From France to Sweden: the EU is divided on the issue of exams

Just as in Italia, the school-leaving exam has also been overhauled in France in recent years. And not just slightly, given that a major reform came into force immediately after the Covid pandemic. From 2021, in fact, the final assessment of sixth-form students begins as early as the penultimate year.

Under the new Baccalauréat system, 40% of the final mark is based on continuous assessment in the Première and Terminale years, whilst the remaining 60% is based on five final examinations: philosophy, French — taken as early as the fourth year — the two specialised subjects chosen by the student, and the ‘Grand oral’, a 20-minute oral examination in which the candidate discusses a topic that combines their two subjects. The pass mark is 10 out of 20.

The French reform does not, in fact, stop at the technical aspects of the exam; it also addresses its rigidity. The new ‘bac’ has, in fact, drastically reduced the possibility of offsetting a failing mark in one paper with marks from others, tightening the marking scheme and increasing the weighting of oral skills. The result is a more selective system, with higher failure rates than in Italia, where almost 99% of students pass the exam.

This is also the case in Germany, where, however, a high mark makes all the difference when it comes to gaining entry to the most prestigious universities. Here too, the assessment is based almost entirely on the previous two years, which account for around two-thirds of the final result. The final examination, however, varies from state to state, but everywhere it combines continuous assessment with final written and oral examinations. Students must sit four or five examination subjects, including at least two ‘advanced’ ones.

In Spain, the system is different again. The Bachillerato concludes with an internal school assessment, which awards a diploma to almost all students. The real selection process comes afterwards, with the Ebau (or Selectividad), the regional exam that determines admission to university. The Ebau consists of a common section (Spanish, history, foreign language) and a subject-specific section linked to the chosen course. The final mark, calculated out of 14, combines the average of the two-year period and the exam results.