The study focuses on the Israeli education system that has to cop with pupils of significant social, cultural and socioeconomic variance that are new immigrants coming to Israel from all over the world.

This challenge produces a collaborative model of cooperation including all partners in the elementary schools system. The aim was to engage all the education system to cop with the target of increasing pupil’s knowledge and well being in order to help them to integrate more successfully in the Israeli society. The program was associated with an assessment and evaluation program.

The intervention programs at the different levels lead to a significant improvement in the pupils' achievements and in their integration into the education system, as a basis for their successful integration in society.

The model can be used in other countries to respond to the needs of many immigrant pupils, who find it difficult to integrate into school and society at large.

Israeli society is composed of residents who for various reasons immigrated to Israel over the years from all over the world. Thus, the Israeli educational system has always, and especially in the last decade, had to cope with pupils of significant social, cultural and socioeconomic variance.

One of the factors found to have a very significant influence on the pupils' performance in school is intercultural differences. School is the main meeting point between children from different countries of origin; hence its important role as a major cultural bridging agent (Ben-Rafael, 1985; Peres, 1977; Wilcox, 1982). International studies found several key principles related to the successful integration of these pupils into the education system in particular and into society in general:

• Language Development – this approach maintains that the low achievements of pupils stem mainly from their severance from their mother tongue upon their entrance into school. As a result, these children lack the necessary linguistic skills to develop their thinking.  It is therefore the duty of the education system and of the school to foster the language among these pupils at an early age.


• Ethnic Additive – this approach suggests intensive treatment of this population by adding study hours to develop core and linguistic skills.


• Cultural Pluralism, Cultural Differences – by including elements from the ethnic culture, and their incorporation in the various teaching and learning styles.


• Self-Concept Development – by focusing on the child's individual empowerment through his or her strengths.

The education system in Israel has implemented various theories over the years, which did not prove to be successful (Peled, 1984; Peres, 1977; Shapira, 1977). On of the paradigms noted by Lynch and Banks (1986), that of cultural pluralism seems to be the most common. These principles served as a basis for shaping an educational policy in one of the towns in the northern part of Israel, where 55% of the local population is composed of new immigrants from the Former Soviet Union and Ethiopia.

 A collaborative model of cooperation was built including: Ministry of education inspectors, Head of education department, principles, coordinators and teachers in the elementary schools.

The aim was to engage all the education system to cop with the target of increasing pupil’s knowledge in Hebrew  language and mathematics in order to help them to integrate more successfully in the Israeli society.

Research questions: How the elementary education system can cop with the cultural, social and socioeconomic variance and gaps of the pupils in the elementary schools in order to integrate and promote them?

Aims of the study: To accompany and evaluate an holistic program, “No Child is left Behind,” implemented in all the town schools.

Two main aspects of the program were assessed:

The implementation of the program in the education system.

The impact of the program on the pupils’ integration and achievements. 

Methodology: The municipal evaluation plan includes all the pupils in the town's elementary schools (N=2737).

The evaluation and assessment process is composed of external appraisal of the entire system twice a year and internal appraisal at different junctions throughout the year.

 Research tools: Diagnostic tests - closed and open questions.

Questioners - Open end questions for researching the pupils’ well being and integration.

The methods used for analysis of results: statistical tests were used for analyzing the diagnostic tests, T test was used to identify and examine if there was a significant   change between the diagnosis tests. Qualitative analysis were used to categories and identify the changes in the pupils’ feeling of well being and integration in school society.

Findings: The outcomes of systematic evaluation serve as the basis for educational policy, working plans and decisions at the different levels. The evaluation findings form the basis for developing intervention programs at the municipal, school, class, and individual levels. This municipal move led to a significant change in the perception of the individual needs and to the development of a unique individualistic approach and pupil empowerment, while breaking the vicious circle which characterizes low self-efficacy.

The study demonstrates the evaluation process and the development of insights and intervention programs at the different levels, which have lead to a significant improvement in the pupils' achievements and in their integration into the education system, as a basis for their successful integration in society.

Conclusions: Assessment in general, and in the education system in particular, is threatening – grades threaten the pupils but also reflect the teacher’s achievements. Assessment process has changed from being a threatening tool to a working tool   !!!

Today, all parties in town education system have become the consumers of assessment findings as a basis for proper planning and exploitation of resources. Those are used in order to reach maximal outcomes for promoting pupils from different countries and cultures

No Child is Left Behind.

The feeling of incompetence among the pupils has been broken. The success in the areas of language and mathematics is projected on other areas, creating a magical circle of success.

Schools became leaders of learning processes. The pattern of success of both the pupil, class and school level are examined and transferred to a tool that significantly contributes to the improvement of pupil’s achievements and school climate.

The relevance of the paper to the EARLI Conference Goals and Themes: the study is relevant to Knowledge Acquisition and Expertise in special domains, conceptual understanding and changes in the elementary school system that has to cope with 55% of the pupils population that are new immigrants white cultural gaps and language problems. The study is also is appropriate to assessment and evaluation of large systems in the education domain.

  The model can be used in other countries to respond to the needs of many immigrant pupils, who find it difficult to integrate into school and society at large.