The Sri Lankan Advanced Level (A-level), is a

General Certificate of Education The General Certificate of Education (GCE) is a subject-specific family of academic qualifications used in awarding bodies in England, Wales, Northern Ireland, Crown dependencies and a few Commonwealth countries. For some time, the Scottish e ...

(GCE) qualification exam in

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

, similar to the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

Advanced Level The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational aut ...

, conducted annually by the

Department of Examinations The Department of Examinations is a non-ministerial government department of the Sri Lanka and the national examination service. It comes within the purview of the Ministry of Education. The department is responsible for carrying out public examinat ...

of the

Ministry of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

. It is usually taken by students during the optional final two years of collegiate level (grade 12 and 13 (usual age 18–19) or external (non-school) candidates, after they have completed GCE

Ordinary Level The O-Level (Ordinary Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education. It was introduced in place of the School Certificate in 1951 as part of an educational reform alongside the more in-depth ...

exams. The majority of candidates enter the exams via their respective schools, while candidates who have finished school education can also apply as private applicants. The qualification also serves as an entrance requirement for Sri Lankan state universities. The exams are held in three mediums: Sinhala,

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, na ...

and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

Fields Of Study

The candidates are expected to study for 2 years at collegiate level before taking the examination. The examination diversifies over 5 major fields of study, # Physical Science stream (Combined Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry or Information Technology or Higher Mathematics ) # Biological Science stream (Biology, Physics or Agricultural Science and Chemistry) # Commerce stream # Arts stream # Technology stream (The subjects include

Engineering Technology An engineering technologist is a professional trained in certain aspects of development and implementation of a respective area of technology. Engineering technology education is even more applied and less theoretical than engineering education ...

, Bio-system Technology, Science for Technology and a category subject) In each stream, candidates are expected to face 3 subjects related to the specific stream. Additionally, there would be a General English test and a Common General test. Although the result of the General English test is not taken into account for the University Entrance selection criteria, candidates are expected to obtain a pass mark for the Common General test.

Exam procedure

The exams are conducted each year in August, in selected national schools across the country. Invigilators and supervisors are appointed by the Department of Examinations and they are typically qualified teachers of the local school system. Candidates are allowed to sit for the exam 3 times to qualify for a state university, i.e. the candidates have to meet the minimum requirements for university admission within 3 attempts in order gain university admission. The test assessments are carried out by marking panels usually consisting of qualified and experienced school teachers in service, who are guided by supervisors (usually university lecturers). It takes about 4–5 months for the final results of the island-wide examination to be released and candidates have to wait further for around one year to enter a local university, depending on the university and the course/field of study.

Physical Science stream

Physical Science stream is also known as Maths stream. Physical science stream has four main subjects: Combined Mathematics,

Physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which ...

Chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the elements that make up matter to the compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions: their composition, structure, proper ...

, and

Information and Communication Technology Information and communications technology (ICT) is an extensional term for information technology (IT) that stresses the role of unified communications and the integration of telecommunications ( telephone lines and wireless signals) and computer ...

(ICT). Under the recent syllabus, candidates can choose between either Chemistry or ICT, though Combined Mathematics and Physics are mandatory. Combined Mathematics is a combination of

Pure Mathematics Pure mathematics is the study of mathematical concepts independently of any application outside mathematics. These concepts may originate in real-world concerns, and the results obtained may later turn out to be useful for practical applications, ...

and

Applied Mathematics Applied mathematics is the application of mathematical methods by different fields such as physics, engineering, medicine, biology, finance, business, computer science, and industry. Thus, applied mathematics is a combination of mathemati ...

. Previously, the candidates had to follow these two subjects separately; by introducing Combined Mathematics syllabi, the two separate subjects were appended and redrafted. The curriculum also consists of practical experiments that students are expected to participate in school laboratories.

Biological Science streams

Biological Science stream consists of four subjects:

Biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary ...

and

Agricultural science Agricultural science (or agriscience for short) is a broad multidisciplinary field of biology that encompasses the parts of exact, natural, economic and social sciences that are used in the practice and understanding of agriculture. Profession ...

. Candidates do have option of selecting physics or Agricultural science, while biology and chemistry are mandatory .

Commerce stream

Commerce Stream has three main subjects. They are

Accounting Accounting, also known as accountancy, is the measurement, processing, and communication of financial and non financial information about economic entities such as businesses and corporations. Accounting, which has been called the "languag ...

Business Studies Business studies, often simply called business, is a field of study that deals with the principles of business, management, and economics. It combines elements of accountancy, finance, marketing, organizational studies, human resource management, ...

and

Economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics anal ...

. Candidates do have the option of selecting either Business Studies or Business Statistics and Economics or

Information Technology Information technology (IT) is the use of computers to create, process, store, retrieve, and exchange all kinds of data . and information. IT forms part of information and communications technology (ICT). An information technology syste ...

(IT)

Technology stream

Technology stream was introduced in 2013. the stream contains three subject categories ; A, B and C. candidates can select EnTechnology as category B subject, and Information communication technology, or any other subject from the category C subject group. Science for Technology (Category B) is a compulsory subject for both Engineering and Bio-system candidates. Since the stream is relatively new, number of schools that have the facilities to teach the stream is limited or null in some areas for those who want to study those subjects.

Criticism

It has been noted that in recent years the exam has become extremely competitive and even traumatic for most high school students in Sri Lanka. For the academic year of 2013, out of 55,241 candidates who applied for university admission, only 43.8% were able to gain access to the state universities through the University Grants Commission (UGC), despite satisfying minimum requirements for admission. According to a 2010 study by Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health, symptoms of

anxiety Anxiety is an emotion which is characterized by an unpleasant state of inner turmoil and includes feelings of dread over anticipated events. Anxiety is different than fear in that the former is defined as the anticipation of a future threat wh ...

and depression were common more among students in GCE Advanced Level classes compared to other grades. Students in grade 13 had the second highest depression and anxiety scores, with examination related issues being the most commonly cited problem. Out of the 445 students that were assessed, 22.9% of students in grade 12 and 28.6% in grade 13 reportedly had

severe depression Major depressive disorder (MDD), also known as clinical depression, is a mental disorder characterized by at least two weeks of pervasive low mood, low self-esteem, and loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities. Introdu ...

, while 28.6% in grade 12 and 32.1% in grade 13 had

severe anxiety Severity or Severely may refer to: * ''Severity'' (video game), a canceled video game * "Severely" (song), by South Korean band F.T. Island See also

* * {{disambig ...

. Due to the intimidating nature of the exam, family pressure, and

social stigma Social stigma is the disapproval of, or discrimination against, an individual or group based on perceived characteristics that serve to distinguish them from other members of a society. Social stigmas are commonly related to culture, gender, ra ...

resulting from exam results, most students tend to get severely depressed if they fail to achieve desired results. Some cases of

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and ...

have been linked to the exam.

References

External links

Department of Examination
{{Education_in_Asia Educational qualifications in Sri Lanka School qualifications School examinations