Matriculation examination

Matriculation examination is the only compulsory nationwide examination in Finland. It takes place at the end of the general upper secondary school and is organised twice every year. The students have to write a minimum of five tests, one of which has to be in the mother tongue (Swedish, Finnish or Sami). Approximately 30.000 students take the exam annually.   The assessment differs from the regular school subject assessment. Matriculation examination grades are taken into account in higher education student selection.

Structure of Matriculation Examination

The Matriculation Examination consists of a minimum of five tests. The test in the candidate’s mother tongue, is compulsory for all candidates. The candidate then has to complete four other tests which have to belong to at least three different groups: mathematics; second national language; foreign language; humanities and natural sciences. At least one of the tests must be the test of the advanced syllabus level of the subject.

As part of their examination, the candidate may include one or more additional tests. Additional tests are of equal value with the required tests. The examination languages are Finnish and Swedish.

The Matriculation Examination is held biannually, in spring and in autumn. Candidates must complete the examination during not more than three consecutive examination periods. The examination may also be completed in one examination period. After passing the examination, candidates can later supplement their examination with additional tests or retake a test as many times as they wish. There is no time limit for supplementing the examination or retaking a test once passed.

Assessment and Grades

The Matriculation Examination Board assesses the tests of all candidates. Teachers in upper secondary schools perform a preliminary assessment before the tests are sent to the Board. The Board’s censors then make the final assessment by reviewing each candidate’s test and scoring it according to criteria that have been decided on by subject sections. After the assessment is done, the Board decides on which scores equal which grade. The relation may differ in every examination period.

In the current Matriculation Examination system, only the mother tongue test is compulsory for all. The increased level of options in the examination means that there are tests that are taken by a highly selected group of candidates. If a normal distribution were used as the basis for assessing these tests, the candidates would obtain too low a grade considering their skills. As a result, grades in different subjects, or even in different tests of the same subject, would not be comparable. However, comparability of grades is a prerequisite for being able to use Matriculation Examination grades reliably and fairly in selecting candidates for universities and other institutions of higher education. In the average of standardised total scores, a distribution is formed of all the participants of two successive examination periods. The participant profile of each test can then be compared to that distribution before deciding on score limits.

In the picture above are the grades used in the assessment of tests. The grades are, from highest to lowest, laudatur, eximia cum laude approbatur, magna cum laude approbatur, cum laude approbatur, lubenter approbatur, approbatur and improbatur (failed). The picture also includes an approximate distribution of grades. However, distribution may vary significantly depending on the test, as score limits are based on the average of standardised total scores.

Matriculation Examination Board

The Matriculation Examination Board is a governmental bureau responsible for administering the examination, its arrangements, and execution. The Ministry of Education and Culture nominates the Board's chair and members (about forty in number) at the suggestion of universities, institutions of higher education, and the Finnish National Agency for Education. The members represent the various subjects covered by the Matriculation Examination. With the help of 330 associate members, the Board prepares and assesses the tests. The technical arrangement of the tests is taken care of by the Board’s secretariat which has circa twenty-five civil service employees.