Country Report

Education Assessment
in BELGIUM
 I. PRESENTATION:

1. Country presentation

Political System: Belgium, as reported by Encyclopedia Britannica is a constitutional monarchy.

Since it was first proclaimed in 1831, the executive power is held by the King as well as his Council of

Ministers, hence the monarch’s role as head of state is ceremonial. Meanwhile the legislative power is

divided between the monarch, the Chamber of Representatives, the Senate, the community, and regional

councils. In Belgium the actual lead of the government is the prime minister. (Economy of Belgium, n.d.).

Demographical Situation: In research from Statista Research Department (2022), the population

of Belgium reached 11.52 million in 2021, covering a total geographic land area of 30,689 km². Its

inhabitants are divided into three regions: the Brussels-Capital Region, Flanders and Wallonia thus

creating three Communities: The Flemish Community, the French Community, and the German-speaking

Community.

Social Situation: Belgium reported decent scores on the main indicators of OECD Better Life

Index. It surpasses the average on income, wealth, wellbeing, and employment. Belgium is a multicultural

country as it embodies multiple immigrant communities among its population. (OECD Better Life Index,

2022).

Economic situation: Belgium lately accounted a GDP equivalent to 521.86 billion dollars (The

World Bank, 2020) where the main drivers of the economic growth since 2014 are the services and the

manufacturing industry. Such a fierce economy allowed the personal net income to hit USD 34 884 a year

(OECD, 2022).

2. Education system presentation

Structure and notable milestones: As mentioned above, Belgium bounds three definite language

communities, therefore each community possesses its own adjusted rules regarding the education system.

While some facets may differ, it is mandatory to attend school between the age of six and eighteen

through primary school (6-12) and secondary school (12-18) in one of the following institutions:
Community schools, subsidized public schools, subsidized private schools and fee-paying private schools.

Belgium’s approach to assessment is evaluating students throughout the secondary school to obtain a

certificate that allows introduction to higher education. (Miller, 2022)

Main actors: Autonomy and freedom of education are what best describe Belgium’s education

system. In a matter of fact, the Flemish community disposes of a high degree of autonomy with little to no

involvement from the Provincial and Municipal Governments. Conforming to OECD’s Education at a

Glance (2012), lower secondary schools make 71% of key decisions. (OECD, 2015)

Main reforms: Measures have been implemented since 2018 to enhance the quality and equity in

secondary education to help the students know their talents and interests and consequently reduce early

school dropout. (Education Policy Outlook, 2019)

II. COUNTRY PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS

Belgium was ranked 20th in the world in the mean average score of mathematics, science and

reading: as stated in the most recent PISA 2018 report (OECD, 2019). It kept the same ranking of the last

PISA assessment of 2015. Below is an illustrative chart depicting the evolution of the results of

Belgium’s participation in the PISA education assessments up to 2018 as well as that of TIMSS and

PIRLS. (Ina V.S. Mullis et al., 2019; National Center for Education Statistics, 2016)
 Belgium PISA/TIMMS/PIRLS Results evolution
551 549
547 546

532
525 525
518 515
509 509 512
507.7 506 505
500 502 501
497
493

2000 2003 2006 2007 2009 2011 2012 2015 2016 2018 2019

PISA Mean Score TIMSS MATHEMATICS 4th Grade

TIMSS SCIENCE 4th GRADE Pirls Flemish Belgium
Pirls French Belgium

PISA: Belgium has witnessed a slight improvement in its first two years of participation in the

PISA assessment, eventually peaking in the year 2006 and kept a score largely above the average OECD

mean score. Nevertheless, since 2006, Belgium’s PISA’s mean score has continued to gradually decline,

hitting its worst value in 2018 of 493 points which is slightly better than average OECD mean score.

TIMSS: Belgium made its first appearance in the TIMSS assessment in 2003, its 4 th graders

accomplished their best score in this first year. Ever since mathematics score continued to constantly drop

throughout all TIMMS assessments, hitting its lowest value of 532 point in 2019. Whereas science score

dropped in 2011, made a small improvement in 2015 to eventually decreasing to 501 points in 2019.

(National Center for Education Statistics, 2019)

PIRLS: Belgium’s first international assessment with PIRLS was in 2006. The Flemish and the

French community were tested separately. While Flemish Belgium scored a total point of 547 in 2006 and

dramatically shrunk to 525 in 2016, French Belgium recorded 500 points in 2006, rack up 525 points in

2011 as its best performance, that fell off in 2016 to 497 points. (National Center for Education Statistics,

2016)
 REFERENCES

Economy of Belgium. (n.d.). Encyclopedia Britannica.

https://www.britannica.com/place/Belgium/Economy

Statista Research Department. (2022, February 14). Total population of Belgium from 2009 to

2021. Statista. https://www.statista.com/statistics/516667/total-population-of-belgium/

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2022). Belgium. OECD BETTER

LIFE INDEX. https://www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org/countries/belgium/

Miller, I. (2022, March 22). An introduction to Belgium. Expatica.

https://www.expatica.com/be/moving/about/introduction-to-belgium-469849/

Education Policy Outlook 2019: Working Together to Help Students Achieve Their Potential.

(2019). Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

V.S. Mullis,O. Martin, Foy , L. Kelly, I. M. P. D. (2020). Highlights TIMSS 2019 International

Results in Mathematics and Science. Lynch School of Education.

https://timss2019.org/reports/highlights/

The World Bank. (2020). Belgium. https://data.worldbank.org/country/BE