4,615 of 6,684 candidates pass Romania's school director competence test
The education ministry said 4,615 of 6,684 candidates passed the first competence test on Tuesday, 13 October 2026, a 69.05% pass rate before appeals. Two women heading Bucharest colleges were among those who failed and blamed the 60-minute limit.
The first test
On Tuesday, 13 October 2026, candidates for director and deputy director posts in state schools sat the competence assessment, the first stage of the selection. The Ministry of Education and Research said the test was taken digitally on a dedicated platform at 42 examination centres, two of them in Bucharest. It had 20 items with four answer choices each, worth 0.5 points apiece, and working time was capped at 60 minutes. The National Centre for Curriculum and Evaluation wrote the items, which described hypothetical situations from school life and covered 7 verbal, 7 numerical and 6 logical reasoning questions. A grade of at least 6, equal to at least 12 correct answers, was needed to move on, and that grade does not count toward the final average.
Results before appeals
The ministry counted 6,841 validated candidates, a figure that excludes Buzău county, where the contest is suspended following a court decision. Of the 6,684 who sat the test, 4,615 reached the pass mark, a rate of 69.05% before any appeals. The ministry put the average grade at 6.45 with a median of 6.5, although Adevărul reported the average as 6.50. In total, 2,069 candidates fell short of the pass mark.
- Passed
- 4615 candidates
- Did not pass
- 2069 candidates
Thirty-four candidates scored the maximum 10, while four scored 1.50 and two scored 0. A further 547 candidates scored 5 and 670 scored 5.50, both below the threshold. Covasna led the counties with an 82.1% pass rate, followed by Sălaj, Cluj, Ilfov and Prahova. Mehedinți, Constanța, Bihor and Satu Mare were among the lowest, with Călărași last at 55.3%. Urban candidates passed at 70.9%, against 65.7% for rural candidates.
- Covasna
- 82.1 %
- Sălaj
- 81.6 %
- Cluj
- 81 %
- Ilfov
- 76.1 %
- Prahova
- 75.7 %
- Călărași
- 55.3 %
- Mehedinți
- 57.9 %
- Constanța
- 60.7 %
- Bihor
- 61.2 %
- Satu Mare
- 61.4 %
Candidates' reactions
Ionela Neagoe, director of the Gheorghe Lazăr National College in Bucharest, did not pass and named time as the central problem in an interview with Educație Privată.
The big problem was the time.
She said reading the items alone took about ten minutes of the hour, that she ticked the last four without reading them, and that the equipment did not work properly. Andreia Bodea, director of the I.L. Caragiale National College, also failed. She said the ratio of text to time was the issue, since reading each requirement two or three times needed between about one minute 45 seconds and two minutes per item. She missed one point for lack of time and argued that the contest should have had one written test and an interview.
Violeta Bontilă, director of the C.D. Loga National College in Timișoara, passed but wrote that she felt humiliated by the experience.
No, I am not happy. I feel humiliated!
She criticized the absence of scrap paper, saying she had to work sums on the question sheet, and suggested that politicians who run the country or seek management posts should sit the same test.
Ministry response
Interim Education Minister Mihai Dimian congratulated the candidates who passed and encouraged the others in a Facebook message on Tuesday. He wrote:
I thank all my colleagues who took part and congratulate those who passed!
He urged teachers who did not sign up to trust their own competences and sit the next session, saying schools need teachers willing to take responsibility for leading them. Dimian also compared the test with international assessments, saying knowledge shows its value when it can be applied. He noted that Romania will take part for the first time in 2028 in PIAAC, the OECD adult skills survey, also known as PISA for adults.
What comes next
The written exam is scheduled for 20 October 2026, and the timeline below sets out the remaining stages.
- First competence test held in 42 examination centres
- Written exam scheduled
- Interview committees begin assessing management and action plans, running to 4 November 2026
- Interview test phase begins, scheduled to run to 27 November 2026
- Final results scheduled
Interview committees will assess management plans and action plans from 21 October to 4 November 2026. The interview test is set for 12 to 27 November 2026, and final results are scheduled for 9 December 2026.