The 2024 Assessment of the Attainment of Key Competencies (VECOF) survey was carried out among pupils in the 4th year of the HarmoS system (Year 2), testing their school language (Italian, in the case of Ticino) – specifically reading and listening comprehension – and mathematics.
The national report contains the results on the attainment of core competencies at the Swiss level and for each canton, as well as the results of core competencies based on individual characteristics such as gender, socio-economic status, language spoken at home and migration status
The results for the Canton of Ticino
The results of the 2024 survey for the Canton of Ticino show that 84% of the pupils involved achieve the core competences in oral comprehension of the language of instruction (Italian) and 80% in written comprehension. As regards mathematics, the percentage of pupils in the Canton of Ticino who achieve the core competences is 76%. All three results are in line with the overall average for Switzerland.
With regard to the effect of individual characteristics (gender, social background, language spoken at home and migration status), it is observed that for the Canton of Ticino there are no statistically significant differences in the attainment of core competences linked to these characteristics.
The VECOF surveys and developments in the monitoring of key skills
The first surveys under the monitoring system were launched between 2016 and 2017, examining mathematical skills in HarmoS Year 11 (fourth year of lower secondary school) and proficiency in the language of instruction and second languages in HarmoS Year 8 (first year of lower secondary school). The research continued in 2023 with a third survey focusing on language skills in the 11th HarmoS year, followed in 2024 by a fourth survey focusing on the language of instruction and mathematics in the 4th HarmoS year (second year of primary school).
These surveys – carried out in Ticino by the Centre for Innovation and Research on Educational Systems (CIRSE) of the Department of Education and Learning/University of Teacher Education (DFA/ASP) – enable a comparison between the cantons regarding the attainment of key competences in the areas under consideration. VECOF 2024 is the first (and perhaps only) large-scale survey conducted in Switzerland in the 4th HarmoS year (Year 2). Given the limited experience at national level with children aged around eight in relation to such large-scale surveys, a feasibility study was carried out to ensure high-quality data. The exercises were designed with the pupils’ age in mind: simple, supported by clear images or symbols, and of limited duration to avoid cognitive overload. Miriam Salvisberg, a researcher at the DFA/ASP and co-author of the report, emphasises that “the VECOF team at CIRSE has helped to provide useful and reliable information to education decision-makers in support of the continuous improvement of the education system”.
In mathematics, it was also possible to listen to exercises, instructions and answers via audio. VECOF 2024 marks the conclusion of an initial phase of large-scale national assessments in Switzerland. In 2023, the EDK decided to adopt a long-term approach to assessing educational objectives and to consolidate this in the form of a ‘Monitoring of Key Competences’. Under this decision, pupils from the same cohort will be tested in mathematics, the language of schooling and second languages in the 8th and 11th HarmoS school years respectively. From 2028 onwards, a new cohort will be assessed every four years. This will enable a better analysis of both the development of skills within a single cohort and trends across different cohorts.