Matsec exams come to an end

The Advanced level Chemistry practical examination marked the end of examinations for the May 2017 session organised by Matsec. A total of 9,485 candidates sat for one or more examinations held over a three-month period commencing early March.

This year Matsec examinations have undergone further improvements in their structure and consumer friendliness, spanning from the laying out of examination papers to the awarding of grades to candidates.

Measures were taken to ensure a more uniform examination paper layout across subjects and levels. These include changes from standardising the formatting used to display marks and titles to ensuring that partial marks are shown for sub-questions which do not carry equal weighting. In addition, the Matsec Support Unit has carried out research to investigate whether candidates show any preference from a selection of suggested fonts.

The Unit has also published a new candidate guidebook which contains a wealth of information to candidates sitting for any Matsec exam. The guidebook can be downloaded through https://www.um.edu.mt/__dat a/assets/pdf_file/0003/303717/ CandidatesHandbk_V02.pdf

The Unit has taken new measures to ensure that particular set practices during examinations are adopted by examination centres, which are run by the Examinations Department, Department of Education.

Following the implementation of recorded audio for SEC Ger- man, Spanish and Arabic aural examinations, aural exams for SEC French and Italian were also carried out through similar recordings. This ensures uniformity across examination rooms and halls.

In addition, for the first time ever, candidates had the possibility to obtain a qualification in one or more of five new SEC subjects: Agribusiness, Health and Social Care, Hospitality, Information Technology and Engineering Technology. These subjects are vocational in nature and reflect the trend in the increase of such subjects in the schools curricula.

Access to more information about all processes involved at Matsec – syllabus panels, paper setting, marking and grade boundaries – has been facilitated through the Matsec website and Facebook page. This also allows for ongoing updates in real time. The aim is to increase transparency and provoke informed discussions.

The May 2017 session examination results will be published around 17 July.