
or its translated terms (''mature'', ''matur'', , , , , ', ) is a Latin name for the
secondary school
A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...
exit
exam
An examination (exam or evaluation) or test is an educational assessment intended to measure a test-taker's knowledge, skill, aptitude, physical fitness, or classification in many other topics (e.g., beliefs). A test may be administered verba ...
or "maturity diploma" in various
Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
an countries, including
Albania
Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...
,
Austria
Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
,
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...
,
Bulgaria
Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...
,
Croatia
Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...
,
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...
,
Hungary
Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...
,
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
,
Kosovo
Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...
,
Liechtenstein
Liechtenstein (, ; ; ), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein ( ), is a Landlocked country#Doubly landlocked, doubly landlocked Swiss Standard German, German-speaking microstate in the Central European Alps, between Austria in the east ...
,
Montenegro
, image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg
, coa_size = 80
, national_motto =
, national_anthem = ()
, image_map = Europe-Mont ...
,
North Macedonia
North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...
,
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
,
Serbia
, image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg
, national_motto =
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg
, national_anthem = ()
, image_map =
, map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...
,
Slovakia
Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...
,
Slovenia
Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...
,
Switzerland
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
and
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
.
It is taken by young adults (usually aged from 17 to 20) at the end of their
secondary education
Secondary education is the education level following primary education and preceding tertiary education.
Level 2 or ''lower secondary education'' (less commonly ''junior secondary education'') is considered the second and final phase of basic e ...
, and generally must be passed in order to apply to a university or other institutions of
higher education
Tertiary education (higher education, or post-secondary education) is the educational level following the completion of secondary education.
The World Bank defines tertiary education as including universities, colleges, and vocational schools ...
. is a
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 qualification, school leaving ce ...
and can be compared to ''
A-Level exams
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 au ...
'', the or the .
By country
Albania
The official name is ''
Matura Shtetërore
State Graduation (in Albanian ''Matura Shtetërore'') is a system regarding final exams that young adults (aged 17, 18, or 19) take at the end of their secondary education in Albania. It was created by the Albanian Ministry of Education and Scienc ...
'' (State Matura) which was introduced in 2006 by the Ministry of Education and Science replacing the school based ''Provimet e Pjekurisë'' (Maturity Examination). The ''Matura'' is the obligatory exam after finishing the ''gjimnaz'' (secondary school) to have one's education formally recognized and to become eligible to enroll in universities. Vocational schools, art schools and schools participating in pilot programs are part of the ''Matura'' with different exam structures and subjects. The Matura is a centralized affair, conducted by the QSHA (Center for Educational Services) which is in charge of selecting tasks, appointing national examiners, grading the sheets; other agencies ensure the safety and integrity of the exams.
The three compulsory subjects to complete secondary education are Albanian language and literature, mathematics and a foreign language (English, except for students in dual-language schools).
Students in high schools must also take one additional exam which they choose themselves out of a list of eight subjects. The ''Matura'' exams take place in four separate days usually in the June/July period. The first three days are for each of the compulsory subjects; the fourth day is for the additional exam. The basic marks range from 4 to 10 where a 5 is the lowest passing mark; applicants fill out forms indicating their preferred universities with no ranking between them. The State ''Matura'' replaced an admission system conducted individually by each faculty/university which was seen as abusive.
Austria
The official term for ''Matura'' in Austria is ''Reifeprüfung''. The document received after the successful completion of the written and oral exams is called ''Maturazeugnis''.
In the
Gymnasium (AHS), which, as opposed to vocational schools, focuses on general education, the ''Matura'' consists of three to four written exams (referred to as ''Klausurarbeiten'', four to five hours each) to be taken on consecutive mornings (usually in May) and two to three oral exams to be taken on the same half-day about a month later (usually in June); The higher vocational education schools (BHS) such as HBLAs, HTLs, and HTBLAs follow a similar format. All examinations are held at the school which the candidate last attended. Candidates have the option to write a scholarly paper (called ''Fachbereichsarbeit '') to be submitted at the beginning of the February preceding the final exams, which, if accepted, counts as a subject and must be defended in a corresponding oral exam.
The
grading system is the one universally used in Austrian schools: ''1'' (''sehr gut'') is excellent; ''2'' (''gut'') is good; ''3'' (''befriedigend'') is satisfactory; ''4'' (''genügend'') is passed and ''5'' (''nicht genügend'') means that the candidate has failed. In addition, a candidate's ''Maturazeugnis'' contains a formalized overall assessment: "''mit ausgezeichnetem Erfolg bestanden''" (pass with distinction: an average of 1.5 or better, no grade above 3), "''mit gutem Erfolg bestanden''" (pass with merit: an average of 2.0 or better, no grade above 3), "''bestanden''" (pass: no grade above 4); and '"''nicht bestanden''" (fail: at least one grade 5). Candidates who have failed may re-take their exams in September/October or February/March of the following school year.
Compulsory subjects for the written finals are always
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany, the country of the Germans and German things
**Germania (Roman era)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
and
Mathematics
Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...
, as well as a foreign language (usually
English,
French,
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas
**Spanish cuisine
**Spanish history
**Spanish culture
...
,
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
,
Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
or sometimes
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...
). Schools with a focus on science may require their students to take written finals in Biology or Physics.
The Austrian ''Matura'' used to be a decentralized affair, however since 2014 tests in
Mathematics
Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...
,
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany, the country of the Germans and German things
**Germania (Roman era)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
and foreign languages are now centralized and held at the same day throughout Austria. There is only one external examiner: candidates are set tasks both for their written and oral finals by their own (former) teachers. Formally, however, there is an examination board consisting of a candidate's teachers/examiners, the headmaster/headmistress and one external ''Vorsitzende(r)'' (head), usually a high-ranking school official or the head of another school. Oral exams are held publicly, but attendance by anyone other than a candidate's former schoolmates is not encouraged, and indeed rare.
It is possible for Austrians of all age groups to take the Matura. Adults from their twenties on are usually tutored at private institutions of adult education before taking their final tests, held separately before a regional examination board.
The new centralized Matura (Zentralmatura)
In 2015, the old Matura system was replaced by a new concept called ''Zentralmatura'' (centralized Matura). Graduation exams are now put together by ''bifie'' (an institution for research in education) and every graduation exam in Austria is now held on the same day. However, the teachers still correct all the exams themselves using an answer sheet that is included in the exam packages.
Students can still choose either four or three written exams (maths, German and one foreign language are compulsory; one additional language can also be chosen). When students choose three written exams, they will have to do another three oral exams. When choosing four written exams, only two additional oral exams are necessary.
What is also new is that every student now has to write a graduation paper called ''VWA'' (''Vorwissenschaftliche Arbeit'' or, literally translated, "Pre-scientific paper"). They can choose any topic they want, usually one year before graduating. When they have finished writing it (it should usually be 30.000 to 60.000 characters long), they have to present it to teachers and to the head (''Vorsitzende(r)''). The ''VWA'' is another grade in the ''Maturazeugnis''.
Bulgaria
In Bulgarian the matura is formally called ''държавен зрелостен изпит'' (
Romanization
In linguistics, romanization is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Latin script, Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, and tra ...
