Primary school students who sat for the annual benchmark examination fared best in mathematics, with scores for Maltese still the lowest.
According to an overview of the results, the 3,484 students who sat for the exams during the last week of May and the first week of June obtained an average of 69 in Maltese, 70 in English and 75 in mathematics.
While this year’s national average for English has gone down – with students having scored an average of 76 last year – that for Maltese and mathematics has improved from a median mark of 67 and 69, respectively.
The schools participating in this session included 62 State schools, 20 Church schools and four independent schools.
In Maltese, candidates were assessed in speaking (20 marks), listening comprehension (20 marks), reading comprehension (30 marks) and writing (30 marks).
Primary school students fared best in mathematics
The national medians obtained were 17 for the speaking component, 13 for the listening comprehension component, 21 for the reading comprehension component and 18 for the writing component.
Students this year were also assessed in the same components for the English examinations with the national medians being 17 for the speaking component, 16 for the listening comprehension component, 20 for the reading comprehension component and 17 for the writing component.
The mathematics exam had two parts: the mental component (20 marks) and the written component (80 marks). The national median for the mental component was 16, while that for the written component was 58.
Each exam paper was blind marked by two markers, the Education Ministry said in a statement. A total of 110 markers were involved in the exercise – 45 for Maltese, 38 for English and 27 for mathematics.
The benchmarking exams were introduced in 2011 as part of a reform that sought to end the one-size-fits-all approach that had been taken in the past.
As from the next scholastic year, students in primary and middle school will no longer be sitting for exams twice a year as the half-yearly sessions will not be held. They will instead be replaced with a new system that will see students receive continuous assessment to demonstrate skills they acquire throughout the year.
The new system, announced earlier this year, will yield an extra 50 hours of classroom time and is expected to shift the focus of the education system from one that revolved around exams to a more holistic one.