From September 2026, all schools in the Wallonia-Brussels Federation will run the CLÉ test (for Maths, Reading, Writing) at the start of the 4th year of primary school. An initiative led by Education Minister Valérie Glatigny, to detect difficulties as early as possible and strengthen personalised support for pupils.
The CLÉ test, which has just passed a first reading in government, will provide a precise picture of the basic skills acquired by pupils up to the 3rd year of primary school. This is not a classic exam but a teaching tool designed to prevent unidentified difficulties from worsening over time. This assessment is non-certifying (no diploma is awarded) and requires no prior preparation.
Thanks to this test, teaching teams will be better able to identify knowledge and skills that are fully acquired, partially mastered, or not yet acquired. This assessment thus aims to identify possible difficulties as early as possible and put in place tailored support to encourage pupils' progress. As Minister Valérie Glatigny points out: “For lack of the necessary prerequisites, we are increasingly faced with pupils who, once in secondary or even higher education, do not understand the questions asked of them, or do not know how to read a graph. It is therefore essential that any difficulty linked to basic learning (maths, French) be detected as early as possible.”
Because prevention is better than cure!