: ''darzhaven zrelosten izpit'', State Maturity Exam) or ДЗИ (DZI), but usually it is called simply ''матура''. There is only one compulsory subject – ''Bulgarian Language and Literature'', but students are required to select an additional subject of their choice; they can also request a third and fourth subject. Each exam consists of a single written test. The second subject must be chosen between:
* A foreign language (English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Russian)
* Mathematics
* Physics and astronomy
* Biology and health education
* Chemistry and environmental science
* History and civilization
* Geography and economics
* cycle of "Philosophy"
* Information Technology
In 2008, according to the statistics on the web site of the Bulgarian Ministry of Education, 76,013 students have registered for the matura exams. Of them only 1748 students registered for a third, voluntary subject. Only 845 of them passed the third examination successfully. Because of the exam's challenging nature, students who request a third subject have a significant advantage in the university admissions process.
Croatia
The nationwide leaving exams (''državna matura'') were introduced for
gymnasium (and other four-year high school program) students in the 2009/2010 school year. The examinations are conducted by the National Center for External Evaluation of Education (''Nacionalni centar za vanjsko vrednovanje obrazovanja'' (NCVVO)). There are two available terms during which candidates can take their exams: the summer term, taking place during June, and the fall/autumn term, typically occurring in the last weeks of August. Many university
faculties
Faculty or faculties may refer to:
Academia
* Faculty (academic staff), professors, researchers, and teachers of a given university or college (North American usage)
* Faculty (division), a large department of a university by field of study (us ...
and other higher-education institutions already have their applications closed by the end of the summer term due to having reached their first-year students enrollment quota for the upcoming academic year.
The compulsory subjects are available at elementary (B) or higher (A) level exams. Certain higher-education institutions require the candidate to take certain or all compulsory subject exams at the A level. On the other hand, there are higher-education programs requiring only the B level exams. In such cases, the candidate taking an exam in a certain subject on the A level is credited more points than a candidate taking the B level exam: 1 point on the A level exam is worth 1.6 points of the B level exam.
The three compulsory subjects are:
*
Croatian (or
Serbian,
Hungarian,
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
or
Czech
Czech may refer to:
* Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe
** Czech language
** Czechs, the people of the area
** Czech culture
** Czech cuisine
* One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus
*Czech (surnam ...
for minorities),
*
Mathematics
Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...
,
* first foreign language (
English,
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany, the country of the Germans and German things
**Germania (Roman era)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
,
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
,
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas
**Spanish cuisine
**Spanish history
**Spanish culture
...
or
French). Students can only take the exam in a language if they had taken classes (and therefore passed them) for at least two years of their high school education. Students of classical gymnasiums are therefore also able to choose
Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
or
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...
instead of (or in addition to) a modern foreign language.
The state Matura exam in Croatian language tests communicative language competences, literary theory, literary history and linguistic knowledge, understanding of literary and non-literary texts, and the use of standard Croatian language in writing various types of texts. The Croatian language exam is structured according to three test areas: Reading and Literature, Croatian Language and Writing, which are based on the educational outcomes from the subject curriculum. The Reading and Literature area consists of three subareas (reading a literary text, reading a non-literary text, theory and history of literature), and the Croatian Language and Writing areas consist of two subareas (structure of the Croatian language, application of the structure of the Croatian language; writing a functional text, writing a school essay; respectively). The number and type of tasks are predetermined for each test area and subarea.
The optional subjects are
Biology
Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, History of life, origin, evolution, and ...
,
Chemistry
Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...
,
Computer science
Computer science is the study of computation, information, and automation. Computer science spans Theoretical computer science, theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, and information theory) to Applied science, ...
,
Ethics
Ethics is the philosophy, philosophical study of Morality, moral phenomena. Also called moral philosophy, it investigates Normativity, normative questions about what people ought to do or which behavior is morally right. Its main branches inclu ...
,
Geography
Geography (from Ancient Greek ; combining 'Earth' and 'write', literally 'Earth writing') is the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding o ...
,
History
History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...
,
Logics
Logic is the study of correct Logical reasoning, reasoning. It includes both Logic#Formal logic, formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the study of Validity (logic), deductively valid inferences or logical truths. It examines how conclu ...
,
Musical arts,
Philosophy
Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...
,
Physics
Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, 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 whi ...
,
Politics
Politics () is the set of activities that are associated with decision-making, making decisions in social group, groups, or other forms of power (social and political), power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of Social sta ...
,
Psychology
Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...
,
Religious studies
Religious studies, also known as religiology or the study of religion, is the study of religion from a historical or scientific perspective. There is no consensus on what qualifies as ''religion'' and definition of religion, its definition is h ...
,
Sociology
Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...
, and
Visual arts
The visual arts are art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics (art), ceramics, photography, video, image, filmmaking, design, crafts, and architecture. Many artistic disciplines such as performing arts, conceptual a ...
. Optional subjects are available only at a single level. A gymnasium student is considered to have finished their high school education program upon passing only the three compulsory subjects (alongside fulfilling the other prerequisites set by their high school); if a student fails a Matura exam on an optional subject, that subject simply will not be listed on their certificate.
Students receive their exams in sealed opaque silver bags which they personally open typically by piercing the top with a pen and thus breaking the seal. Inside they get the exam booklet, the answer sheet (used for optically scanning students' answers for a faster grading process), a concept booklet, a new opaque silver bag, and a piece of paper with
barcode
A barcode or bar code is a method of representing data in a visual, Machine-readable data, machine-readable form. Initially, barcodes represented data by varying the widths, spacings and sizes of parallel lines. These barcodes, now commonly ref ...
stickers used for candidate identification. Before they start taking the exam, students need to stick the barcodes on every booklet, paper and bag that they received. At the end, students gather all the examination material and seal it in the opaque silver bag they had received, which will then be sent back to NCVVO for grading. The answers of the exam questions are published typically two days after the exam day.
Examinees are allowed to file a complaint on grading, or even on the exam questions. On the 2012 Croatian language exam, a total of 7 exam questions were nullified due to multiple possible interpretations of the source text and the indiscrimination by the examinees shown by the psychometric analysis.
Further enrollment into higher education is conducted
online
In computer technology and telecommunications, online indicates a state of connectivity, and offline indicates a disconnected state. In modern terminology, this usually refers to an Internet connection, but (especially when expressed as "on lin ...
via the National Computer System for Applications for Higher Education Institutions (''Nacionalni informacijski sustav prijava na visoka učilišta'' (NISpVU)).
[postani-student.hr](_blank)
''Nacionalni informacijski sustav prijava na visoka učilišta'' (NISpVU) Each candidate has the right to attempt to enroll at a maximum of 10 colleges, faculties, schools, and academies of universities, or other types of higher-education institutions. Lists of students with the right to enrollment are processed by the central computers of each institution's division. The rank is formed based on Matura exams points and optional additional criteria or extra points set by the institution that ranks the applicants, for example, admission exams, or
GPA
Grading in education is the application of standardized measurements to evaluate different levels of student achievement in a course. Grades can be expressed as letters (usually A to F), as a range (for example, 1 to 6), percentages, or as num ...
of final grades of each year in certain or all high school subjects.
