The state final exams in the Czech Republic have started, with an impressive increase in student participation. This year, 75,609 students sat for the exams, a 5.4 percent rise from the previous year. The exams started with a didactic math test, a popular choice among students due to its structure.
Approximately 18 percent of the students opted for the math final exam. The choice is thought to be influenced by the exam’s format, consisting only of a didactic test, which reduces the number of oral exams students need to take in comparison if they chose a foreign language.
Interestingly, about 80 percent of the first-time candidates chose English. They took the test in the afternoon session. The final exams will continue with a Czech test for all candidates on Friday. Optional tests in German, French, Spanish, and Russian will be held on Monday, and a non-obligatory tougher math exam will be held on Monday.
At the Archbishop’s Gymnasium in Prague, 54 out of 61 students opted for math. According to the school’s director, Ondřej Mrzílek, this could be because many students wish to continue their studies in scientific fields.
Mrzílek noted that his students often choose state math for the school part of the exams and then select a foreign language, which they get recognized by a language certificate. Six students also opted for the non-compulsory tougher math exam this year, with a total of 3481 students registered for it, according to Jana Patáková, a spokesperson for the state organization Cermat.
Since 2020, Cermat has been organizing only didactic tests. Oral and essay work in Czech and foreign languages has been moved to the school level. Essays can be held together with practical exams from April 1, while oral exams are scheduled between May 16 and June 10.