Math exams in the

Netherlands
Ruud Stolwijk (Cito)
Summerschool Utrecht | 27 august 2019
Short introduction: Ruud Stolwijk

• Math teacher (since 1987)

• Assesment expert at Cito (since 2007)
• Chair Dutch Alympiad Committee (member since 2003)
• Member IMMC expert panel (since 2015)
Math exams in the Netherlands
In this presentation Dutch central exams in
mathematics will be discussed: who makes them, what
do they look like, how is mathematical thinking visible
in the exams... and there will be plenty of (translated)
examples to work on!
Secondary education in the Netherlands
Central exams in the Netherlands
• Most subjects have a schoolexam and a central exam
• The school exam is made by the teachers themselves;
more than one test; more types of assignments are
allowed (e.g. Alympiad!)
• Both exams count for 50% of the final mark
• The central exam is for all students at the same time
• Exams and scoring guides are made public right after
the examinations
• Cito is constructing the exams, a committee on behalf of
the ministery of education is responsable
Math education in the Netherlands

VMBO: mathematics (4 levels)

HAVO: math A and math B (D)

VWO: math A / C and math B (D)

HAVO / VWO: applied math (A/C) vs. pure math (B/D)

Math exams in the Netherlands

VMBO: mathematics (4 levels)

HAVO: math A and math B

VWO: math A / C and math B

“What’s the difference?” Let’s just take a look!

Some examples of mathematical thinking in
math exams
Given the circle c: (x – 2) 2 + (y + 3) 2 = 20
Also given a point A (3, 1)
Investigate if A is on, inside or outside c.
Some examples of mathematical thinking in
math exams

Show by use of the formula,

without using the derivative, the
graph of function P is rising.
Some examples of mathematical thinking in
math exams
The hour hand measures 8.5 cm, the minute hand 12.5 cm.
The distance between the ends of the hands is asked for.
Examples of math tasks in math exams
And now… try for yourselves (alone or in pairs)!

Handouts of several math tasks are available, as well as

(afterwards!) the marking schemes.

Note: all tasks in the handout are about context

situations, while in math B exams also quite a lot of pure
mathemetical tasks are present.
Some final remarks…
• The construction of central exams is done under the
responsability of CvTE, on behalf of the ministry of education
• Many people are involved: teachers (for the construction of
tasks), screeners (on content and language), teachers and
students (for pretesting the tasks), Cito (assessment expert),
CvTE, printing company
• A central exam is ‘high stakes’, thus there are less possibilities to
‘try something new’ or ‘just try and see’… In the classroom
experiments, also in different types of testing, are much easier!
• In the examples in this workshop the emphasis was on context
based tasks. In math B many tasks without context – pure math!
– are also present, but not shown in this workshop.
Thanks for your attention!

Dutch national exams can be found on www.cito.nl and

also on www.examenblad.nl

Any questions?
Just ask, or mail me at ruud.stolwijk@cito.nl