Matura

Matura (Matur, Maturita) is the word commonly used in Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Italy, Liechtenstein, Poland, Serbia, Slovenia and Switzerland for the final exams young adults (aged 18 or 19) take at the end of their secondary education. In the Czech Republic and Slovakia this exam is officially called maturita, matura is used in slang. In Hungary, the same system is used, but it is called érettségi (vizsga) ("examination of maturity"), the equivalent of matura.

This happens usually after 12 or 13 years of schooling. Each candidate who passes their final exams receives a document that contains their grades and which formally enables them to go to a university. In countries such as Austria, this document alone allows entry to any university, as the grades themselves are irrelevant; whereas in other countries there can be numerus clausus, meaning that certain standards need to be met in the Matura grades before acceptance at a university.

The equivalent British term (except Scotland) is "A-levels", the Scottish is "Advanced Higher Grade", the Irish is "Leaving Certificate", the German is "Abitur" and the French is "le baccalauréat", or simply "le bac".

Matura in Austria

The official term for Matur(a) in Austria is Reifeprüfung. The document received after the successful completion of the exams is called Maturazeugnis.

In the Gymnasium, which, as opposed to vocational schools, focuses on general education, the Matura consists of 3-4 written exams (referred to as Klausurarbeiten, 4-5 hours each) to be taken on consecutive mornings (usually in May) and 3-4 oral exams to be taken on the same half-day one month later (usually in June). All examinations are held at the school which the candidate last attended. Candidates have the option to write a scholarly paper (called Fachbereichsarbeit) to be submitted at the beginning of the February preceding the final exams, which, if it is accepted, reduces the number of exams by one (3 written, 3 oral). However, the Fachbereichsarbeit must be presented orally on the day the oral exams take place.

The grading system is the same as the one universally used in Austrian schools: 1 (sehr gut) is excellent; 2 (gut) is good; 3 (befriedigend) is average; 4 (genügend) means that you have just passed; 5 (nicht genügend) means that you have failed. In addition, a candidate's Maturazeugnis contains a formalized overall assessment: mit ausgezeichnetem Erfolg bestanden (passed with honours), mit gutem Erfolg bestanden (not quite as good; grades ranging from 1 to 3 allowed); bestanden (a simple pass); and nicht bestanden (fail). Candidates who have failed may take their final exams again in September/October or February/March of the following school year.

Subjects for the written finals to be taken in any case depend on the type of Gymnasium. German and Mathematics (both compulsory) and a foreign language (usually English, French, Latin or Greek). Gymnasium with a focus on science may require students to take written finals in Biology, Physics or Chemistry.

The most striking aspect of the Austrian Matura is that it is a decentralized affair. There are no external examiners: Candidates are set tasks both for their written and oral finals by their own (former) teachers. Formally, however, there is an examination board consisting of a candidate's teachers/examiners, the headmaster/headmistress and a Vorsitzende(r) (head), usually a high-ranking school official or the head of another school. All oral exams are public, but usually only classmates, friends, family of the candidates or younger students listen in.

Of course it is possible for Austrians of all age groups to take the Matura. Adults from their twenties on are usually tutored at private institutions of adult education before taking their final tests, held separately before a regional examination board.

Criticism of the Austrian Matura has been persistent. In particular, it has been argued that the current system encourages rote learning (see also education reform), hinders candidates' creativity and obscures the fact that the body of knowledge is constantly changing. Various forms of alternative assessment have been proposed, most notably the portfolio as well as teamwork and peer review also in exam situations.

In fiction, Friedrich Torberg's novel Der Schüler Gerber (1930) about a Matura candidate driven to suicide on the day of his oral exams by his cruel maths teacher has become a classic.

Matura in Slovenia

Matura is a national examination a student must pass after schooling in a gymnasium (gimnazija) for four years to receive a diploma (maturitetno spričevalo) and formally complete his secondary education, proving his qualification for studying at the university.

The nationwide Matura examination was reintroduced in Slovenia in 1995, after all gymnasiums were suspended in 1980s, and has been performed every year since. Matura is conducted in two terms, the first one being in spring (end of May and the beginning of June) and the second one in autumn (September) for those who failed the first time.

Matura is a centralised affair, conducted by the National Examination Centre of Slovenia, which prepares tasks for students, appoints national examiners and sends results to the universities, the candidates applied to.

A candidate must take five subjects, the obligatory three being Slovenian, Mathematics and a foreign language (English, French, German, Spanish, Italian or Russian). The other two can be chosen among the following subjects: Chemistry, Physics, Biology, Geography, History (or optionally History of Art), Sociology, Psychology, Philosophy, Economics, Music, Graphic Arts, Information Technology and the second foreign language.

Structure of particular exams:

• Slovenian
  • Sheet 1: Students write an essay (1000 words) on the two literary works (in 2006: Visoška kronika by Ivan Tavčar, Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky). The national committee for Slovenian ("Državna predmeta komisija za splošno maturo za slovenščino) publishes the titles of the two works the candidates are expected to know one year ahead. This sheet represents 50 % of the final mark.
  • Sheet 2: Students are given an unknown text from a newspaper, magazine etc., followed by some 30 tasks, testing their ability to read, interpret and understand the text. Also, students' knowledge of Slovenian grammar, word-formation and spelling is tested. The last task is to form a certain type of text, being an invitation, a letter of complaint, biography etc. This sheet represents 30 % of the final mark.
  • Oral exam: A candidate is given three questions. The first two are related to the world's literature, whereas the third asks about the historical development of the Slovenian language from its beginnings in the year 1551 to the present. It is possible to gain 20 %.

The final mark is expressed in points from 1 (failure) to 8 (the highest standard of knowledge).

• Mathematics

It is possible to take this subject on a higher or basic level.

• • Sheet 1: Students are given approximately ten tasks, evaluating their knowledge of different fields in mathematics. This sheet accounts for 53,3 % (on a higher level) or 80 % (on a basic level).
  • Sheet 2 (only on a higher level): Students are given three more difficult tasks. This sheet is worth 26, 7 %.
  • Oral exam: A candidate is given three questions, testing their ability to prove certain theorems or explain some mathematical axioms and definitions.

The final mark is expressed in points from 1 (failure) to 5 (the highest mark on a basic level) or 8 (the highest mark on a higher level).

• Foreign languages
• Chemistry
• Physics
• Geography
• History
• Sociology, Philosophy, Psychology

A candidate can take a maximum of two subjects on a higher level (two foreign languages or mathematics and one foreign language). Thus, the maximum number of points is 34. Students who have achieved 30 points or more are given Matura diplomas cum laude (maturitetno spričevalo s pohvalo).

See also

• Austro-Hungary
• Baccalaureate

External links

• The homepage of a Gymnasium in Vienna, containing some nice photos from the 1940s and 1950s
• Vienna's Schottengymnasium with lots of Matura 2004 pics