High failure rate in SEC core subjects

The statistics for the Secondary Education Certificate examinations held last May show that almost one third of the students failed their Maltese language SEC examination. This was closely followed by a one-fourth failure rate in English and a one-fifth failure rate in Mathematics.

The first official statistics issued by the Matsec Support Unit show that 30.88 per cent or 1,667 students out of 5,399 students who registered for Maltese failed their exam; 23.89 per cent or 1,488 out of 6,229 registered students failed in English; while 20.35 per cent or 1,145 students out of 5,627 registered students failed in Mathematics.

In May 2004, relatively fewer students had failed their Maltese and English O Level examinations: 1,276 (24.8 per cent) students failed out of 5,143 students who registered for the Maltese SEC exam; while 1,237 (20.8 per cent) students failed out of 5,914 students registered for English. The failure rate in Mathematics was higher last year - 21.7 per cent or 1,164 students had failed out of 5,371 registered students.

Statistics also show that in these three subjects there was an increase in the number of students who obtained a Grade 1 when compared to last year's first session results: 305 students (5.65 per cent) obtained a Grade 1 in Maltese, 133 (2.14 per cent) in English, and 305 (5.42 per cent) in Mathematics. Last year, the results of the May session show that 60 students (1.2 per cent) had obtained Grade 1 in Maltese, 128 (2.2 per cent) in English, and 276 (5.1 per cent) in Mathematics.

The average pass marks obtained for these subjects were a Grade 4 in Maltese (1,005 students; 18.61 per cent), a Grade 5 in English (1,381 students; 22.17 per cent) and a Grade 5 in Mathematics (1,049 students; 18.64 per cent).

There were a total of 8,038 students who registered for SEC examinations in a total of 29 subjects, an increase when compared to 7,861 students last year. The largest number of registrations were recorded for English (6,229; 5,941 last year), Mathematics (5,627; 5,371 last year), Maltese (5,399; 5,143 last year), Religion (4,912; 4,744 last year) and Physics (4,338; 4,402 last year).

The format of the SEC examinations was revised last year. While Paper I, falling within the ability range of all students, remained common to all, candidates opting for Paper IIA, comprising more demanding questions than Paper I, could qualify for grades 1 to 5, while those opting for Paper IIB, less demanding than Paper I, could qualify for Grades 4 to 7. Students who did not obtain at least a Grade 5 (for Paper IIA) or a Grade 7 (for Paper IIB) remained unclassified.

When contacted, Professor Frank Ventura, head of the MATSEC Support Unit, said the preliminary statistics do not take into consideration the cohort of school-leaving age.

"There could be a substantial number of students aged over 16 who are sitting their O Level Maltese, English or Mathematics exam for the nth time.

"The number of 16-year-olds is probably less than the registered number. This could lead to a weaker average pass rate."

Although the results are more or less comparable to those of previous years, Professor Ventura said that the failure rate in these three subjects is still very high.

"With regard to Maltese, the same paper assesses both language and literature. In the case of English, language and literature make up two different SEC subjects. Thus, one has to ask whether it is viable to divide the subject in two, with the aim of raising the standard. One should also ask whether Maltese literature is being given as much importance as the language, and how many lectures are dedicated to Maltese as opposed to other subjects, including English."

A detailed statistical report, including the number of registrations and results in the September session, will be published in November. This will allow a more in-depth analysis of the SEC system.

Lower failure rates in science subjects

Students fared relatively better in science subjects. A total of 554 students (12.77 per cent) out of 4,338 registered students failed their Physics exam, compared to last year's 587 (13.4 per cent) out of 4,402 registered students.

Students also fared better in Chemistry and Biology. A total of 115 students (13.31 per cent) were unsuccessful in Chemistry, as opposed to last year's 141 students (17 per cent). In Biology, although the percentage of unsuccessful candidates was lower than last year, a high failure rate was nonetheless recorded: 422 students (26.29 per cent) out of 1,605 registered students were unsuccessful, compared to last year's 404 students (28.4 per cent) out of 1,420 registered students.

Languages pass rate

Approximately the same amount of students registered to sit for the Italian, French, German, Spanish, Russian and Arabic exams as last year.

Apart from the two official languages, Italian and French remain the next most studied languages, with 2,927 students registering for the Italian SEC exam, followed by 2,239 registering for French.

The average pass mark is a Grade 4 (508 students; 17.36 per cent) in Italian and a Grade 5 (474 students; 21.17 per cent) in French. A total of 585 students (19.99 per cent, compared to 16.1 per cent last year) failed in Italian, while 199 students (8.89 per cent, compared to 10 per cent last year) failed in French.

A total of 250 students registered for Spanish, compared to 285 students last year, while 10 students (11 last year) registered for the Russian exam and another 10 (nine last year) for Arabic.

Other subjects

A lower rate of students registered for Accounting, Economics and Commerce when compared to last year, while Business Studies enjoyed an increase.

However, a higher failure rate than last was recorded in Accounting, Business Studies and Commerce as opposed to a lower rate in Economics. The number of students registering for the Computing Studies exam fell considerably, from 1,985 students last year to 1,674 this year. The pass rate remained unchanged.

Other popular subjects include Religion (4,912 registered students), English Literature (2,861), Environmental Studies (2,544), and Social Studies (2,180). Statistics for Religion showed the largest discrepancy in the pass rate - 25.12 per cent were unsuccessful, compared to 18.9 per cent last year - followed by Environmental Studies - 17.92 per cent were unsuccessful, compared to 22.5 per cent last year. In Physical Education (PE), 176 students obtained a pass mark out of the 313 registered students.