For example, for a domestic student to enroll at the
School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, the following criteria needs to be met: they have acquired at least 55% on the compulsory admission exam (select advanced areas in Chemistry, Biology and Physics), and they have passed the A level exams of the compulsory Matura subjects. Their final points are then calculated based on the following:
* the compulsory admission exam (60%),
* the A level Matura exams: Croatian (10%), Mathematics (4%), foreign language (10%),
* grade point average in all high school subjects (16%).
Czech Republic
The official term for matura in the Czech Republic is ''maturita'' or ''maturitní zkouška''. In 2010, the Czech Republic introduced a system of state exams, which divided the previous system into two parts. The first is the state exam, which consists of two compulsory subjects: ''Czech language and literature'' and either a
foreign language
A foreign language is a language that is not an official language of, nor typically spoken in, a specific country. Native speakers from that country usually need to acquire it through conscious learning, such as through language lessons at schoo ...
(mostly
English, but also
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany, the country of the Germans and German things
**Germania (Roman era)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
,
Russian
Russian(s) may refer to:
*Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*A citizen of Russia
*Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages
*''The Russians'', a b ...
,
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas
**Spanish cuisine
**Spanish history
**Spanish culture
...
or
French) or mathematics (the combination is chosen by students). The second part consists of Czech language and literature and at least two, but usually three, "profile" subjects, which vary between schools. Gymnázium (similar to grammar school) students usually choose from:
*
Biology
Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, History of life, origin, evolution, and ...
*
Chemistry
Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...
* Foreign language
*
Geography
Geography (from Ancient Greek ; combining 'Earth' and 'write', literally 'Earth writing') is the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding o ...
*
History
History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...
*
Information Technologies
Information technology (IT) is a set of related fields within information and communications technology (ICT), that encompass computer systems, software, programming languages, data and information processing, and storage. Information technolo ...
*
Mathematics
Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...
*
Physics
Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, 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 whi ...
*
Social Sciences
Social science (often rendered in the plural as the social sciences) is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of society, societies and the Social relation, relationships among members within those societies. The term was former ...
(usually includes
psychology
Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...
,
sociology
Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...
,
economics
Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services.
Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...
,
law
Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...
,
political science
Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...
,
philosophy
Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...
and
international relations
International relations (IR, and also referred to as international studies, international politics, or international affairs) is an academic discipline. In a broader sense, the study of IR, in addition to multilateral relations, concerns al ...
)
The state part of the exam is supervised by CERMAT (formerly ''Centrum pro reformu maturitní zkoušky'', "Centre for Maturita Reform; now ''Centrum pro zjišťování výsledků vzdělávání'', "Centre for Determination of Education Results"), a state managed company. CERMAT issues final tests for the state part of the exam, documentation and practical tests, holds training for teachers who correct essays and supervise the students during the exams. The main part of the company is the tech centre, which is used for auto correcting the students exams. State exams are subject to continual improvement. Today the tests consist of four exams from which two are state organized and two school organized, in the future the state wants to add at least one more state exam and one more compulsory school exam.
In 2012 the state part of the ''maturita'' exam was split into two difficulty levels – students could choose between basic and advanced tests. This solution was found to be ineffective and was canceled the following year.
The Czech Republic also has a separate examination system called ''Národní srovnávací zkoušky'' ("National Comparative Test"), owned and managed by the private company Scio, s.r.o. which provides tests for all subjects. Some Czech universities recognize the results of these tests and students can be accepted based on these results, however, they still have to succeed in the ''maturita'' exam.
The examination itself is also divided between written and oral parts but not all subjects require both written and spoken input (for example math is formed by a written test only). Usually both the written and the oral part of the exam are set in late spring. The state part of the written exam is set to one day in which students in the whole country write identical tests, different tests are always issued on the day the exam takes place. The school (profile) part is always different and is based on requirements of the school which issues the test so it may be both written and spoken, but it can also be only one of the options.
The oral part of the ''maturita'' exam takes part in a classroom in which a commissioner must be present. The oral exam is divided into two 15 minute parts (except Czech language and literature, where the preparation time is 20 minutes), first a student draws a number of their question and then begins 15 minutes of preparation often called ''potítko'' ("sweat lodge") after the first 15 minutes they are called in to the 15 minute oral exam. The commission is composed of the class teacher, commissioner and either a principal or a representative principal. The student is examined by the examiner and an assessor. The examiner and the assessor usually agree on a grade which should be assigned to the student and if not the commission takes a vote for the grade. Students can graduate with a grade better than 5 (grades are 1–5, where 1 is the best).
Exam duration, for both oral and written exams, as well as preparation time, can be longer for students with disabilities.
If students fail in one subject, they have the option to repeat the subject, if they fail more than one subject, then they have to repeat the complete set of exams including the written part. All students have a maximum of three attempts to succeed in this exam, if they fail to succeed they end secondary school without the ''maturita'' and are unable to apply for college or university. They still have a chance to do maturita exam on another secondary school in the future, but this mostly means that they should finish study on that another school in full length, e.g. 4 years.
Hungary
The official term for the matura exam in Hungary is ''"érettségi vizsga"'' or simply ''"érettségi"''. It is usually taken after 12 or 13 years of schooling, at the age of 17 to 19, but may also be taken at a later age. The exam of certain subjects like foreign languages and IT can be completed at an earlier age. Candidates who pass their final exams (school-leaving exams) receive a document that contains their grades and which enables them to go to a university.
Hungarian students have to take an exam from Hungarian literature and grammar (''"magyar nyelv és irodalom"''), Mathematics (''"matematika"''), History (''"történelem"''), one foreign language (''"idegen nyelv"''), and one more subject of the student's choice that can be anything that the student had learned for at least 2 years in school. While these five subjects are mandatory for obtaining a degree, candidates may choose as many additional exam subjects as they wish. Students can choose between standard (''közép'') or higher (''emelt'') level for each subject. The exams do not necessarily have to be taken in Hungarian; at the candidate's request, they can be taken in any language (with the exception of Hungarian literature and grammar for obvious reasons).
The Hungarian literature and grammar, History, the Sciences (e.g. biology) and foreign language exams are made up of a written and an oral part, while the standard-level Mathematics exam contains only a written part. (Should a candidate fail their standard-level Mathematics exam, they can have an oral exam in order to pass). The higher-level Mathematics exam consists of both a written and an oral part.
The grading scale of the ''érettségi'' is the same as the usual grading used in Hungarian schools but the percentages differ: excellent (5), good (4), medium (3), pass (2), and fail (1).
Italy
In
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
the examination is commonly called ''(esame di) maturità'' ("maturity exam") or just ''esame di Stato'' ("state exam"), but the official name is ''esame di Stato conclusivo del corso di studio di istruzione secondaria superiore'' ("Final state exam of the upper secondary cycle of studies"). This is the final exam for
secondary school
A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...
, which students are normally required to pass in order to be admitted to colleges and universities.
