SEC exam candidates in this year's May session performed marginally better in English Language and Physics than last year's group, but they did marginally worse in Mathematics and clearly worse in Maltese, the chairman of the Matsec Board, Frank Ventura, said in a brief statement today.

"The recent publication of May 2016 SEC examination results has led to several reports and comments about standards. On the basis of the global results that were published, some reports perceived deteriorating standards, others claimed practically no change in achievement," he said.

This year's exam candidates were the first to sit for SEC examinations since the removal of an entrance examination at the end of primary schooling.

Prof. Ventura issued the following data showing passes with Grades 1 to 5 in the core subjects, with the 2015 results shown first:

English Language (72.3%, 72.6%),

Maltese (71.9%, 68.4%),

Mathematics (62.7%, 61.2%)

Physics (70.2%, 71.2%).  

He said that a fuller analysis could be carried out after the results of the September supplementary session are published.