Answers to the conference issues from Hungary

In Hungary, the upper secondary school leaving examination that calls Érettségi vizsga (please, refer to the Glossary of examination, certification and qualification compiled by EURYDICE EUROPEAN UNIT, draft version) serves as a basis to achieve several aims:

• to prove the qualification of upper secondary level of education,
  
• to entitle students to apply for admission to higher education according to the framework regulations of higher education determined by the Higher Education Act,
  
• to take a job in the labour market
  
• to continue their study in vocational training within the legal framework of vocational education

As the aims of the examination mentioned above, it is seen that final examination prepares for working life, it is a prerequisite for admission to higher education, it is a basis for continuing study in post-secondary vocational sector.

Due to the continuous expansion of secondary schooling, the secondary school leaving examination can be expected to become generally taken in the future. Because of these developments the current character, role, content ad function of the school leaving examination is gradually becoming multi-function action, such as the output control of educational contents, the foundation for vocational education, preparation for higher educational studies, a selection filtering process for higher education and etc.

1.3. The individual achievement at the final examination as a selection criterion for admission to higher education

According to the ruling of Public Education Act, those students, who want to apply for admission in higher education, may not be required to take written entrance examination in the subject in which they had passed an advanced - level upper secondary school leaving examination in the same year. In this case the students' results of the compulsory written tests at advanced - level are counted as the results or the part of the results of written entrance examination of higher education institution. Despite this they possibly need to take oral entrance examination that varies from institution to institution according to the branches of study and they are determined by the rules of entry to higher education. Students might be obliged to take entrance examination only of those subjects, which were taught in the upper secondary school.

More than half of the higher educational institutions today do not admit their students only on the basis of an entrance examination but take a combination of their achievement at the secondary school and the results of their secondary school leaving examinations or count these two as well. But this practice is usually a characteristic of institutions that have fewer applicants.

ISSUE 2: Compulsory and optional subjects in the final examination

2.1. The number of compulsory and optional subjects

The upper secondary school leaving examination consists of compulsory and optional subjects. Pupils must take the examination in five subjects: four compulsory subjects, and at least one subject of the student's choice (obligatory elective subject). Pupils may also opt for further subjects, provided that these are included in the relevant regulations. Compulsory subjects of the examination are built on the general examination requirements. These requirements determine the parts of the examination related to a given subject. The examination consists of an oral, a written, and (in schools providing a vocational qualification) a practical part.

The compulsory subjects of the examination are:

• Hungarian language and literature,
  
• History,
  
• Mathematics,
  
• A foreign language, except for those participating in national or ethnic minority education or the (ethnic) mother tongue and its literature for pupils participating in national or ethnic minority education,
  
• One of the obligatory electives subjects

1. An examination subject built on the general examination requirements, including a second foreign language, apart from the compulsory subjects of the examination, or
2. An accredited examination subject built on the requirements set out in the pedagogical programme or the local curriculum. This may be a subject of general education built on the knowledge acquired through the preparation for the upper secondary school leaving examination and studies in higher education, or a subject built on knowledge preparing for or supporting employment.

2.3. The role Mathematics and Foreign Language

As it was mentioned above, final examination can be taken at two levels: standard and advanced.

If the foreign language final examination is organised at advanced level in order to be evaluated as a state recognised language examination, only those must be a chairman of the state board of secondary school leaving examination who have university degree of the given language.

2.4. Optional subjects: only academic or others in addition

(Please see 2.1.)

The possibility of specialisation is depend on each institution but within certain conditions is not limited, but it mostly takes place in the 11th and 12th grade. In subjects where the pupils wish to take advanced level school leaving examination they receive higher number of lessons and in small groups, provided that there at least 8 applicants for the given course.

Most of the grammar schools make good use of this opportunity and number of subjects or subject areas are taught in an extra number of lessons. The most popular, which offered by grammar schools, at advanced level are foreign languages, mathematics, biology, and chemistry but there are arts specialisations.