In Italy, the maturità is informally regarded as a
rite of passage
A rite of passage is a ceremony or ritual of the passage which occurs when an individual leaves one group to enter another. It involves a significant change of social status, status in society. In cultural anthropology the term is the Anglicisa ...
from adolescence to adulthood, after which secondary school graduates get ready for higher education and/or a job.
Examination boards are composed of three internal teachers belonging to the student's school, three external teachers and an external president of the board. Every year 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 ...
decides which subjects will be assigned to external teachers; these are different depending on the type of school.
The exam is divided into written and oral sections. The written section consists of three tests. The first one is Italian and is identical nationwide: students are required to write an essay, an article on a given topic, but they can also choose to analyse and comment on a text (usually a poem). The second test changes according to the type of school the student attended, so it can be on a wide variety of different subjects, such as
pedagogy
Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political, and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken ...
and
psychology
Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...
,
mathematics
Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...
, foreign language,
Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
, and
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...
. It is identical nationwide for schools of the same type. The subject is decided by the Ministry a few months before the exam: it is almost always the same for some types of school (for example Mathematics for ''
liceo scientifico
''Liceo scientifico'' (; ) is a type of secondary school in Italy. It is designed to give students the skills to progress to any university or higher educational institution.Decreto del Presidente della Repubblica 89/2010 - ''Regolamento di r ...
'') and it is chosen among the "written" subjects for other schools (for example, it is chosen between Latin and Ancient Greek for ''
liceo classico
The ''liceo classico'' or ''ginnasio'' () is the oldest public secondary education in Italy, secondary school type in Italy. Its educational curriculum spans over five years, when students are generally about 14 to 19 years of age.
Until 196 ...
'' or one of the three different foreign languages studied, included English, in ''
liceo linguistico''). Finally, the third test is about a maximum of five selected subjects of the last year, and it is written by every single examining commission. The student does not know before which subjects are in the text. In 2019 the third test was abolished, leaving the first and the second written tests and the oral test. The interview section is to assess that the student has really reached a personal and intellectual maturity concerning the various subjects of his or her last school year; the examining commission is supposed to ask about every subject, but has got to make sure that the candidate is also able to discuss about a variety of themes explaining and justifying his or her opinion; also, in recent years has become customary for each student to prepare a short essay (''tesina'') on a free topic, intended to showcase the ability to cover different sides of the topic using extensively the notions and methods learnt in school.
The scoring has been changed various times since 1969:
*1969–1998: pass 36, maximum 60
*1999–2006: pass 60, maximum 100 (45 + 35 + 20)
*2007–2008: pass 60, maximum 100 cum laude (40 + 45 + 30)
*2009–2018: pass 60, maximum 100 cum laude (45 + 30 + 25)
*2019: pass 60, maximum 100 cum laude (40 + 20 + 40)
The score is calculated by adding up:
* Credits: up to 25 points from school grades; the top score is assigned to students who have an average above 9 out of 10. Starting the school year 2018–2019 up to 40 points.
* Written exam: the pass mark is of 30 points out of 45. The candidate sits 3 written tests. For each one the passing mark is 10 points out of 15. Starting the school year 2018–2019 up to 40 points. The candidate sits 2 written tests. For each one up to 20 points.
* Oral exam: the passing mark is 20 points out of 30. Starting the school year 2018–2019 up to 20 points.
* Bonus: an extra 5 points can be awarded to the candidate by the examining commission. In order to get this bonus, candidates must have received at least 15 credits and the sum of their oral and written exams must be at least 70.
The students who are able to reach 100 points without needing a bonus can be awarded the ''lode'' ("cum laude") praise by the examination board.
Kosovo
In
Kosovo
Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...
, Testi i Maturës Shtetërore/Državni maturski ispit (the State Mature Exam) is mandatory for every high school student in order to get the high school certificate. Without passing the Matura Exam, one cannot apply to any university within Kosovo. It has different number of questions per subject, depending on the High School's profile.
It is held every year in June, and with the latest reforms, there are two tests, on two different days:
* the First one has 100 questions, and has questions about general subjects;
* the Second one has 100 questions, and has professional subjects questions.
From 2020 to 2022, it has 100 questions (25 per subject) on Albanian, Mathematics, English and another self-chosen subject. This exam change was made due to Covid-19 and the students have higher requirements, since they have to obtain more than 40 points to pass.
The tests are held on the same day for every school, usually in the middle of June. There is also a similar test for the Primary School pupils as well, called Testi i Semi-Maturës Shtetërore/Državni malomaturski ispit (State Semi-Matura Exam) which has 100 questions, and is mandatory for every pupil who will continue to High School.
The Semi-Matura Exam has also changed in June 2022. It now has 200 points and it is held in two days, like the Matura Exam before.
* the first exam has 100 points and is based on Social Sciences:(Albanian, History, Geography, English)
* the second exam also has 100 points but it is based on nature sciences: (Mathematics, Informatics, Biology, Chemistry, and Physics)
The Tests are provided by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, and are in Albanian, Serbian, Turkish and Bosniak, who make the ethnical groups of Kosovo.
North Macedonia
In
North Macedonia
North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...
the matura is obligatory for every high school student who is planning on going to college afterwards. It is called ''државна матура'' ("state matura") or simply ''матура'' ("matura"). Every student who intends to pass the matura is required to complete four exams:
* Native language (either
Macedonian,
Albanian
Albanian may refer to:
*Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular:
**Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans
**Albanian language
**Albanian culture
**Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...
or
Turkish): demonstrating knowledge of literature and grammar of the four-year high school studying, as well as essay writing.
*
Mathematics
Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...
/
foreign language
A foreign language is a language that is not an official language of, nor typically spoken in, a specific country. Native speakers from that country usually need to acquire it through conscious learning, such as through language lessons at schoo ...
: students choose whether they will take mathematics (basic or advanced level) or a foreign language (typically English, German, French or Russian).
* two subjects by student's choice (subjects available, beside the aforementioned ones, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Geography, Sociology, Informatics, Latin, Art, Music, History, Philosophy, Business etc)
* a project task
Poland
In the
Polish education system, the exam is officially called ''egzamin maturalny'', but it is commonly known as ''matura''. It is taken on completion of high school, in May (with additional dates in June, and retakes available in August). The exam is not compulsory, although Polish students must pass it in order to be able to apply for
higher education
Tertiary education (higher education, or post-secondary education) is the educational level following the completion of secondary education.
The World Bank defines tertiary education as including universities, colleges, and vocational schools ...
courses in Poland and elsewhere.
A major reform of the exam (originally enacted in 1999, although its introduction was delayed) came into effect as from 2005. Under the old system (popularly called ''stara matura'') candidates' performance was assessed solely by teachers from their own schools. In the new system ''(nowa matura)'' written work is assessed by independent examiners. This is considered to make the results more objective, and as a result Polish higher education institutions no longer run entrance exams (as they did under the old system), but base their admissions primarily on ''matura'' results.
As of 2015, every student taking the ''matura'' takes three compulsory exams at "basic level" ''(poziom podstawowy)'' in:
*
Polish (including knowledge of Polish and European literature)
*A selected modern language (
English,
French,
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany, the country of the Germans and German things
**Germania (Roman era)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
,
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
,
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas
**Spanish cuisine
**Spanish history
**Spanish culture
...
or
Russian
Russian(s) may refer to:
*Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*A citizen of Russia
*Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages
*''The Russians'', a b ...
