educational care and subjects from which the pupil has been excused moves up to the next year.

Otherwise, he/she repeats the year. A pupil who has already repeated a year within a stage can proceed to the next year regardless of their results. Due to serious health reasons, the school head may permit pupil to repeat a year (at the request of his/her legal representative and following a specialist references), regardless of whether a pupil has already repeated a year at particular stage.

If a pupil cannot be assessed at the end of the second term for an acceptable reason, the school head assigns an alternative date not later than the end of September of the following school year. Until then the pupil attends the next year or repeats the ninth year. If the pupil is not assessed within this term, he/she failed.

If the pupil's statutory representative is in doubt as to the correctness of the pupil's evaluation at the end of the first or second term, he/she may within three working days request the school head to re-examine the results of pupils' assessment. If the relevant subject was taught by the school head him/herself, the pupil's statutory representative may contact the Regional Authority. The re-examination by the examination board is held not later than within fourteen days of the delivery of the request or on the date agreed with by the pupil's statutory representative. Upon the request of the school head or Regional Authority, also the Czech School Inspectorate is present at the examination. If the application for an enquiry on pupil assessment results involves an assessment of the behaviour or subjects focusing on educational care, the school head (or the Regional Authority) considers the rules compliance of a pupil learning outcomes assessment set by the school code. In case of violation of the rules, the school head or the Regional Authority may change the result of the assessment; unless the rules for pupil learning outcomes assessment were violated, the authority (the school head or Regional Authority) confirms the result of the assessment but no later than 14 days from the date of receipt. The details are set by the Decree on Basic Education.

In the case of an exceptionally gifted pupil, school heads may, at the request of their legal representative (which includes references by the school guidance facility and the physician), transfer that pupil to a higher year without their completing the previous year. The transfer is conditional on their passing examinations relating to the syllabus (or the part of the syllabus) of the year the pupil does not complete. However, nine years of compulsory school attendance must be completed.

Certification

According to the Education Act, attainment of the level of basic education (základní vzdělání, ISCED 244) is documented by:

• a school report on the successful completion of the ninth year of basic school (or of the tenth year in case of disabled pupils);
• a school report on the successful completion of the second year of a 6-year general secondary school (gymnázium), the fourth year of an 8-year general secondary school or the fourth year of the eight-year educational programme of a conservatoire (konzervatoř);
• a school report issued after successful completion of a course for completing základní vzdělání.

These certificates are issued with proof that the required level of základní vzdělání has been reached. 

The Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports lays down in an Decree on Some Certificates on Education the form and content of valid forms of school reports and extracts from school reports. School reports contain the birth identification number of a pupil if such number has been assigned to him/her. School reports are stamped with the national coat of arms of Czechia and are a public instrument. The forms for reports also include information on the level of the European Qualification Framework (EQF), that is the scale including all qualifications. Schools maintain records of forms for school reports which are evidence of an acquired level of education. For more on school reports see part on Pupil Assessment.

Many pupils who do not attain základní vzdělání level can continue their education and training in branches of upper secondary schools (střední školy) designed especially for these pupils (fields of praktické školy –  C category, and odborné učiliště –  H category).