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The National Assessment Programme in Education (PPON) measures the level of performance on school subjects at the end of Dutch primary (elementary) education. Two assessments, in 1991 and 1996, of English as a foreign language have been conducted. This article reports on the outcomes of both assessments with regard to listening, reading and word knowledge. There is a slight decrease in pupils’ performances when the outcomes of the 1996 assessment are compared to the 1991 assessment. Large differences in performance exist between pupils from higher and lower social levels. Boys outperform girls. Time emerges as a rather stable and significant variable in foreign language teaching and learning. The assessments have provided important insights into the possibilities and limitations of foreign language teaching and learning.

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