In December 2024, the Israeli Ministry of Education released the national results of the 2023 TIMSS international assessment, which highlighted a significant decline in students’ performance compared to prior years. Israeli students ranked 23rd in mathematics and 25th in science, reflecting drops of 60 and 36 percentage points, respectively, compared to the 2019 assessment. These results have reignited a longstanding debate regarding Israel’s educational evaluation policy.

Israel joined the global movement of international assessments in 2003. As noted by policy researchers, this movement embodies international expectations for standardizing educational systems (Camphuijsen, 2020; Feniger, 2018; Jude, Teltemann, Parcerisa, Fontdevila, & Verger, 2021; Verger, Parcerisa, & Clara, 2019). These assessments aim to guide education systems in cultivating the "ideal learner," equipping students with the skills required to meet 21st-century challenges. Consequently, education has become a focal point for external stakeholders, such as the business sector, whose influence often aligns with policymaker priorities and shapes evaluation policies (Lingard, Martino, & Rezai-Rashti, 2013). Lingard and colleagues (2013) have identified these trends as reflecting the values and principles of New Public Management (NPM), which emphasize accountability and global benchmarking. These external interventions underscore the growing expectation for education systems to adopt standardized metrics of performance.

The disappointing results in the 2023 TIMSS assessment have further exposed deep divisions within Israeli evaluation policy. Since 2003, persistent dissatisfaction with student performance in international assessments has spurred reforms aimed at increasing accountability through external evaluations and aligning curricula with occupational skill demands. A significant outcome of these efforts was the establishment of the National Evaluation and Measurement Authority (NEMA), tasked with developing external and internal evaluation methodologies. However, the volatile political and educational landscape in Israel has given rise to competing stakeholders and ideologies, complicating policy implementation.

This research seeks to explore the impact of NPM principles on Israeli educational policy by examining how these values shape evaluation frameworks and stakeholder expectations. Using qualitative methods, the study incorporates an analysis of formal policy documents, such as legislation and government records, alongside informal materials, including professional reports and meeting protocols. Interviews with policymakers and political leaders provide further insights into the dynamics of policy design and enactment.

The qualitative thematic analysis applies Bacchi’s "What’s the Problem Represents" (WPR) methodology, rooted in Foucau's critical theory (Bacchi & Goodwin, 2016; Bacchi, 2020). This approach identifies how policy problems are constructed and represented, illuminating the roles of bureaucracy, external stakeholders, and excluded actors in shaping the discourse

The qualitative research aims to understand the influence of the NPM on the educational evaluation policy. Gibton (2015), recommended using content analysis to understand the motivations and powers involved in shaping policies. Therefore, the study included extensive analysis of formal policy documents, such as legislation and governmental registers. As well as informal policy documents such as press interviews, protocols, and unofficial professional reports. Moreover, the research included 15 in-depth interviews with politicians and other high-level policy-makers in the Israeli education system. Based on Carol Bacchi’s critical methodology, the qualitative thematic analysis is based on Foucault's critical approach (Bacchi & Goodwin, 2016; Bacchi, 2020). Bacchi's methodology identifies the problems and solutions implemented by the policy. The methodology, What the Problem Represented? (WPR) highlights "problems" and their representation in the public domain. This encapsulates the influence of bureaucracy and the relationship among external stakeholders. Furthermore, Bacchi recommended considering the blind spots of the policy by highlighting those who do not take part in framing the policy and its legalities. The WPR's innovative methodology uses structured questions to identify "problems" and their representation and those involved in policy design. Those questions also refer to the policy's implementation and publicity. The WPR questions highlight exclusive actors and obstacles to the policy and its implementation. The research procedures included collecting documents from formal sites and the official Israeli archive. Some of the stakeholders delivered informal documents as well as official reports. After reviewing more than 200 documents relevant to the subject of the evaluation policy, we limited the data to 60 documents only. The in-depth interviews with stakeholders (politicians, ministers, management level in the education system, and professionals) took place mostly via the Zoom platform or by phone. The interviews were recorded, but the information and citations were kept confidential. The analysis included questioning both documents and interview protocols based on WPR methodology indicators: (1) description of the problem and its representation; (2) those who were involved in the policy and identifying the problem; (3) the implementation of the policy; and (4) those who were exclusive from the policy and the policy barriers.

The findings reveal that the poor performance of Israeli students in international assessments has been framed as a macro-level problem, leading to the development of evaluation policies centered on external assessments to enhance accountability and curricular alignment. However, an alternative perspective advocates for the use of diverse internal evaluation tools to address pedagogical needs and support the learning process. Despite their ideological differences, both approaches share a common goal of improving academic achievement and preparing students for contemporary challenges. Nevertheless, a pervasive lack of trust in the education system and structural instability has fostered a pendulum-like policy environment, oscillating between external accountability measures and internal pedagogical improvement strategies. This study highlights the need for a reconciliatory approach that integrates the strengths of both paradigms to achieve a cohesive and adaptive evaluation policy capable of addressing the multifaceted demands of modern education. This research contributes to the discourse on education policy by highlighting the intersection of global influences and local challenges in shaping Israel’s evaluation framework. By addressing the limitations of relying solely on external or internal evaluations, it advocates for a balanced approach that integrates accountability with pedagogical relevance. These insights provide a pathway for reimagining education policy to support meaningful learning outcomes, adaptability, and alignment with contemporary educational goals.

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