The National Assessment of Knowledge (NPZ) is a form of external assessment in Slovenian elementary education designed to monitor the achievement of learning objectives and standards set forth in the curriculum. In the subject of biology, it provides insight into students’ knowledge upon completion of elementary school and contributes to monitoring the quality of teaching and learning. In this master’s thesis, we conducted a content analysis of the 2025 national biology assessment. We were interested in identifying the typical errors and misconceptions found in students’ responses, determining which topics students do not master satisfactorily by the end of elementary school, and understanding the challenges they face in comprehending instructions and expressing biological concepts in writing. In the study, we analyzed 200 randomly selected and anonymized test papers from the 2025 national biology assessment. We used descriptive statistics and content analysis of students’ responses in our analysis. The results show that students have the most difficulty with content that requires an understanding of biological processes, the integration of biological concepts, and the application of knowledge to new situations. Among the most common difficulties were misconceptions regarding photosynthesis and cellular respiration, pollination and seed dispersal, the functioning of organic systems, experiment design, as wellas understanding cell division and the inheritance of traits.We also found that students have difficulty understanding instructions, formulating appropriate justifications, and using specialized biological terminology. The results are consistent with the findings of previous studies and analyses of the national biology assessment.
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