Good results in school exams

This year's good results in the secondary and high-school graduation exams in Romania fuel the country's optimism

Corina Cristea, 28.06.2022, 13:50

For Romania, a country once known for the excellent performances of its education system, the nearly 33 years since the anti-communist revolution meant a steady decline in the quality of schooling, reflecting in results far from its past glory.

A long line of attempts to reform a system that has so far proved unable to keep up with the times has brought confusion among children, teachers and parents alike. And the frequent changes operated by successive education ministers have led to exam pass rates that are well below the expectations and goals of decision-makers.

Education changes with technology, knowledge is more difficult to pass on today than it was 20 years ago, people need much more complex information, and this is Romanias most significant weakness, experts argue.

But this years results seem to disprove this conclusion and bring a sliver of hope: around three-quarters of the high-school seniors that stood the Baccalaureate exam this summer have passed. The pass rate went up by 5.5%, to the highest level in 10 years. As many as 162 students got straight As in all subjects, most of them in Bucharest.

Education Minister Sorin Cîmpeanu: “78.3% of this years high-school seniors have passed the exam, and the highest figures were reported in Cluj, 85.1%, in Iaşi 81.7%, Galaţi 81.6% and Brăila 81.3%. Bucharest saw a 77.4% pass rate, which is above the national average, but hardly one of the top rates. The counties with the lowest pass levels were Ilfov, Giurgiu and Călăraşi. In rural communities we have a 69.2% pass rate, as against 82.7% in urban schools.”

Mr. Cîmpeanu explained that these good results are owing in part to exam subjects being simplified following the pandemic that kept classes online and children at home. He also added that he hoped digital evaluation would be extended across the country next year, after a pilot project ran smoothly this year in Călăraşi.

In turn, the results in the secondary school graduation exams also improved this year. Minister Sorin Cîmpeanu announced that “the number of pass grades is at an absolute high for the past 10 years.” The exact figure is 82.3%, meaning that over 122,000 8-graders have passed their exam. In 2021, the proportion was only 76.8%. (AMP)