The Minister of Education and Merit, Giuseppe Valditara, signed, ahead of last year, the ordinance that defines the organization and methods of conducting the final state exam of the second cycle of education for the year school year 2022/2023. The session of the State exam will begin on 21 June 2023 at 8.30, with the first written test.
The state exam thus returns to normal, according to the provisions of Legislative Decree 62/2017. The effects of the Covid pandemic, particularly burdensome for schools and young people, have led to the need to change the methods of carrying out the tests in recent years. Now the PCTO (Paths for Transversal Skills and Orientation) will still be an exception, which are not a requirement for admission to the exam but may be the subject of an interview, if carried out. The execution of the INVALSI tests (which do not contribute to the assessment) is instead a requirement for admission.
“The state exam – declares Giuseppe Valditara, Minister of Education and Merit – is an important moment in the life of every student. It is a fundamental symbolic passage in everyone's growth path, as well as constituting the final moment of the entire school experience, closing a cycle that began with primary school. The state exam does not limit itself to verifying the knowledge, skills and competences developed by the students but enhances their educational path and personal growth. To all the students who are preparing for this important moment - concludes the Minister - I want to assure you that I am well aware of the many difficulties they have been forced to face in recent years due to the epidemic. By virtue of this, the exceptional nature of the schooling undertaken in the three-year period will be taken into account in the choice of the written tests and in carrying out the exam interview, enhancing the actual learning process. I therefore invite all students to live this transition in a serene way, aware of their commitment and the efforts made".
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THE NEWS
NATIONAL WRITTEN TESTS
For the first time since the pandemic, all the written tests (first, second and third only for some courses, including Esabac, Esabac Techno, international high schools) will be national in character, with the exception of the newly regulated professional institutes.
SECOND WRITTEN EXAM FOR PROFESSIONAL INSTITUTIONS OF THE NEW SYSTEM
Among the new features is the introduction of the second written test for professional institutes with a new system (as per Legislative Decree 61/2017). It will be a single integrated test that will not focus on school disciplines but on the activities carried out during the course of study. In detail, the commissions will define the ministerial indications on the basis of the training path actually carried out and the programs of the institutes, with a view to personalization, starting from a general national reference frame and from the type of test identified and sent by the Ministry to the schools, by electronic envelope, on the Tuesday preceding the day of the test.
THE INTERVIEW
In the interview, which will start from an initial idea (an image, a short text, a short video) chosen by the Commission, the training and growth path, skills, talents, the student's ability to develop, in a multidisciplinary perspective, the most significant themes of each discipline. The latter will be indicated in the document of the Class Council - which the schools will prepare by 15 May - of each student. In the part of the interview dedicated to the experiences carried out in the context of PCTOs or first level apprenticeships, taking into account the critical issues caused by the pandemic emergency, the students will be able to illustrate the meaning of these experiences in an indicative key, also in relation their future choices, whether these imply the continuation of their studies or whether they envisage entering the world of work. During the exam, the civic education skills acquired during the school career will be valued.
ATTENTION TO SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS
The ordinance identifies provisions relating to the situations of the most fragile students: with disabilities, with specific learning disabilities (DSA), with special educational needs (also present in previous ordinances) and who have attended educational courses functioning in hospitals , in places of care or in prisons.
For students with disabilities, in particular, it should be noted that the Commission may decide (taking into account the seriousness of the disability) to carry out equivalent tests in a greater number of days, in addition to assigning longer times for the execution of the written tests, also on the basis of the report of the class council, of the modalities of carrying out the tests during the school year.
Trials calendar:
- first written test: Wednesday 21 June 2023, from 8:30 (duration of the test: six hours);
- second written test: Thursday 22 June 2023. The duration of the second test is set out in the reference frameworks attached to Ministerial Decree 769 of 2018.
- third written test: Tuesday 27 June 2023, from 8:30 for institutions with the EsaBac and EsaBac techno courses and in high schools with Chinese, Spanish and German international option sections.
The first supplementary written test takes place on Wednesday 5 July 2023, from 8:30; the second supplementary written test takes place on Thursday 6 July 2023, with possible continuation in the following days for the addresses in which this test takes place over several days; the third supplementary written test, for the institutions concerned, takes place on Tuesday 11 July 2023, from 8:30.