Isis saw on Snapchat that Lina was already learning before the final exams, but she would rather watch movies. No stress: she ‘looks good’

‘Yes, now that we are talking about it, I think: shit, only three days left. Then you get a little stress, « says Lina (16).

« But for talls? » Says Isis (15).

Lina laughs. « Girl! You never know what’s coming to the exam. « 

Isis: « A Léésteon. For tens. Come on! You can’t learn for that, so then I’m not going to do anything. »

It is the Tuesday before the start of the central final exams on Friday. Lina and Isis take a final exam at VMBO-T level, which has English as the first exam. For the conversation with NRC They are in a sober mathematical room at Beatrix College in Tilburg, a school for VMBO, HAVO and VWO. Thijmen (16) is also there. He is also in the last class of VMBO-T.

Many classrooms in the hallway are empty. This week the exam classes on the Beatrix no longer have official lessons, but there are still tutoring classes for exam students. Today, Lina has reserved a room with a group of girlfriends to practice exam material. They make presentations for each other and quizzes. Lina has taken care of economics and history.

« Sometimes it’s really chaos, » says Lina, who always talks with a smile in her voice. « For example, if we give different answers. Then we are confused and then we ask chatgpt for explaining children’s language and then someone understands it and he will try to explain it to the others again. »

Then I thought: actually I have to learn. But I went to watch a movie. The motivation is not there

That light exam tension of the group is exceptional to the VMBO of the Beatrix. « I just never really have stress. Even if I didn’t learn for a test, » says Isis Monter. She now stands for many subjects about 7. Both ISIS and Thijmen have to start learning this Tuesday. « I think I will start to start with that, » says Thijmen, a little slumped in his chair. He is also fine. Their classmates are generally also relaxed under the final exams, is their impression. In group apps there is not even talk about the exams. Thijmen: « Look, half of my friends just gave up, because they only stand two. And the other half will make it. And yes, they just know that. »

Performance pressure

The prevailing image in the Netherlands is that the performance pressure among students has increased enormously in recent years and that an increasingly larger group experiences serious problems. On VMBO that is just a little different, experiences Daan Hamann, team leader VMBO at Beatrix College. « We see that a larger group on VMBO has become a bit more indifferent and therefore not experiencing such a pressure, » he says in the same mathematical room that Tuesday. « On the other hand, there is a group that is very busy with it. So the differences have become larger and we see that in the numbers they get. » Why is that? « We have no idea. We saw that it took a flight after Corona, but the trend had already been started for that. »

A study of performance pressure among students, commissioned by the Ministry of Education, in 2021 it was indeed showed that it is the least high among VMBO students. 30 percent indicated that they experienced ‘pressure’ ‘through the performance society’. Among Havists this was almost 60 percent. « We don’t know exactly where that difference comes from, » says Romy Mondeel, project employee test pressure at the National Action Komitee School students (LAKS) and the VO-council. « We think that it is partly due to the fact that the VMBO work is being done on the VMBO than at HAVO and VWO. Students then have more room for their learning development, instead of only learning a number and then forgetting the material again. Moreover, we see that on the HAVO the stress is the highest or explicit, among other things.

ISIS recently saw on Snapchat that Lina was already learning for the final exams. « Then I thought: actually I have to learn too. But I went to watch a movie. The motivation is not there. » She thinks she would work harder if she didn’t look so good, because she wants to do the HAVO after VMBO.

After an MBO education for education assistant, Thijmen wants to go to an HBO course to become a history teacher. After an MBO study event management, Lina also wants to go to HBO. Why actually? Do they not find the MBO ‘good’ enough? « I can go higher, so why not go higher? » Says Thijmen. « And otherwise I earn very little money. » That is also important for Lina. « I think everyone wants to earn money, so I think everyone wants higher. »

Struggle with perfectionism

Despite their ambition, these three students seem to have relatively little trouble with performance pressure and final exam stress. Orthopedagogue Tamara Luijer agrees that Havists and VWO students generally suffer the most. Last year she brought the book Perfection and performance pressure Out, with handles for teachers to help students who suffer from it. And as a therapist she treats children and young people who struggle with perfectionism, anxiety and worry disorders. « In the past thirty years, performance pressure in our society has really increased, so also for students, » she says on the phone. « On HAVO and VWO you can see that the drive for performance comes from, among other things, worries about whether they will get a good job later. »

In the past you compared yourself to someone from the same village and now you can compare yourself with the whole world

Social media are often mentioned as an explanation for the increased pressure. And yes, they naturally play a role, says Luijer. « You used to compare yourself with someone from the same village and now you can compare yourself with the whole world. » But, she says, if you ask children yourself, they mainly point out the expectations of their parents and their teachers. In addition, according to Luijer, it is important to realize that this pressure can also be indirect. Parents and teachers are not always aware of it. « For example, I now have a client who is very perfectionist. Her parents said they would like it as much if she could relax a little more. Now she is also going to meet friends in the test week. But then that father says to her: » Keep in mind that your numbers can then be a little lower, « his parents unconsciously want to perform well. »

At VMBO that pressure from parents is much less, sees team leader Daan Hamann of the Beatrix College. « That is especially a HAVO and VWO thing, we see here. We do have a group of involved parents at VMBO, but he trusts that it will all be fine. »

Fear of failure

Pascal Cuijpers is a visual education teacher at the Connect College Echt (Limburg) and has been providing training against fear of failure and exam stress since 2008. Although the number of registrations for the training sessions has remained roughly the same, he sees that the pressure has increased considerably. In any case at VWO; He is a mentor of a VWO class. « That is reflected, for example, in conversations with parents of students. They then say that their child is so stressed during test weeks. »

In addition, I often work with ‘weightless’ from Marconi Union, the most soothing music piece in the world

In his training he focuses primarily on positive image, for example by filling in a G-schedule (event, thought, feeling, behavior, consequence), a well-known method in cognitive behavioral therapy. « For example, you look up to the German final exam, then you note your feelings and your hindering thoughts and then we will try to turn those thoughts. » The children also learn to make a good planning and practice with relaxing. “I often work with Weightless from Marconi Union, the most relaxing piece of music in the world. Just look up. That would lower your blood pressure and ensure that your heart rate adapts to the rhythm of the music. ”

It is LAKS to encourage schools to go through behind the testing of students and especially to emphasize feedback. What do the three VMBO students think on the Beatrix of them? « Not nice, I just want the number, » says Lina. « I just want that 8, » laughs Isis. Lina: « Yes, if you get feedback, I think that’s limp or something. » So she wants to be tackled harder? « Yes, we are used to that. »

The students’ surnames are known to the editors.

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