Groep 8 · January–FebruaryThe doorstroomtoets in groep 8: how it works in 2027
Every child in groep 8, the last year of Dutch primary school, takes a doorstroomtoets in late January or early February. It tests reading, spelling and grammar, and maths. The result is a second opinion next to the teacher's schooladvies, the advice on which level of secondary school suits your child. If the test advice is higher, the school must reconsider. The test cannot lower the advice.
Which doorstroomtoetsen are there?
The school chooses which test it uses. The College voor Toetsen en Examens, the Dutch board for tests and exams, approves the tests every year. These are the tests for 2026–2027:
| Test | Provider | Format | Good to know |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leerling in beeld | Cito | Paper or digital | Two parts of about two hours, often on two mornings. |
| IEP Doorstroomtoets | Bureau ICE | Paper or digital | The digital version is adaptive. The report is called the Talentenkaart. |
| Route 8 | A-VISION | Digital | Adaptive: each question depends on the previous answer. Your child cannot go back to earlier questions. |
| Dia-doorstroomtoets | Diataal | Digital | Adaptive, in one half-day. There is an adapted version, for example for children with dyslexia. |
| DOE-toets | Rijksoverheid | Paper or digital | Government doorstroomtoets. |
Each test has its own score scale, so scores from different tests cannot be compared. The government plans to move to one test from school year 2029–2030; this can still be reconsidered or postponed.
When is the doorstroomtoets in 2027?
The test falls in one national period. The school chooses the days within that period.
Digital test
The school schedules the test days with the provider within this period.
Paper test
Schools that test on paper use these two fixed days.
Provisional schooladvies
The teacher bases the advice on your child's progress over several years, not on one test.
Result sent to the school
The school receives the toetsadvies and the reference level for each part.
Final schooladvies
After this you register your child at a secondary school. The registration period differs per region.
What is in the doorstroomtoets?
Reading
- Finding the main idea and purpose of a text
- Looking up information in texts, tables and diagrams
- Seeing links between sentences and paragraphs
Taalverzorging (spelling and grammar)
- Dutch verb spelling, such as word or wordt
- Spelling tricky words and punctuation
- Sentence structure and grammar
Maths
- Numbers and operations
- Ratios, fractions and percentages
- Measurement, geometry and relationships, such as graphs
What happens to the schooladvies?
The teacher's advice comes first. The doorstroomtoets is a second, independent opinion. This is how the two work together:
Provisional schooladvies
From the teacher, before 1 February
Toetsadvies
From the doorstroomtoets, by 15 March
The toetsadvies is higher
The school must reconsider its advice and may raise it. If the advice stays the same, the school must explain why.
The toetsadvies is the same or lower
The provisional advice becomes the final advice. The test cannot lower the advice.
How to read the result
Every report looks different, but the parts are the same for all tests. Below is a fictional example.
Toetsadvies
The secondary school level that matches the score. If the score falls on the border of two levels, your child gets a double advice, such as vmbo-gt/havo.
Reference levels
For each part you see whether your child reached 1F, the basic level for the end of primary school, or the higher target level: 2F for reading and spelling and grammar, 1S for maths.
Score
Each provider has its own scale. Only compare a score with the scale of the same test.
More test guides
Sources
- Rijksoverheid: approved doorstroomtoetsen (in Dutch) (opens in a new tab)
- Rijksoverheid: schooladvies (in Dutch) (opens in a new tab)
- Rijksoverheid: when a child does not take the doorstroomtoets (in Dutch) (opens in a new tab)
- College voor Toetsen en Examens (opens in a new tab)
- Cito (opens in a new tab)
- Rijksoverheid: 2027 timeline (opens in a new tab)
- Cito: doorstroomtoets 2027 (opens in a new tab)
- Rijksoverheid: plan for one test from 2030 (opens in a new tab)
Updated 12 October 2026. Something out of date? Let us know.