Analysis of the high school curriculum change from September 2026

Abstract

In Romania, the high school curriculum framework still in force dates from 2006 - 2009. Over time, it has been slightly ”refreshed“ starting with 2020-2021 through “Methodological guidelines” issued annually for teachers, but not textbooks for students.

The 2026 - 2027 school year would be the first in which 9th grade students will have new textbooks, based on the new school curriculum and will learn according to a new framework plan, documents approved at the end of 2025.

The new curriculum is based on the principle of development the graduate's competences. In accordance with these, grading and evaluation standards will be developed unitary, new textbooks will be published, teachers will be (re)trained to teach the new content differently (and digitally), so that in the fall of 2026 the 9th grade will start in a new curricular logic. All with the aim of reducing functional illiteracy, estimated at approx. 45% among 15-year-olds in 2024.

The present article aims to objectively identify the extent to which the old and new high school curricula in Romanian language and literature lead to the development of competences in accordance with the current profile of the high school graduate, for students who attended school on the new curricular framework set by Education Law No. 1/2011, with or without textbooks during high school.