Program topics

The Hungarian Educational Longitudinal Program investigates the main characteristics of and changes in the major cognitive constituents of knowledge, the attitudes towards learning and the affective and sociocultural determinants of the learning process.


The first reference point in the analysis of individual development was the result of DIFER subtests. From 2015 a newly developed online school entry test battery has been used. The test battery was developed with the cooperation of the Szeged Centre of Research on Learning and Instruction.
In lower grades research was centered around the development of reading and mathematical skills, and in higher grades science as the third major literacy domain was also investigated, along with combinative ability, inductive reasoning and complex problem solving. Foreign language skills and information technology knowledge, two essential fields of communication in the information society, were assessed at the end of the primary and secondary levels of public education.
The program follows the development of reading skills, collects data about learning strategies, self-concept, social problem solving skills, civic competencies, cognitive factors influencing science knowledge and explores the characteristics of family and cultural background, school related attitudes and intention of further studies.


The instruments used in the assessments might be grouped into two categories according to their construction. Most of the utilized tests and questionnaires are self-developed, however some of them were adapted from international studies, making it possible to compare the achievements of Hungarian students to international results.