Ministry releases math matriculation exam grades early

Education ministry releases grades two weeks earlier to allow time for students to prepare ahead of exam retake.

By DANIELLE ZIRI
education 311 (photo credit: Marc Israel Sellem)
education 311
(photo credit: Marc Israel Sellem)
The Education Ministry published the scores of the five-unit math matriculation exam on its website Thursday, two weeks earlier than the set date for publication of the results, in order to give students time to prepare ahead of the second exam date, scheduled for July 11.
The early grades came after the ministry announced on Monday that – following an examination of the exam, which was first administered last month – it found that students’ complaints about the test were justified: The exam was “unusually hard.”
The ministry conducted the investigation after students from across the country expressed their frustration with the exam questions.
One Rehovot high schooler told The Jerusalem Post that the exam was “above [his] abilities” and that the “general feeling [among his peers] wasn’t good.”
In order to compensate, the ministry stated that students were graded on their four best answers out of the six they provided in the first part of the test.
Nine points will also be added to each grade for that part.
On the second part of the exam, only the best two answers were examined and four points will be added to each student.