)
*
Mathematics
Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...
as well as at least one subject at "extended level" ''(poziom rozszerzony)''. These include the above as well as
biology
Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, History of life, origin, evolution, and ...
,
chemistry
Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...
,
geography
Geography (from Ancient Greek ; combining 'Earth' and 'write', literally 'Earth writing') is the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding o ...
,
social studies
In many countries' curricula, social studies is the combined study of humanities, the arts, and social sciences, mainly including history, economics, and civics. The term was coined by American educators around the turn of the twentieth century as ...
,
history
History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...
,
history of art
The history of art focuses on objects made by humans for any number of spiritual, narrative, philosophical, symbolic, conceptual, documentary, decorative, and even functional and other purposes, but with a primary emphasis on its aesthetics ...
,
history of music
Although definitions of music vary wildly throughout the world, every known culture partakes in it, and it is thus considered a cultural universal. The origins of music remain highly contentious; commentators often relate it to the origin of la ...
,
information technology
Information technology (IT) is a set of related fields within information and communications technology (ICT), that encompass computer systems, software, programming languages, data processing, data and information processing, and storage. Inf ...
,
physics
Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, 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 whi ...
and
astronomy
Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest includ ...
,
Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
and Ancient History,
philosophy
Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...
, another modern language, languages of
ethnic group
An ethnicity or ethnic group is a group of people with shared attributes, which they collectively believe to have, and long-term endogamy. Ethnicities share attributes like language, culture, common sets of ancestry, traditions, society, re ...
s in Poland (
Belarusian,
Lithuanian,
Ukrainian),
Kashubian and
Lemko
Lemkos (; ; ; ) are an ethnic group inhabiting the Lemko Region (; ) of Carpathian Ruthenia, Carpathian Rus', an ethnographic region in the Carpathian Mountains and Carpathian Foothills, foothills spanning Ukraine, Slovakia, and Poland.
Lemkos ...
.
Exams in Polish and other languages include both a written paper and an oral examination.
Results are currently expressed as percentages. To pass the ''matura'' it is necessary to score at least 30% in each of the three compulsory exams. The results of the additional exams do not affect whether a student passes, but are usually a factor when applying for higher education places. Since the year 2015 the results are expressed not only as percentages, but are also accompanied by
percentile
In statistics, a ''k''-th percentile, also known as percentile score or centile, is a score (e.g., a data point) a given percentage ''k'' of all scores in its frequency distribution exists ("exclusive" definition) or a score a given percentage ...
s on the Matura certificate. This aims to make comparisons between Matura scores from different years fairer.
The exams are conducted by the Central Examination Board ''(Centralna Komisja Egzaminacyjna; CKE)'', assisted by a number of Regional Examination Boards ''(Okręgowa Komisja Egzaminacyjna; OKE)''. The same bodies also conduct tests for pupils completing primary school.
A custom associated with the ''matura'' is the ''
studniówka
''Studniówka'' () is a traditional ball for final grade high school ('' liceum'' or '' technikum'') students (i.e. aged 18–20) in Poland, analogous to senior prom in the United States. It is held approximately a hundred days before the ''ma ...
'', a ball organized for students and their teachers approximately one hundred days before the examinations begin. Following a popular superstition, candidates (particularly female ones) wear red underwear at the ball, and then wear the same items for the exam itself, to bring luck.
Serbia
Matura () is an obligatory exam at the end of primary school and high school. The exam taken at the end of primary school is called (Minor) while the one at the end of high school is called (Major).
For there are three exams:
*
Serbian language
Serbian (, ) is the standard language, standardized Variety (linguistics)#Standard varieties, variety of the Serbo-Croatian language mainly used by Serbs. It is the official and national language of Serbia, one of the three official languages of ...
*
Mathematics
Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...
* and a special test that has either
biology
Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, History of life, origin, evolution, and ...
,
geography
Geography (from Ancient Greek ; combining 'Earth' and 'write', literally 'Earth writing') is the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding o ...
,
history
History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...
,
chemistry
Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...
or
physics
Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, 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 whi ...
based on student's choice.
For (Major) exams depend on the type of school where the student is taking the exam. In
gymnasiums these three exams are taken:
*
Serbian language
Serbian (, ) is the standard language, standardized Variety (linguistics)#Standard varieties, variety of the Serbo-Croatian language mainly used by Serbs. It is the official and national language of Serbia, one of the three official languages of ...
*
Mathematics
Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...
or
English language
English is a West Germanic language that developed in early medieval England and has since become a English as a lingua franca, global lingua franca. The namesake of the language is the Angles (tribe), Angles, one of the Germanic peoples th ...
* And a third exam where students can choose to write a dissertation about a subject from the following courses:
physics
Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, 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 whi ...
,
chemistry
Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...
,
biology
Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, History of life, origin, evolution, and ...
,
history
History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...
,
geography
Geography (from Ancient Greek ; combining 'Earth' and 'write', literally 'Earth writing') is the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding o ...
,
philosophy
Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...
,
psychology
Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...
,
sociology
Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...
,
informatics
Informatics is the study of computational systems. According to the Association for Computing Machinery, ACM Europe Council and Informatics Europe, informatics is synonymous with computer science and computing as a profession, in which the centra ...
,
musicology
Musicology is the academic, research-based study of music, as opposed to musical composition or performance. Musicology research combines and intersects with many fields, including psychology, sociology, acoustics, neurology, natural sciences, ...
or
art
Art is a diverse range of cultural activity centered around ''works'' utilizing creative or imaginative talents, which are expected to evoke a worthwhile experience, generally through an expression of emotional power, conceptual ideas, tec ...
.
In technical or medical schools these exams are taken:
*
Serbian language
Serbian (, ) is the standard language, standardized Variety (linguistics)#Standard varieties, variety of the Serbo-Croatian language mainly used by Serbs. It is the official and national language of Serbia, one of the three official languages of ...
*
Mathematics
Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...
* Depending on the school, a technician-type exam or a medicine-related exam
In Serbian maturas, usually only the dissertation portion of the exam is letter-graded while the rest are point-graded. After passing their exams, students can attempt to enroll at high schools or colleges and other higher-education institutions of their choice. The rankings which determine which students will be accepted to a certain high school are formed based on Matura exam points and
GPA
Grading in education is the application of standardized measurements to evaluate different levels of student achievement in a course. Grades can be expressed as letters (usually A to F), as a range (for example, 1 to 6), percentages, or as num ...
of final grades of each year in certain or all subjects. For colleges and other higher-education institutions, admission exams are also taken into account. The mandatory college admission exam accounts for 60% of a student's ranking points while Matura exam points and the grade point average in all high school subjects account for 40%.
Slovakia
In Slovakia the matura is formally called ''Maturitná skúška''. It consists of one to three distinct parts, depending on the subject. The first section is the External Section and is not required by all subjects. The second section is the Internal Section, it may have one or two subsections, the first one is the written subsection, which is not required by all subjects, and the second one is the verbal subsection, which is required by all subjects. All the sections of matura take place either in the "proper" term, which ranges from March to June, or in an "extraordinary" term, which may be from April to May, or September, or February of the next year.
