Nearly four in 10 of the students who turned 16 last year managed to obtain the six Sec exam passes required for entry into sixth form, according to the statistical report on the 2003 exams.
It is the first time that such a clear picture of school leavers' level of attainment has emerged. When looking at the number of students eligible for sixth form, previous reports have only considered the May session of the exams. The latest report, however, includes the results of the September resits, which pushes up the pass rate.
It emerges that 39 per cent of all students born in 1987 gained the required six Secondary Education Certificates. Girls performed much better: 48 per cent got through compared to only 30 per cent of the boys.
To enter sixth form, students must earn passes (grades 1-5) in English language, Maltese and mathematics, as well as in one science subject (the most popular being physics) and any two other subjects.
The report, published by the university's Matsec Support Unit, also shows that roughly half of the 1987 cohort obtained grades 1-5 in the four basic subjects: 51 per cent passed in English language, 49 per cent in Maltese, 53 per cent in mathematics and 45 per cent in physics.
The question is: Should this kind of pass rate be considered high or low? The report was only published this week, so educators asked to comment felt they needed some more time to analyse the results.
However, the report's author, Grace Grima, said that by international standards the results were reasonable, "although our target is higher".
"We did not know what to expect, as the general statistics so far have been distorted with the inclusion of adults and the exclusion of those doing resits. We now have a clear indication of where school leavers stand."
Frank Ventura, the chairman of the Matsec Examinations Board, said the new figures were a reflection of the way students were being prepared in school, but further investigation was necessary.
At any rate, other figures indicate that school leavers' level of attainment is improving. In terms of the May session only, for which figures have been available over the years, there has been a sharp rise in the pass rate of girls who turned 16 in the year of the exams.
In 2001, 30 per cent obtained the six passes needed for sixth form; in 2002 it was 35 per cent and last year the pass rate was up to 42 per cent. The boys' improvement is less marked. In 2001 their pass rate in the six required subjects was just 20 per cent, rising to 24 per cent in 2002 and 26 per cent last year.
Overall, the pass rate has improved from 25 per cent in 2001 to 29 per cent in 2002 and 34 per cent last year.
Other figures are less heartening though. The mean pass rate in all subjects and for all those who sat for the exams was 59 per cent, a marginal decline from the 60 per cent recorded in 2002 and well below the 62 per cent seen in 2001.
While the pass rate for English language among all candidates rose sharply between 2001 and 2002, from 51 per cent to 69 per cent, last year it was back down to 57 per cent.
The Maltese pass rate is in decline, from 69 per cent in 2001 to 68 per cent last year and 64 per cent this year.
Mathematics and physics, however, have both seen improvements.
In maths the increase was from 57 per cent in 2002 to 65 per cent last year while in physics it rose from 62 to 67 per cent.
Making comparisons between different educational sectors, the report observed that boys from Church schools consistently obtained higher grades than males from independent or government schools. Girls from Church schools and from government Junior Lyceums generally obtained comparable results.