Under the rules in the Estonian national curriculum for basic schools, students' diligence and behavior must be assessed at least twice a year. However, a draft bill put forward by the ministry of Education would remove that obligation from September 1. Issues related to diligence and behavior would instead be discussed at development interviews.

Marjeta Venno, head of the curriculum department of the Ministry of Education's general education policy department, told ERR that the current evaluation system has been used in Estonia for too long.

"It should have changed a long time ago. Today, we feel that the numerical assessment system is already lagging behind a bit when it comes to everyday teaching. It needs newer, more modern formats, not just because something has to be different, but because young people need better support for their learning," Venno said.

Venno added that if schools no longer need to give marks for behavior and diligence, this does not mean that students' will no longer receive feedback on their actions and attitudes in school. On the contrary, that need will actually become even greater and more important.

Estonian Association of Teachers board member Heiki Haljasorg believes every school should retain the right, if it so wishes, to be able to assess behavior.

"There are both pros and cons to evaluating diligence and behavior and I think it is up to each school to decide which approach is better. If some don't want to give these grades, then that's fine, but let's not take the opportunity away from those who do," said Haljasorg.

Haljasborg added that the Association of Teachers has not taken a definitive position on the issue, having only received information about the ministry's plans via the media. However, the general policy of the union's board has been to favor school autonomy.

"The details mean a lot: whether the administrative burden on teachers increases or decreases, and whether parents get prompt feedback on their children," Haljasorg explained. He added that all the risks need to be mapped out, with each school best placed to know which option suits them best.

According to Haljasorg, this is not the biggest concern in education at the moment.

Mari-Liis Sults, director of Tallinn Art High School, anything that reduces teachers' workload and bureaucracy is good news for school leaders. Up to now all teachers have been required to assess students' behavior and diligence regularly.

However, if the obligation to share information on behavior and diligence were to become the class teacher's responsibility  during development interviews, this would significantly increase their workload.

"If now the task of giving feedback on pupils' behavior and diligence comes up [in the development interview], it means that the class teacher will have to then go to each subject teacher and talk to each pupil to find out what their behavior and diligence has been like in that subject," Sults explained.

In Sults' view, this extra responsibility should be reflected in teachers' salaries. If the change is accompanied by a pay rise, Sults said, there will no problem, as it will be possible to find people willing to do the job of class teacher in return for a fair wage.

Ministry: Attention must turn to other aspects

Marjeta Venno says the change will not mean an increase in teacher workloads, but a reduction. She pointed out that teachers are already providing feedback on pupils' behavior in a smart way.

"I very much hope that teachers will embrace the fact that feedback on behavior, communication, independent work, and collaboration will become part of the daily process," said Venno.

According to a spokesperson for the Ministry of Education, the idea for the change came from them. The reason being that the current way of assessing behavior and diligence by assigning students a symbol or a number is not in any way in line with modern approaches to learning.

"We live in a time when we need to support completely different skills, such as independent work, cooperation and communication skills. Acceptable behavior, order and diligence certainly do not disappear with this, but the focus has to be on other aspects," said Venno.

VEnno added that the assessment of learning outcomes will remain as it is for the time being,. However, current thinking on students' behavior and diligence emphasizes that the best learning takes place when there is a good relationship between teacher and student.

"Both the student and the teacher have to make an effort to have this good relationship, and putting a symbol or a number on it once a year does nothing to foster that relationship. But on top of that, to add once or twice a year a numerical mark for behavior, or whatever it is, some kind of average, well, there is no such thing as average when it comes to behavior or diligence," said Venno.

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