In grammar schools there is also advanced level teaching in some subjects preparing vocational skills for those who do not wish to go on to higher education. The most popular among these are the specialisation for computer operators, tour guides, typists.

ISSUE 3: Assessment and certification of achievement

3.1. Definition of national standard

National standards are defined by determining the written tests of the examination, which is based on the curriculum and requirements for general secondary school leaving examination published in each year in form of the ministerial decree. It only consists of the general guidelines on the requirements of each examination subject have been published as the appendices of the legislative framework of he secondary school leaving examination. These constitute the basis for the detailed set of requirements, which in turn will serve as the basis for phrasing the examination questions. The general examination requirements determine the elements of the examination in each subject (written, oral, and practical).

Subject teachers draw up lists of questions for oral examination that embrace themes according to the appendices of the legislative framework.

The tests are assessed and marked by subject teacher according to the guideline of secondary school leaving examination. If the characteristics of written examination tests that are centrally defined allow using test key, this is compulsory.

3.2. What is to be measured

Certainly knowledge is assessed by the written examination and it is also the most important part of the oral examination when examination is taken in academic subjects, but, of course, in assessment of writing literature essay, which is the task of written examination in Hungarian language, is necessary to take into account of students approach. In mathematics, the problem solving is one of the most important part of the examination, because of examination' s exercise may have more than one solution. If the characteristics of optional subjects allow taking measure creativity, designing, application, practical skills they get an important role in assessing students achievement. Generally in oral examination, the board also considers the communication skills of students, logical argument, and the quality of presentation.

3.3. Assessment of different levels of examination

The performance of pupils is assessed on the basis of a scale ranging from 1 to 100 points. This facilitates the profound assessment of the written tests and the oral responses. The results achieved are then adapted to the five-grade marking scale. Both the points and the grades achieved must be indicated in the upper secondary school leaving certificate and other documentation.

If the examination in a subject consists of a written and an oral part, the two parts must be assessed separately. The requirements of an examination subject are met if the pupil has achieved grade (2) in both the written and the oral part of the examination. This also means that parts of the examination can be failed and retaken, and the successfully accomplished oral or written part need not be repeated.

ISSUE 4: External and/or internal final examination

4.1. Definition of external and internal final examination

Final examination is a kind of internal examination, which must be taken in front of a state board of secondary school leaving examination. The board consists of some of teaching staff and chairman. The chairman of each state board of secondary school leaving examination is delegated by the educational authorities. Only those would be a leader of a board, who is in the national list of examiners. During written examination, work of the board is helped by a teacher supervising students. These teachers do not be qualified from those subjects, of which are written by students.

The examination consists of a written part with a centrally provided test in Mathematics and with a centrally set essay in Hungarian literature and oral part. The centrally set tasks are evaluated and marked by the teaching staff at the school.
(Please see also 5.2.)

Issue 5: The organisation of the final examination

5.1. The start dates and duration of the final examination

The days of the written examinations and the dates designated for the oral examinations are determined each year in the decree concerning the organisation of the school year.

The days of the oral examinations within the examination period are appointed by the head of the public education institution, who subsequently makes these known to the competent chief notary, the maintainer of the school, and, in the case of examinations taken in the language of a national or ethnic minority, the competent minority self-government.

The examination period for the organisation of regular, supplementary, substitutive and repeated secondary school leaving examinations, examinations taken in advance, retaken with a former pass to achieve a better result, or taken for the national recognition of an examination, is in May and June for all secondary schools. There is an examination period in September and October appointed for certain secondary schools for the organisation of supplementary, substitutive and repeated secondary school leaving examinations, examinations taken in advance, retaken with a former pass to achieve a better result, or taken for the national recognition of an examination. The examination period of February and March is assigned for the national examination centres to organise supplementary, substitutive and repeated secondary school leaving examinations, examinations taken in advance, retaken with a former pass to achieve a better result, or taken for the national recognition of an examination. Substitutive examinations may be organised in the examination period in progress, or in the following examination period. Repeated examinations may only be taken in the examination period following the ongoing examination period.

