Online platform to prepare all students for final primary school exams

The free online platform supports schoolchildren with and without disabilities in their preparation in mathematics and the Serbian language. The exam questions are available in various formats, along with functions in Easy Language and explanatory pictures. Since its launch in 2015, almost 4,000 school children have benefited.

Final Exam is a free online educational platform developed by the Mathematical Society of Serbia; the Ministry of Trade, Tourism, and Telecommunications; the Faculty of Mathematics of the University of Belgrade; and the GeoGebra Centre. It supports students with and without disabilities in their preparation for the national primary school final exams by strengthening their skills in mathematics and the Serbian language. The exam questions are offered in various formats, such as easy language and the extensive use of pictures, corresponding to the skill level of a particular student. Since its start in 2015, almost 4,000 students have benefitted.

Problems Targeted

Due to large class sizes and a lack of inclusive educational materials, teachers in Serbia often cannot properly attend to the different learning needs of students with disabilities, who are therefore disadvantaged in their educational journey.

Solution, Innovation and Impact

The Final Exam platform prepares primary school students in grade 8 (aged 15 years) to take the final exam at the end of elementary school so that they can transition to secondary education. The platform is freely available online and can host specially adapted questions and features. When a student chooses to do adapted-level tasks, the level of difficulty of these tasks and the form of the answers will be adapted to the student´s needs. For example, navigation through the exam can be made easier, and there are easy language functions and explicative pictures as well. The target groups are children with special education needs and students with disabilities, but also all other students without special education needs who think they need support. Teachers can add their own questions and exercises to the platform. Since its launch in 2015, the platform has been used by students with cerebral palsy and autism; students who are out of school due to illness, either at home or in hospital; and Roma children. As of 2019, the platform contains practice questions for the mathematics and Serbian language final exams.

Funding, Outlook and Transferability

Development of the Final Exam platform was funded by Serbia’s Ministry of Trade, Tourism, and Telecommunications in 2015, and it is maintained through volunteers from the Mathematical Society. As the platform is available in Serbian, it could easily be replicated in Montenegro, Croatia, North Macedonia, and Bosnia. The model could also be adapted to the education system of other countries and translated into other languages. The Mathematical Society intends to add more content to the platform (other than mathematics and Serbian) to offer a broad base of preparation before entering secondary education.

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