Ninth-graders might have higher exam passing bar next year

The Ministry of Education and Science (IZM) promises to raise the exam pass threshold for grade 9 next year, Latvian Radio reports on 14 April. 

To make this happen, the IZM intends to soon introduce solutions to raise the level of pupils’ knowledge, ministry officials told the media on Monday.

Last week, it was decided not to raise the bar for passing the exams to 15% this year, as previously planned, but to keep it at 10%.

The Ministry of Education and Science on Monday further clarified its decision not to raise the bar for passing the Grade 9 exams to 15%, as currently stipulated by the standard for primary education. The reason  is the ministry’s calculation that in this case, 2000 pupils could fail the exams and will not be able to access basic education, which is compulsory in Latvia. Last year, more than 700 pupils failed to meet the 10% bar.

Kristīne Niedre-Lathere, Deputy State Secretary at the Ministry of Education and Science, stressed that “the priority is not to freeze the threshold, but to find systemically good solutions for every child”.

Journalists at Monday’s press conference also asked why the ministry was coming up with a solution so late – the first exam, which will be in Latvian language, is expected on 13 May. Niedre-Lathere replied that the solution had already been prepared at the beginning of this school year, but that discussions had taken time. For example, the option of issuing a basic education certificate to those who have failed in one exam has been discussed.