Exams, exams, exams

The Lower Secondary School Exam

The exam is administered by Regional Examination Boards, usually in the student’s own school, in April, in all lower secondary schools in Poland, on the same day fixed by the Director of the Central Examination Board. Every student gets the same exam set with an answer sheet. The exam set used in the examination is selected by the Central Examination Board. Sample exam sets are published in the Syllabus. The first Lower Secondary School Exam took place in 2002.
The Lower Secondary School Exam is a cross-subject exam consisting of two parts (arts and science). The first part tests the abilities and knowledge in the humanities: Polish, History, Civic Education, Art, Music and some educational paths such as Philosophy, Regional Studies, Reading and Media, Polish Culture and the Mediterranean Civilisation. The second part tests the abilities and knowledge in science subjects: Maths, Biology, Geography,
Chemistry, Physics and Astronomy and educational paths such as Health Education or Ecology. The third part of the exam – foreign language – is going to be administered for the first time in 2009.
Open-ended questions solved by a student are assessed and marked by examiners from the Regional Examination Boards. The results of the lower secondary school examination are given as a point score calculated by the Regional Examination Boards. In each part of the lower secondary school examination the maximum score is 50 points. The result is final. Every pupil receives 2 certificates – one confirming graduation from lower secondary school issued by the school and the other detailing the exam score issued by the Regional Examination Board. Both of them are taken into account by secondary schools during the recruitment process.

Source: http://www.cke.edu.pl/