Education in the Netherlands Education in the Netherlands is characterized by division: education is oriented toward the needs and background of the pupil. Education is divided over schools for different age groups some of these in turn divided in streams for different educational levels. Schools are furthermore divided in public schools and special (religious) schools. The Programme for International Student Assessment, coordinated by the OECD, ranks the education in the Netherlands as the 9th best in the world as of 2008, being significantly higher than the OECD average.

The different levels of education in the Netherlands

General overview Education policy is coordinated by the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, together with municipal governments. Compulsory education in the Netherlands starts at the age of five, although in practice, most schools accept children from the age of four. From the age of sixteen there is a partial compulsory education , meaning a pupil must attend some form of education for at least two days a week. Compulsory education ends for pupils age twenty-three and up, or when they get a degree. In elementary and high schools the students are assessed annually by a team of teachers, who determine whether the pupil has advanced enough to move on to the next grade. If the pupil has not advanced enough he or she may have to retake the year; this is an uncommon occurrence. Gifted children are sometimes granted the opportunity to skip an entire year, yet this happens rarely and if it does, it usually happens in elementary schools. All school types (public, special and private) are under the jurisdiction of a government body called Onderwijsinspectie (Education Inspection) and can be asked (forced) to make changes in educational policy or risk closure

Public and special schools There are public, special (religious), and private schools. The first two are government-financed and officially free of charge, though schools may ask for a parental contribution (ouderbijdrage). Public schools are controlled by local governments. Special schools are controlled by a school board. Special schools are typically based on a particular religion. There are government financed Catholic, Protestant, Jewish and Muslim elementary schools, high schools, and universities. In principle a special school can refuse the admission of a pupil if the parents indicate disagreement with the school's educational philosophy. There is also a considerable number of publicly financed schools which are based on a particular educational philosophy, for instance the Montessori Method, Pestalozzi Plan, Dalton Plan or Jena Plan. Most of these are public schools, but some special schools also base themselves on any of these educational philosophies.

Elementary School Between the ages of four to twelve, children attend basisschool (elementary school; literally, "basic school"). This school has eight grades, called groep 1 (group 1) through groep 8. School attendance is compulsory from group 2 (at age five), but almost all children commence school at age four (in group 1). Groups 1 and 2 used to be called kleuterschool (nursery, lit. "toddler's school"). From group 3 on, children will learn how to read, write and do maths. In group 7 and 8 most schools start teaching English to their students, and some schools have recently started English classes as early as group 4. In group 8 the vast majority of schools administer the Citotoets to recommend what type of secondary education should be followed. In recent years this test has gained authority, but the opinion of the group 8 teacher has remained a crucial factor in this recommendation.

High School After attending elementary education, Dutch children (then usually 12 years old) go directly to high school. Depending on the advice of the elementary school and the score of the Cito test, pupils are assigned to either VMBO, HAVO or VWO. Since the Dutch educational system does not have middle schools or junior high schools the first year of all levels in Dutch high schools is referred to as the brugklas (litt. bridge class), as it connects the elementary school system to the secondary education system. During this year, pupils will gradually learn to cope with differences such as dealing with an increased personal responsibility. When it is not clear which type of secondary education best suits a pupil, there is an orientation year for both VMBO/HAVO and HAVO/VWO to determine this. In addition, there is a second orientation year for HAVO/VWO when inconclusive. Furthermore it is possible for pupils who have attained the VMBO diploma to attend two years of HAVO-level education and sit the HAVO-exam, and for pupils with a HAVO-diploma to attend two years of VWO-level education and then sit the VWO exam.

Tertiary Education MBO MBO (middelbaar beroepsonderwijs, literally, "middle-level applied education") is oriented towards vocational training. Many pupils with a VMBO-diploma attend MBO. MBO lasts one to four years. After MBO (4 years), pupils can enroll in HBO or enter the job market.

Higher Education Higher education in the Netherlands is offered at two types of institutions: research universities (universiteiten; WO) and universities of professional education (hogescholen; HBO). The former comprise general universities and universities specializing in engineering and agriculture. The latter comprise general institutions and institutions specializing in a particular field, such as agriculture, fine and performing arts, or teacher training. Since September 2002, the higher education system in the Netherlands has been organised around a three-cycle system consisting of Bachelor's, Master's and PhD degrees. At the same time, the ECTS credit system was adopted as a way of quantifying periods of study. The higher education system continues, however, to be a binary system with a distinction between research-oriented education and professional higher education.

Requirements for admission to higher education To enroll in a WO bachelor's programme, a student is required to hold a VWO diploma or to have completed the first year (60 credits) of an HBO programme. The minimum admission requirement for HBO is either a HAVO school diploma or a level-4 MBO diploma. For admission to both types of higher education, pupils are required to have completed at least one of the subject clusters that fulfils the requirements for the higher education programme in question. A quota (numerus fixus) applies to admission to certain programmes, primarily in the medical sciences, and places are allocated using a weighted lottery. Applicants older than 21 years who do not possess one of the qualifications mentioned above can qualify for admission to higher education on the basis of an entrance examination and assessment. For admission to all master's programmes, a bachelor's degree in one or more specified disciplines is required, in some cases in combination with other requirements. Graduates with an HBO bachelor's may have to complete additional requirements for admission to a WO master's programme.

HBO With an MBO (4 years), HAVO or VWO diploma, pupils can enroll in HBO. It is oriented towards higher learning and professional training, which takes four to six years. After obtaining enough credits (ECTS) pupils will receive a 4 years (professional) Bachelor's degree. They can choose to study longer and obtain a (professional) Master's degree in 1 or 2 years.

WO With a VWO-diploma or a propedeuse in HBO, pupils can enroll in WO. WO is only taught at a university. It is oriented towards higher learning in the arts or sciences. After obtaining enough credits (ECTS), pupils will receive a Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science or Bachelor of Laws degree. They can choose to study longer to obtain a Master's degree. At the moment, there are four variants: Master of Arts, Master of Science, Master of Laws and the not legally recognized degree Master of Philosophy. A theoretical Master typically lasts one year, but the majority of practical (e.g. medical), technical and research Masters require two or three years.

Terms and school holidays In general, all schools in the Netherlands observe a long summer holiday, and several weeks of one or two-week holidays during the year. Also schools are closed during public holidays. The summer holiday lasts six weeks in elementary school and seven weeks in high school and usually starts in July. Universities have longer holidays and usually start the year at the end of August or early September. After the summer holiday, there is a one-week autumn holiday in the second half of October and a two-week Christmas holiday. This is followed by a one week spring holiday in the second half of February. The last school holiday of the year is a one-week May holiday around 30 April (Queen's Day). Easter does not have a week of holiday, schools are only closed on Good Friday and Easter Monday. The summer holiday dates are compulsory, the other dates are government recommendations and can be changed by each school, as long as the right number of weeks is observed.

Grading In The Netherlands, grades from 1.0 up to 10.0 are used, with 1 being worst and 10 being best. The grade scale with the labels: 10 (outstanding) 9 (very good) 8 (good) 7 (more than sufficient) 6 (sufficient) 5 (insufficient) 4 (strongly insufficient) 3 (very strongly insufficient) 2 (bad) 1 (very bad)