New Perspectives in Science Education

The rise of linguistic diversity in European schools and classrooms has generated some interest in understanding how secondary schools assess multilingual learners or students. For example, in the Czech Republic, demographic changes and the growing presence of international schools in recent years have created a complex educational environment where multilingualism intersects with diverse assessment ideologies. Therefore, this study presents a comparative literature review to examine assessment practices in Czech gymnázia and international schools (e.g., IB and Cambridge) operating within the Czech Republic's educational system. The study's findings revealed significant differences in assessment philosophy and educational orientation between Czech and international schools. Generally, the gymnázia predominantly depends on summative, teacher-controlled, and monolingual assessment approaches, which are influenced by maturita examinations. In contrast, the international schools place more emphasis on formative assessment, criterion-referenced rubrics, inquiry-driven projects, and multilingual-responsive approaches. Thus, the paper reviews the challenges in the assessment practices in Czech high schools and international schools, examining their implications for equity in assessment and proposes avenues for integrating best practices to support multilingual learners in a diverse educational environment. Despite these challenges, the recent reforms in the Czech educational system, which began in 2025, aim to expand linguistic accommodations and alternative assessment models and are expected to reduce some of these inequalities in Czech schools. The sociocultural theory, translanguaging, and multilingualism model are proposed as the conceptual framework to explain how the collective influence of assessment philosophy and language policy may collectively affect student outcomes. Additionally, the review identifies research and policy gaps and argues for greater alignment or synergy between the Czech school assessment system and multilingual and inclusive practices used mainly by international schools. Moreover, the study also contributes to the ongoing public discourse on equity in assessment, offering vital insights for policymakers, researchers, school administrators, and teacher-training institutions. It also provides a foundation for future empirical research that will compare the actual classroom practices across the Czech and international school environments.

Keywords: Multilingual learners, assessment, Czech Republic, grammar school, international schools, IB, Cambridge, educational equity.