Thousands of teenagers received their SEC exam results on Friday but there was no improvement in the core subjects, as hundreds again failed their Maltese, maths and English exams.
Students who do not obtain a grade between 1 and 7 get a failing ‘U’ grade, meaning their result is “unclassified”.
This year, 17 per cent of those who sat for Maltese, 18 per cent of those taking maths and 14 per cent doing English language only managed a ‘U’.
Similar results to 2019
Last year, students were issued a “predictive” grade after exams had to be cancelled because of the pandemic, so those grades could not be compared to this year’s.
But the 2021 results were similar to those in 2019, when 19 per cent of those who sat for the Maltese exam, 17 per cent of those sitting for maths and 12 per cent of those who did English only receiving a failing 'U' grade.
SEC stands for Secondary Education Certificate examinations, commonly referred to as the ‘O’ levels.
The three core subjects are compulsory for all students, meaning they are taught throughout the mandatory schooling years at both primary and secondary levels.
Few achieve high grades
Figures from the MATSEC board, which sets the exams, show that 642 of the 3,706 who sat for Maltese failed, while this was true for 762 of the 4,162 students who sat for maths and 575 students of the 4,086 who did their English language exam.
In all three subjects, only a small proportion of the students obtained the higher grades, most scoring lower marks.
In English, 772 students obtained a Grade 5, followed by 741 obtaining a Grade 3. Only 177 students obtained the highest grade.
In Maltese and maths, the students seemed to have fared slightly better, with more of them obtaining a Grade 4 than any other grade.
Additional details on candidates’ performance will be published later this year after the supplementary sessions are held next month.
Students need to obtain their SEC in order to move to post-secondary education. Some institutions only accept students who obtain Grades 1-5 in the core subjects and the subjects they wish to continue studying.
High education spend, low achievement
According to a recent study by the Central Bank, the country managed to half the rate of early school leavers from its 2005 levels but continues to have the highest rate in the EU.
The researchers noted that, while early school leavers may still find a job, lacking basic qualifications “compromises employability later in life due to lacking skills and has economic and social costs”.
“The data for 2018 shows that the median gross hourly earnings for those with a tertiary level of education were 40 per cent higher than the median earnings of those with an intermediate level of education and 65 per cent more than those with only a basic level of education,” they said.
The Central Bank researchers also said that, despite having the third-highest expenditure on education in Europe, Malta scores poorly in the OECD-PISA assessment.
The assessment looks at 15-year-olds’ ability to use their reading, mathematics and science knowledge and skills to meet real-life challenges.
“Malta has among the smallest class sizes and lowest student-teacher ratios among 15-year-olds, which may contribute to the high level of expenditure.
“However, while there is some evidence that smaller classes may benefit specific groups of students (such as those from disadvantaged groups) there is no clear evidence of the effect of class size on student performance,” the researchers said.
They suggested investing in teachers’ professional development in order to enhance students’ performance “more efficiently and effectively”.