Why Romanian Students Underperform in High School

Romania’s Education Minister, Daniel David, wants to reform the way the high school curriculum is designed. He notes that Romanian students enter high school ”with intelligence and creativity comparable to their peers in Western countries”, but they don’t graduate as high-performing individuals.

“We need to rethink the subjects and how they connect to the baccalaureate,” says the minister, who believes the curriculum is overloaded. This excessive burden contributes to the lack of student performance, as reflected in Romania’s results in international assessments like the PISA tests.

Daniel David advocates for decentralization, proposing that decisions about the number of class hours and which ones are mandatory should no longer be made by the Minister of Education.

“The schools will offer, and students will choose. A significant portion of the specialized curriculum will remain flexible, with decisions made at the school level,” David explains.

His vision for a high school graduate is clear: “a skilled professional, a responsible citizen – which for me means a protector of democracy – and a well-balanced individual who is satisfied with their life. That’s what a high school graduate should be,” he says.

As a trained psychologist, David also emphasizes the importance of life skills education, highlighting subjects that prepare young people for real-world challenges.

Romania ranked the lowest among European countries in all three indicators: mathematics, reading, and science, while Estonia was the European country which had the highest combined score in the 2022 PISA survey.

Estonia performed best in mathematics and science, and Ireland performed the best in reading.