The first part consists of the External Section. The subjects that include it are: the first foreign language (English, French, German, Russian, Spanish, and Italian), mathematics, Slovak language and literature, Slovak language and Slovak literature, Hungarian language and literature, and Ukrainian language and literature.
This section is usually held in March. This section consists of a multiple choice and short answer test. The tests are prepared and electronically assessed by NÚCEM (National Institute for Certified Educational Measurements). The test for the External Section of a given subject has a start time that is the same for the whole of Slovakia and students are supervised by external employees (not employees of the school the test is taking place).
The second part consists of the written subsection of the Internal Section. The subjects which include the written subsection are: Slovak language and literature, Slovak language and Slovak literature, Hungarian language and literature, and Ukrainian language and literature. This subsection consists of one "long answer" question, where a student either receives a theme, or four themes from which they pick one, and then they write an essay in the corresponding language. The length of the essay is based on the proficiency
CEFR
The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment, abbreviated in English as CEFR, CEF, or CEFRL, is a guideline used to describe achievements of learners of foreign languages across Europe and, increasingl ...
level of the student. B1 – 160 – 180 words, B2 – 200 – 220 words, C1 – 260 – 320 words, native language (usually Slovak) – 1.5 – 3
A4 pages. The essay themes of a given subject have a start time that is the same for the whole of Slovakia and students are supervised by external employees (not employees of the school the test is taking place). Afterwards essays are evalued by each school according to central criteria.
The third part consists of the verbal subsection of the Internal Section. All subjects include this part. It is usually held in May. Schools create, supervise, and evaluate this part internally. Each subject has its maturita commission, which will create 25 assignments, which each have 3 questions. Afterwards, the school's principal will approve these based on recommendations from the commission's chairman.
Students must bring a government issued
ID card to prove their identity.
When taking part in matura, students choose or are assigned a proficiency level for their foreign language of choice depending on the school type and student skill.
Students of gymnasium schools have to choose at least one foreign language at level B2. Students of linguist-specialized (bilingual) gymnasium schools and students in bilingual classes are assigned the C1 level for the foreign language they are focused on. In the past, if the student had gotten an additional certificate from foreign language (IELTS, TOEFL, CAE, FCE), at least at level B1, they did not need to pass the foreign language exam. However, this was changed in 2014, and now all secondary education students are required to pass the foreign language exam as a part of their matura.
Required subjects for each student depend on the type of school they attend. Usually 4 subjects are required depending on the native language of the student. For gymnasiums, these are: native language (usually Slovak) and literature, a foreign language, and 2 subjects chosen by the student, if the student is a part of an official
national minority, in addition to their native language, they are required to choose either Slovak language and literature, or Slovak language and Slovak literature instead of 1 of the 2 choosable subjects. For the first choosable subject, the student must have a cumulative minimum of 6 weekly classes of that subject, or one that falls under the same category (for example, a student may have had 2 classes of math each week for 4 years, this would give them a cumulative total of 8 math classes). Students of bilingual gymnasium schools may have to choose up to 5 additional subjects instead of the regular 2. For schools with a
dual education system
A dual education system combines apprenticeships in a company and vocational education at a vocational school in one course. This system is practiced in several countries, notably Germany, Austria, Switzerland, South Tyrol and in the German-speak ...
(stredné odborné školy), these are: native language (usually Slovak) and literature, a foreign language, theoretical part of the subject the school is focused on, and a practical part of the subject the school is focused on, if the student is a part of an official national minority, they are required to choose either Slovak language and literature, or Slovak language and Slovak in addition to the other subjects. Some dual education system schools may offer a "postmatura education", in which case, the student has already completed matura in the past, and therefore, their only subjects for matura are the theoretical part of the subject the school is focused on, and the practical part of the subject the school is focused on. A student may choose to take part in any number of subjects in addition to the ones they are required to choose.
If a student fails, does not show up without an accepted excuse, does "unacceptable behaviour" (cheating or exhibiting improper behaviour) during the external exam, or refuses to answer one of the questions in the vocal part, one of the required subjects, they are able to redo the matura in one of the extraordinary terms (unless unacceptable behaviour), or try again in the next year's term.
If a student fails, does not show up, or refuses to answer one of the questions in the vocal part of one of their extra subjects, that subject is not included in their final report, if however, they receive a passing, but unfavourable result from one of their extra subjects, they are not able to exclude it from their final report.
Slovenia
In
Slovenia
Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...
, the ''splošna matura'' (a general, university-oriented leaving exam) is an obligatory examination completed at the end of ''gimnazija'' (upper secondary school) in order to have one's education formally recognised and to become eligible to enroll in colleges and universities. It ought not be confused with the ''poklicna matura'' (a vocational leaving exam), which is an obligatory examination completed at the end of vocational school programmes and which is not used to demonstrate one's eligibility for university studies. Since there are no entrance examinations for the vast majority of Slovenian university programmes (notable exceptions include art, music and architecture), the score on this exam serves as the main criterion for admission (grades achieved during secondary school also play a small part).
It consists of three compulsory and two elective subjects, although three elective subjects may exceptionally be taken. Among the compulsory subjects, one must be a first or national language (usually
Slovene, but, in areas with recognised minorities, alternatively
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
or
Hungarian), one
Mathematics
Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...
and one a second or international modern language (selected among
English,
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany, the country of the Germans and German things
**Germania (Roman era)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
,
French,
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas
**Spanish cuisine
**Spanish history
**Spanish culture
...
,
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
and
Russian
Russian(s) may refer to:
*Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*A citizen of Russia
*Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages
*''The Russians'', a b ...
). The elective subjects may be chosen among all of the remaining subjects one has encountered over the course of one's secondary school education (including whichever modern languages one has not already chosen, the ancient languages
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
and
Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
,
physics
Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, 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 whi ...
,
chemistry
Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...
,
biology
Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, History of life, origin, evolution, and ...
,
geography
Geography (from Ancient Greek ; combining 'Earth' and 'write', literally 'Earth writing') is the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding o ...
,
history
History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...
,
history of art
The history of art focuses on objects made by humans for any number of spiritual, narrative, philosophical, symbolic, conceptual, documentary, decorative, and even functional and other purposes, but with a primary emphasis on its aesthetics ...
,
theory of art
A theory of art is intended to contrast with a definition of art. Traditionally, ''definitions'' are composed of necessary and sufficient conditions, and a single counterexample overthrows such a definition. ''Theorizing'' about art, on the othe ...
,
music
Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...
,
philosophy
Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...
,
psychology
Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...
,
sociology
Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...
,
economics
Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services.
Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...
,
informatics
Informatics is the study of computational systems. According to the Association for Computing Machinery, ACM Europe Council and Informatics Europe, informatics is synonymous with computer science and computing as a profession, in which the centra ...
,
biotechnology
Biotechnology is a multidisciplinary field that involves the integration of natural sciences and Engineering Science, engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms and parts thereof for products and services. Specialists ...
