High level of exam absenteeism, younger students sitting for exams

More students are failing to turn up for their A-level and Intermediate exams, with the MATSEC examination board suggesting the increase could be due to the introduction of free exams in 2019.

Last year, six out of the 14 students who applied to sit for their A-level exam in Arabic did not turn up.

When it came to the A-level in religious knowledge, 15 out of 37 applicants failed to sit for the exam. 

Students were also absent in more popular subjects, such as A-level English, for which 142 of 783 students did not turn up. 

The data forms part of a report published in June by the MATSEC examination board. 

The document reports on the A-level matriculation examination sessions of 2022 -  the first between March and June, the second in September. 

The report noted how some subjects experienced a “100% increase” in absentee rates. These included sociology, from 8.6% to 20.5% and Spanish, from 9.1% to 18.2%.

Calculating all examinations together, the percentage of candidates who failed to turn up to their examinations in the first session increased from an average of 6.8% in 2015 to 13.3% in 2022, up from 12.1% in 2021.

The report says the situation is even more evident at intermediate level, where all subjects recorded an increase in absenteeism - from 4.5% in 2015 to 15.6% in 2022. No information about O-level examinations was given.

The report also notes an increase in A-level no-shows for the September session - from 8.2% in 2017 to 22.2% in 2022.

The report also noted that fewer students were obtaining the highest grades - A to C - in most subjects, at both intermediate and advanced levels. 

“This is, at least in most part, a result of the increasing rate of absenteeism,” the report reads. 

The report states that had the average percentage of candidates obtaining grades A to C at advanced and intermediate level first-session examinations (44.8% and 41.8%) been reworked to exclude absent candidates, the figure would change to 54.3% and 50.8%. 

A total of 4,903 individuals registered to sit for matriculation examinations in 2022. 

Last year 1,338 candidates were awarded matriculation certificates – 1,148 following the first session and another 190 after the second session. 

Students sitting for exams 'to get them out of the way'

The report also took note of the number of registrations for the September session. 

In 2012, the September session stopped being a revision session and became an examination session on its own steam. This led to a growing trend of candidates sitting for their A-level and/or Intermediate examinations for the first time in September. 

Of the 2,799 candidates registering for the second session in 2022, 757 (27%) were doing so for the first time.

The data also showed that more 17-year-olds (1,322), rather than 18-year-olds (838) sat for examinations in the September session last year. 

Over and above, the report shows that a total of 100 16-year-olds  (51 males and 49 females) sat for the September session- a jump from the 64 students who did so in 2021. 

The report expressed concern that students sitting for examinations prior to the conclusion of their course could be detrimental to their education and personal development. 

English, marketing most popular A-level subjects

The most popular subjects at A-level were English (783 candidates), biology (602) and marketing (540).

Another 533 students applied to sit for Maltese, 514 for pure mathematics, and 441 for chemistry. 

At intermediate level, English also topped the chart as the most popular examination subject - with 1,478 applicants. 

Psychology was applied for by 1,026, pure mathematics by 585, and physical education by 197.