5.2. The design of question papers

The written examination

Written examination in the examination subjects built on the general examination requirements consists of the completion tests containing central (standardised) examination requirements. The tests and instructions containing these requirements are prepared and handed over to the chief notary of the local government by the national examination centre, or, in the case of a vocational preparatory subject, the National pedagogical-professional service institution. The tests and instructions for the written part of the advanced level upper secondary school leaving examination must be prepared in co-operation with the representatives of the higher education institutions concerned. If the examination in the foreign language is organised as a recognised state language examination, the written tests and the related instructions must be drawn up in Cupertino with the accreditation committee for the language examination. The topics for the accredited examination subjects are approved by the teaching staff of the secondary school, up to the date when the topics for the central (standardised) written examinations are handed over.

The oral examination

Following the written part of the examination, a series of topics - containing the examination questions - is compiled by the teachers of each subject, on the basis of the detailed examination requirements issued by the Minister of Education in the case of the examination subjects built on the general examination requirements, and the requirements of the given subject in the case of the accredited examination subjects. A pupil may only be questioned in a topic based on the local curriculum and the requirements of the accredited subject if he/she is a pupil of the given secondary school at the time of the examination.

As regards advanced level upper secondary school leaving examinations, the topics for the oral examination are prepared by the national examination centre in the case of subjects based on the general examination requirements, and the national pedagogical-professional service institution in the case of vocational preparatory subjects. The preparation of the topics must take place in Cupertino with the representatives of the higher education institutions concerned.

5.3. The time available for grading the papers

The time available for grading papers by subject teacher is depends on the head of institution. They have the right to fix the deadline for correcting papers. Normally it takes 3 weeks. If the centrally standardised tests are corrected by examination center most of the cases in advanced level examination, a ministerial decree comprises the instruction for procedures of correcting tests.

5.4. Regulations for sitting examination

Each student needs to fill in an application form and apply t the head of the institution. Application form includes the list of the compulsory subjects and the optional subjects, and of their level. The head of the institution sends an aggregated report of the application t the maintainer and the national examination center.
According to the new examination regulations, the written examination includes standardised tests. At the standard level the pupils have 3 hours available at the examination, while at the advanced level (in Hungarian language and literature at both level) they have 4 hours available for work. The regulation also determines the procedures of documentation, procedures in case of cheating, additional material used in the examination, etc. Only a specially marked paper may be used for written examination in order to be certified.

The oral examination is public, but this may be limited by the chairperson of the examination board. At least three of the members of the examination board must be present simultaneously. Each candidate must have 30 minutes to prepare for each examination subject. Furthermore, they must have 10 minutes at the standard level and 20 minutes at the advanced level to deliver their presentations. The regulations for the written examinations are applicable for the practical examinations in all cases where the examination tasks include writing and coding exercises (e.g. drawing, sheet music, technical drawing computing, etc.). The regulations of the oral examinations must be applied if the examination task is a single presentation.

5.5. Is grading part of teachers' workload

The chairman of the board, members, subject teachers, experts of examination center receive a fee for doing examination. The head of institutions and teachers supervising activities of students during written examination receive a supplementary payment. A guideline of school leaving examination determines the minimum rate of fee and supplementary payment as a percentage officially agreed minimum wage in a given year.

5.6. The role of external assessors

After completing oral examination, board holds a final meeting in order to assess the achievement of students in the oral examination. Grading of students' achievement has to be met the opinion of chairman in consultation with other members of the board. If written examination is corrected by using central tests' key it is obviously seen what the role is external assessors.

5.8. Students ' rights to complain and complaint procedures

The written tests and marking can be seen by the pupils before taking oral examination. They can also ask for a copy of can make a hand-written copy themselves. They are also allowed to make objections concerning the marking.

Zoltán Loboda
Educational adviser,
Eurydice Hungarian Unit