,
electrotechnics
Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems that use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...
,
mechanics
Mechanics () is the area of physics concerned with the relationships between force, matter, and motion among Physical object, physical objects. Forces applied to objects may result in Displacement (vector), displacements, which are changes of ...
and others, with some limitiations upon which subjects may be taken concurrently if one is taking two electives and none if one is exceptionally taking three).
The leaving exam is a centralised affair, conducted by the National Examination Centre which is in charge of setting assignments, appointing national examiners, grading examination sheets and disclosing the scores to all of the universities candidates have applied to within Slovenia.
The assessment is somewhat complicated, as there exist different criteria for marking different sets of subjects (largely depending on whether they are taken at an advanced or else standard level, with some subjects only being available at one). In general:
*Among the subjects, the first language is unique and is always graded on an advanced scale from 1 to 8 (with 1 the lowest and 8 the highest score).
*All of the other compulsory subjects, whether taken as compulsory or elective, may be taken at either an advanced or else standard level. If at an advanced level, they are graded on an advanced scale from 1 to 8, while if at a standard level, they are graded on a standard scale from 1 to 5.
*All of the other elective subjects are graded on a standard scale from 1 to 5.
The only score which indicates a failure to pass the examination is 1; all of the other scores are passes of different degrees (with 2 deemed 'satisfactory', and either 8 or else 5 deemed 'excellent' at different scales).
It is, however, possible to pass the examination with a score of 1 in one subject if two conditions are met:
*The candidate has achieved at least 80% of the points required for a score of 2 on a scale from 1 to 5 in the subject, and
*The candidate has received at least a score of 2 in all other subjects, where
**In at least two subjects, the candidate has been awarded a score of 3 or higher (if the subject passed with a score of 1 is a compulsory subject), or
**In at least one subject, the candidate has been awarded a score of 3 or higher (if the subject passed with a score of 1 is an elective subject).
Thus, it is possible to gain up to 34 points across five subjects on the examination. If a candidate has taken five subjects, as is usually the case, all of them are accounted for in this final score. However, if a candidate has exceptionally taken six subjects, the sixth subject may be used to determine a final score in place of the lowest-scored among the first five subjects; in this case, all subjects are still accounted for on the candidate's transcript, but one is excluded from the determination of the final score. Students who have achieved 30 or more points are awarded leaving exam diplomas
cum laude
Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...
(or, in Slovene, are recognised as having achieved a ''zlata matura'' or 'golden leaving exam') and are usually commended by the president of Slovenia at a festive reception held in September.
The structure of particular examinations is as follows:
* ''First Language – Slovene (or Hungarian or Italian for members of minorities)''
** Sheet 1: Students write an essay (650 words) on the two pieces of literature. The national committee for Slovene (''Državna predmetna komisija za splošno maturo za slovenščino'') publishes the titles of the two works the examinees are expected to know one year ahead. This sheet represents 50% of the final score.
** Sheet 2: Students are given an unknown text from a newspaper, magazine etc., followed by some 30 tasks, testing their ability to read, interpret, and understand the text. Also, students' knowledge of
Slovene grammar
The following is an overview of the grammar of the Slovene language.
Common phonological changes
As in most other Slavic languages, changes to consonants and vowels often occur between related forms of words. Most of these can be traced back to c ...
, word-formation and spelling is tested. The last task is to form a certain type of text, being an invitation, a letter of complaint, biography etc. This sheet represents 30% of the final mark.
** Oral exam: A candidate is given three questions. The first two are related to the world literature, whereas the third asks about Slovene grammar and history of literature. It is possible to gain 20%.
The final score is expressed in points from 1 (failure) to 8 (the highest standard of knowledge).
*Mathematics
It is possible to take this subject on a higher or basic level.
** Sheet 1: Students are given approximately ten tasks, evaluating their knowledge of different fields in mathematics. This sheet accounts for 53.3% (on a higher level) or 80% (on a basic level).
** Sheet 2 (only on a higher level): Students are given three more difficult tasks. This sheet is worth 26.7%.
** Oral exam: An examinee is given three questions, testing their ability to prove certain theorems or explain some mathematical axioms and definitions.
The final score is expressed in points from 1 (failure) to 5 (the highest mark on a basic level) or 8 (the highest mark on a higher level).
*Foreign languages
*Chemistry
*Information technology, Computer science (separate)
*Physics
*Geography
*History
*Sociology, Philosophy, Psychology
The nationwide leaving exam was reintroduced in Slovenia in 1994, after all upper secondary schools had been suspended in the 1980s and reopened in 1991. The exam is conducted in two terms, the first one being in spring (May/June) and the second one in autumn (September). Due to the university admittance procedure, of which the first call concludes in July, applicants passing the exam in September have usually a very limited choice of university programmes for that year.
There has been a heated debate lately whether this leaving exam should once again be completely abolished. As of January 2007, the position of the Ministry of Education remains that the ''matura'' will still be the only way of completing secondary education. The decision on whether universities should introduce entrance examinations and reduce the importance of the leaving exam to a mere pass/fail has not been made yet.
Switzerland
Gymnasiale Matura, Maturité gymnasiale, Maturità liceale
In
Switzerland's education system, secondary school has several tiers oriented towards different professional tracks. The
gymnasium, leading to the Matura graduation, is the highest tier, offering broad and thorough academic foundations to prepare its students for direct entry to university. Approximately 20% of youth attain the Matura every year, although this figure varies among the different cantons, which are in charge of (upper) secondary education. The gymnasial Matura is required and sufficient (except for medicine, where the number of students is restricted) for Swiss students to study at a university or a federal institute of technology irrespective of their subject choice.
The specific requirements for a Matura graduation vary slightly among the cantons. In general they involve two parts: The grades of the last school year and standardized Matura exams at the end of 12th or 13th grade, depending on the
canton. Also a scientific Matura paper of about 25 pages has to be executed. Grades attained in classes during the last school year and at the exams, as well as the Matura paper contribute equally to the final grade. With a revision in 2007, among others an appreciation of science subjects were carried out by individual graduation of biology, physics and chemistry, increasing the proportion of teaching mathematics and natural science subjects as well as the introduction of computer science as a supplementary subject.
[
6 is the best grade, 1 is the lowest. The required average grade to attain Matura is 4. In order to pass, all grades below 4 have to be compensated by better grades in double, and no more than four grades lower than 4 are allowed.]
The cantons are responsible for the organisation of the final tests. Exams include a series of oral and written tests. Tests are typically administered by a team consisting of a teacher who was involved in the student's classes and an independent expert. This cantonal Matura exam is recognised in the whole country but there is no single standardised test on a national level in contrary to what exists in France, for instance where the same test with the same questions and the same themes is passed by all students on the same day.
The gymnasial Matura subjects by federal ordinance (''MAV/ORM'', ''SR 413.11'') are (''Art. 9''):[
The Matura consists of:
# all 10 or 11 (depends on the canton) basic subjects
# one major subject
# one additional subject
# Matura paper, evaluated by work process, written paper, and oral presentation
* Basic subjects are:
# a ''first national language'', such as French, ]German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany, the country of the Germans and German things
**Germania (Roman era)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
, Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
, or Romansh (only in canton of Grisons
The Grisons (; ) or Graubünden (),Names include:
* ;
*Romansh language, Romansh:
**
**
**
**
**
**;
* ;
* ;
* .
