A third of maths O-level students not awarded a grade

A third of students who sat for their maths O-level exam were not awarded a grade when results were published on Tuesday, a significantly worse outcome than last year.

A total of 1,590 students were handed the lowest possible classification of ‘NA’, almost 34% of the 4,694 students who were registered for the exam.

This figure includes students who failed the assessment, as well as those who did not turn up on the day of the exam.

This is a sharp rise from the 28.5% who received the same classification the previous year.

It is also significantly higher than the average across all subjects, which stood at just over 24%, a two percentage point rise compared to the previous year.

In 2025, MATSEC revamped its assessment methods, introducing school-based assessments alongside written exams, and restructuring its grading system.

Before this, students were awarded a grade ranging between one and seven, while those who failed outright received a grade of ‘U’.

Under the new system, students are classified at levels one to three, with those failing to achieve a passing grade listed under ‘NA’ alongside students who were absent for the exam.

Separate absentee numbers are no longer published.

In total, 2,472 students received the highest possible classification of level 3 in the 2026 cohort, roughly 53% of all students who registered for the exam. Level 3 replaces grades one to five in MATSEC’s previous grading system.

A further 522 students were classified under level 2, with 110 receiving the lowest possible passing grade of level 1.

The number of students who registered for their maths exam rose by roughly 100 compared to the previous year.

A longer-term trend

Nevertheless, MATSEC’s figures appear to suggest a longer-term rise in the number of students who either fail or are absent from their mathematics O-level exam.

Over the past decade, this figure has gradually risen from between 22% and 26% in the pre-Covid years, to regularly hovering around the 30% mark ever since.

Nevertheless, the proportion of students not awarded a grade this year, almost 34%, remains the highest over the past decade.

One mathematics teacher who spoke to Times of Malta on Wednesday argued that this reflects a broader decline in problem solving and critical thinking skills observed among students in recent years.

“Students now struggle with basic mathematical skills,” they said. “If mental maths is not good, everything else also suffers”.

“Exams are remaining as difficult as they always were, but students’ mathematics skills are gradually getting poorer,” he added.