Nearly 350,000 Polish students will conclude their school year and begin Matura (high school graduation) exams on May 4th.
Matura Exam Schedule and Participants
High school seniors – students in the final years of general secondary schools, technical schools, and second-degree vocational schools – finish the school year this Friday and will receive their diplomas. Matura exams will begin on May 4th.
Approximately 344,800 graduating students from four-year general secondary schools, five-year technical schools, and second-degree vocational schools will take the Matura exams this year, according to the Central Examination Commission (CKE). Graduates from previous years will also participate.
New Matura Regulations in Effect
This year’s graduates are the second cohort to take exams based on the core curriculum requirements, rather than the exam requirements introduced due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The current core curriculum is reduced by 20% in content.
Exam Formats for Different School Types
Graduates of four-year lyceums and five-year technical schools, as well as graduates of second-degree vocational schools after eight years of primary school, will take exams in the “Formula 2023.” Graduates of older school types – three-year lyceums, four-year technical schools, and graduates of second-degree vocational schools after gymnasium – will take exams in the “Formula 2015.”
Exam Dates and Structure
The written Matura exam session will run from May 4th to May 21st, with specific subject dates determined by the CKE. Oral exams will be held from May 7th to May 30th, according to schedules set by exam teams in schools.
Mandatory Exam Components
All Matura candidates must take three mandatory written exams at the basic level: Polish language, mathematics, and a modern foreign language. Two mandatory oral exams are also required: Polish language and a foreign language.
Students from schools or classes with minority language instruction must also take a written and oral exam in that language.
Extended Subject Choices and Requirements
Matura candidates must also take one mandatory written exam at the advanced level (or advanced/bilingual level for a modern foreign language), known as the additional subject. Students can take up to five additional advanced-level exams.
Available subjects include biology, chemistry, philosophy, physics, geography, history, art history, music history, computer science, Latin language and ancient culture, social studies, minority languages, and regional languages. Mathematics, Polish language, and foreign languages are also included at the advanced level.
The CKE reports that English is the most popular extended subject, followed by mathematics and geography.
Exemptions and Privileges
Technical school graduates with a professional diploma or a certificate confirming professional qualifications at the technician level may be exempt from the advanced-level additional subject exam. To receive this exemption, students had to submit a written notice of resignation by April 20th.
Matura candidates who are laureates or finalists in a subject Olympiad are exempt from the exam in that subject and automatically receive 100% of the points. They must submit an application to the school principal for formal confirmation of the exemption.
Additional Sessions and Corrections
An additional Matura session for students unable to take the exams during the main session due to health or unforeseen circumstances is scheduled for June 1st to June 16th: written exams from June 1st–16th, and oral exams from June 8th–10th.
The CKE will announce the Matura results on July 8th. Students will be able to access their individual results that morning.
To pass the Matura, students must achieve at least 30% of the points on mandatory basic-level subjects. There is no passing threshold for extended-level subjects. Students who fail one mandatory exam can retake it in August (written on August 24th, oral on August 25th). Students who fail more than one mandatory exam can only retake them next year.