See also list of European regions with alternative names#G, other names. more formally the Canton of the Grisons or the Canton ...
); including its related literature
Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...
# a ''second national language''
# a ''third language'': either a third national language, or English, or a classical language, either Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
or Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...
# Mathematics
Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...
# Biology
Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, History of life, origin, evolution, and ...
# Chemistry
Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...
# Physics
Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, 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 whi ...
# History
History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...
# Geography
Geography (from Ancient Greek ; combining 'Earth' and 'write', literally 'Earth writing') is the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding o ...
# Visual Arts
The visual arts are art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics (art), ceramics, photography, video, image, filmmaking, design, crafts, and architecture. Many artistic disciplines such as performing arts, conceptual a ...
or Music
Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...
# ''Cantons (such as Lucerne
Lucerne ( ) or Luzern ()Other languages: ; ; ; . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking portion of the country. Lucerne is the capital of the canton of Lucerne and part of the Lucerne (district), di ...
) may voluntarily provide an additional basic subject:'' Philosophy
Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...
* The major subject is selected from:
** ''Classic languages'' (Latin and/or Ancient Greek)
** A ''modern language'' (a third national language, English, Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas
**Spanish cuisine
**Spanish history
**Spanish culture
...
, or Russian
Russian(s) may refer to:
*Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*A citizen of Russia
*Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages
*''The Russians'', a b ...
)
** Physics and Applied Mathematics
** Biology and Chemistry
** Economics
Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services.
Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...
and Law
Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...
** Philosophy
Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...
, Education
Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...
, Psychology
Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...
** Visual Arts
** Music
* The additional subject is selected from (must not be equal to major subject):
** Physics
** Chemistry
** Biology
** Applied Mathematics
** Informatics
Informatics is the study of computational systems. According to the Association for Computing Machinery, ACM Europe Council and Informatics Europe, informatics is synonymous with computer science and computing as a profession, in which the centra ...
(Computer Science)
** History
** Geography
** Philosophy
** Religion
** Economics and Law
** Education/Psychology
** Visual Arts (excluded, if major subject is either Visual Arts or Music)
** Music (excluded, if major subject is either Visual Arts or Music)
** Sports (excluded, if major subject is either Visual Arts or Music)
The distribution of teaching hours among the subjects must adhere to the following scheme:
* For basic subjects:
** Languages (first, second, and third): 30–40%
** Mathematics and Natural Sciences (Physics, Chemistry and Biology): 25–35%
** Human and Social Sciences (History, Geography, Introduction in Economics and Law, possibly also Philosophy): 10–20%
** Arts (Visual Arts and/or Music): 5–10%
* For major and additional subjects, and Matura paper: 15–25%
Matura exams are executed on at least five of the following subjects (all written exams and optionally also oral):
# The first language
# A second national (or cantonal) Language
# Mathematics
# the major subject
# ''another subject chosen by cantonal preferences''
A ''Federal Matura'' exists on a national level, though each ''Cantonal Matura'' is also inherently approved on a federal level. The Federal Matura is organised by the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation
The State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI) within the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research is the federal government's specialised agency for national and international matters concerning educa ...
(SERI) twice a year in each linguistical region.
An additional exam called ''Latinum Helveticum'', also organised by the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation
The State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI) within the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research is the federal government's specialised agency for national and international matters concerning educa ...
, allows the student to study a field at a university that requires Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
knowledges.
Fachmatura / Maturité de culture générale / Maturità specializzata / Maturita media spezialisada
The Fachmatura/Maturité de culture générale/Maturità specializzata/Maturita media spezialisada is a relatively new program (success rates were first published in 2008). The exam is taken after completion of a Fachmittelschule and it opens up certain technical college courses. The program requires successful completion of general education subjects as well as one year of additional training in one or two professional fields and writing a matura paper. The following fields may be chosen from; health, social work, science, communication and information, music/dance/theater, art and design and education.[
]
Berufsmatura / Maturité professionelle / Maturità professionale
The advanced vocational certificate (Berufsmatura/Maturité professionelle/Maturità professionale) allows access to the Fachhochschule
A (; plural ), abbreviated FH, is a university of applied sciences (UAS), in other words a Hochschule, German tertiary education institution that provides professional education in many applied sciences and applied arts, such as engineering, te ...
or University of Applied Sciences and indicated both successful completion of the vocational program as well as additional advanced studies. It can be earned either during the vocation course or after course completion. Originally there were six specialties in which the certificate could be earned. Following the new vocational regulations of May 2015 there are now five orientations with two variants for each of the first three; "Technology, Architecture and Life Sciences", "Economics and Services", "Health and Welfare", "Art and Design", and "Nature, Agriculture and Food Services".[Bildungssystem Schweiz – Indikatoren, Abschlüsse und Kompetenzen – Maturitätsquote]
accessed 9 August 2016
Ukrainian diaspora
Matura is common in Ukrainian secondary education in the Ukrainian diaspora
The Ukrainian diaspora comprises Ukrainians and their descendants who live outside Ukraine around the world, especially those who maintain some kind of connection to the land of their ancestors and maintain their feeling of Ukrainian national ide ...
, specifically in the United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
and Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
. It is usually run by Saturday Ukrainian Education schools sponsored by the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America
The Ukrainian Congress Committee of America () or UCCA () is a non-partisan non-profit national umbrella organization uniting 30 national Ukrainian American organizations in advocating for over 1,000,000 Americans of Ukrainian descent. Its member ...
, which regulates and writes the various tests. Children of Ukrainian descent are tested on Saturdays during a month-long period toward the end of their junior or senior year of high school
A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...
on their knowledge of Ukrainian, geography
Geography (from Ancient Greek ; combining 'Earth' and 'write', literally 'Earth writing') is the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding o ...
, history
History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...
, culture
Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...
, and literature
Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...
. Often, these tests are approved by local governments' accreditation standards as a second-language school which can, under certain circumstances, be applied to other schools.
See also
* Bologna Process
file:Bologna-Prozess-Logo.svg, 96px, alt=Logo with stylized stars, Logo
file:Bologna zone.svg, alt=Map of Europe, encompassing the entire Bologna zone, 256px, Bologna zone
The Bologna Process is a series of ministerial meetings and agreements b ...
* High school diploma
A high school diploma (sometimes referred to as a high school degree) is a diploma awarded upon graduation of high school
A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary s ...
References
External links
Esame di Stato in Italy
Matura in Poland
Matura in Slovakia
Matura in Slovakia
Matura in Bulgaria
site of CERMAT
site of State exams in Czech Republic
{{Authority control
Education in Austria
Education in Hungary
Education in Italy
Education in Poland
Education in Slovenia
School examinations
School qualifications
Standardized tests
Education in the Czech Republic
Education in Slovakia
Legacy of Yugoslavia
Education in Croatia
Education in Bosnia and Herzegovina
History of Austria-Hungary