toets

Toets is a Dutch noun with several related meanings. The most common sense is a test or examination used to assess knowledge, skill, or performance. In education, een toets can be written, oral, or practical and may function as a formative assessment during a course or as a summative assessment at its end. The term covers formal examinations as well as shorter checks, such as een wekelijkse toets or een tussentijdse toets. The plural is toetsen. Related terms include formatieve toets (formative assessment) and summatieve toets (summative assessment).

In another sense, toets also denotes a physical key on a keyboard or a piano. The keys on a keyboard are toetsen, and a computer keyboard is a toetsenbord. The verb toetsen is used for testing things or for pressing keys; common expressions include op de toets drukken (press the key) and een toets afnemen (to administer a test).

In medical or laboratory contexts, the word can appear in compounds describing a test or screening, though more specific terms such as bloedtest or urine-test are also common in everyday language. The word is widely used in the Netherlands and in Dutch-speaking parts of Belgium (Flanders). It is generally neutral in tone and less formal than examen, which tends to denote a high-stakes assessment, whereas toetss are used for a broader range of checks and evaluations.