Te'udat Bagrut (, ''lit.'' "maturity certificate",

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

: شهادة بجروت) is a certificate that attests that a student has successfully passed

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

's high school

matriculation examination A matriculation examination or matriculation exam is a university entrance examination, which is typically held towards the end of secondary school. After passing the examination, a student receives a school leaving certificate recognising academi ...

. Bagrut is a prerequisite for higher education in Israel.

Overview

A Bagrut certificate is awarded by the

Israeli Ministry of Education The Ministry of Education ( he, מִשְׂרָד הַחִנּוּךְ, translit. ''Misrad HaHinukh''; ar, وزارة التربية والتعليم) is the branch of the Israeli government charged with overseeing public education institutions ...

to students who pass the ministry's required written (and in some cases oral) subject-matter examinations with a passing mark (55% or higher) in each exam. The Bagrut certificate however should not be confused with a high school diploma (''te'udat g'mar tichon'', ،

: شهادة انهاء الثانويّة), which is a certificate awarded by the Ministry of Education attesting that a student has completed 12 years of study. Bagrut scores are one of the criteria examined in applications to elite military units and Israeli academic institutions. Other criteria include students' high school grades and the

Psychometric Entrance Test The Psychometric Entrance Test (PET) – commonly known in Hebrew as "''ha-Psikhometri''" – is a standardized test that serves as an entrance exam for institutions of higher education in Israel. The PET covers three areas: quantitative reasonin ...

. Bagrut exams are frequently compared to the

New York State New York, officially the State of New York, is a state in the Northeastern United States. It is often called New York State to distinguish it from its largest city, New York City. With a total area of , New York is the 27th-largest U.S. stat ...

Regents Examinations In New York State, Regents Examinations are statewide standardized examinations in core high school subjects. Students are required to pass these exams to earn a Regents Diploma. To graduate, students are required to have earned appropriate credi ...

, the College Board's Advanced Placement (AP) tests, the British A-levels, the German Abitur, and the European

Matura or its translated terms (''Mature'', ''Matur'', , , , , , ) is a Latin name for the secondary school exit exam or "maturity diploma" in various European countries, including Albania, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, C ...

Bagrut exams

Bagrut examinations assess knowledge on subjects studied in high school. The process of matriculation in Israel is supervised by the country's Ministry of Education. The exams of all compulsory subjects and most elective subjects are designed and written by the Ministry, thereby creating a standard measure of the students' knowledge throughout the country. In academically oriented high schools, the last two years of studies are geared to preparing students for the bagrut exams.

Compulsory subjects

* 3–5 units of

English language English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the ...

(written and oral) and literature * 3–5 units of Mathematics *2 units

Civics Civics is the study of the rights and obligations of citizens in society. The term derives from the Latin word ''civicus'', meaning "relating to a citizen". The term relates to behavior affecting other citizens, particularly in the context of ur ...

*2 units General and Israeli history * 2 units Hebrew/Arabic and translated world

literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

Jewish thought Jewish thought ( he, מחשבת ישראל, ''Machshevet Yisrael'', or ''machshavah''), also known as Judaic thought or Hebraic thought, is a field of Jewish studies that deals with the products of Jewish thought and culture throughout the ages, an ...

in state religious schools) * At least one 5-unit elective, such as geography, physics, chemistry, biology, computer science, Arabic, French, social sciences, expanded

physical education Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement explorat ...

etc. It is also possible to expand a 2 unit discipline to 5 units, or to write an academic-style thesis worth 5 units in a certain discipline. School dependent subjects * Religious

Scripture Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They differ from literature by being a compilation or discussion of beliefs, mythologies, ritual pra ...

s: **State schools – 2 units

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
'' Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
'' Oral Torah According to Rabbinic Judaism, the Oral Torah or Oral Law ( he, , Tōrā šebbəʿal-pe}) are those purported laws, statutes, and legal interpretations that were not recorded in the Five Books of Moses, the Written Torah ( he, , Tōrā šebbīḵ ...

and

Talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law ('' halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the ce ...

**Arab schools – 1 unit Muslim, Christian or Druze culture and heritage ("religion and heritage" for

Christians Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words '' Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ ...

) *Language ** Hebrew-language schools – 2 units

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

grammar and composition **Arabic-language schools – 3 units

grammar and composition, 3 units

grammar and composition Internal subjects compulsory only for students who studied in a traditional high-school setting (not included in grade average) *180 hours physical education (60 a year over 3 years) *Two "general education" subjects, 30 hours each *90 hours introduction to science (3 hours a week for one year) *180 hours volunteer work

Scoring and pass rate

Most exams are available in different levels of difficulty, expressed in "units of study". In most subjects, students may choose the number of units in which they are tested. In order to receive a "full" matriculation certificate, the student must take and pass at least one subject matter exam at the 5-unit level of difficulty and earn a total of at least 20 combined study units in all bagrut exams taken. Correspondingly, the make-up of students' classes during their high school years is matched to the students' expected units of study in which they will be tested in their bagrut exams. For example, students planning to take the 5-unit mathematics exam will take mathematics courses specifically designed for a 5-unit level of difficulty all throughout their high school careers. 65.5% of Israeli high school 2014 graduates, or other individuals studying for the 2014 exam (usually post-

compulsory military service Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day un ...

persons completing Bagrut requirements later in life in order to apply for higher education) had passed the requirements to be eligible to receive a Bagrut certificate. Of the overall population who was of high school graduation age in 2019, 76.1% were eligible to receive a Bagrut certificate.

Recent history

A copy of the 2010 mathematics exam (in the four and five units levels) was leaked to students, but a teacher reported it to authorities and all tests were replaced. In 2011, the percentage of 17-year-olds who passed the matriculation exams rose to 48.3 percent, and the number of students sitting for the exams in both the Jewish and the Arab school systems increased.Sa'ar hails 2.2% rise in bagrut pass rate
/ref> Recently, as of 2021, all the bagrut exams' materials have been decreased to ensure a high passing rate due to the

coronavirus pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identifie ...

that prevented students from going to schools as they would normally do. In the last decade, bagrut exams are still being leaked 5–10 minutes before the exams' start time.

References