Pupil assessment

Basic principles of the assessment system in Poland

The assessment system for pupils’ learning achievements is dichotomous. It comprises internal assessment conducted by teachers, and external assessment conducted by the Central and Regional Examination Boards. The provisions of the School Education Act of 7 September 1991, as subsequently amended (ustawa z dnia 7 września 1991 r. o systemie oświaty, z późn. zm.), that are still in force set the basic legislative framework for assessment, together with several Regulations of the minister responsible for school education.

Assessment covers learning achievements and behaviour (conduct). 

Internal assessment

Internal assessment is an assessment of pupils’ learning achievements where teachers working with pupils evaluate the extent to which they have acquired, and the progress they have made in acquiring, knowledge and skills in relation to the core curriculum, and educational requirements based on school curricula in the case of additional/optional classes. This is primarily formative assessment.

Internal assessment aims at:

• informing pupils on the level of their learning achievements and behaviour, and their progress in this respect;

• supporting pupils in learning through feedback provided to them on where they have performed well and how they should continue to learn;

• supporting pupils in the individual planning of their development;

• motivating pupils to make further progress in learning and behaviour;

• providing parents (legal guardians) and teachers with information on pupils' progress or learning difficulties, behaviour and special talents;

• enabling teachers to improve organisational approaches and methods used in their educational activities.

Internal assessment includes:

• defining educational requirements to obtain individual mid-year (end-of-semester) and end-of-year marks for compulsory and additional classes;

• setting criteria for the assessment of behaviour;

• conducting assessment on an on-going basis, and giving mid- and end-of-year marks for compulsory and additional classes and for behaviour according to the scale and in forms approved in a given school;

• conducting so-called qualifying exams which provide the basis for marks (for example, in the case of pupils who did not attend classes in a given semester);

• defining conditions and procedures for pupils who wish to improve their expected mid- and end-of-year marks for compulsory and additional classes and mid- and end-of-year marks for behaviour;

• defining conditions and procedures for pupils who wish to improve their expected end-of-year marks for classes and mid- and end-of-year marks for behaviour;

• defining conditions and procedures for providing parents (legal guardians) with information on pupils' progress or learning difficulties.

School marks and the marking criteria should be made available to pupils and their parents. The statutes of each school set detailed requirements and marking methods for internal assessment. 

At the beginning of each school year, teachers inform pupils and their parents about the educational requirements for each mid-year and end-of-year mark for classes, which are based on the implemented curriculum, methods for the assessment of learning achievements, and the conditions and procedure for receiving an end-of-year mark which is higher than the expected one. 

During the education period in the primary school, pupils receive single, mid-year, end-of-year and final marks (the last three referred to as ‘classification marks’). 

Teachers assess pupils separately in each subject. The teacher who teaches a given subject/type of classes gives a mark based on the predefined criteria and justifies it in the manner specified in the statutes of the school. Single and mid-year marks provide the basis for end-of-year marks. The Regulation of the Minister of National Education of 22 February 2019 on the assessment, classification and promotion of pupils and learners in public schools, as subsequently amended (Rozporządzenie Ministra Edukacji Narodowej z dnia 22 lutego 2019 r. w sprawie oceniania, klasyfikowania i promowania uczniów i słuchaczy w szkołach publicznych, z późn. zm.) states that teachers may assign homework to improve fine motor skills of pupils at the early education stage (Grades I to III). Such exercises are compulsory for the pupil, and the teacher may, but does not have to, give a mark for such a homework assignment. In other cases, homework is not compulsory and is not assessed. 

Ongoing or coursework assessment aims to monitor pupils’ performance, provide them with feedback on their learning achievements and thus support their learning by indicating what they do well, what should be improved and how, and how they should continue learning. 

Mid- and end-of-year marks are based on an assessment which sums up achievements of the pupil in a given half-year period (semester) or school year respectively. In Grades IV to VIII, the pupil who has received a positive mark at the end of the school year is promoted to the next grade (see below).

In Grades I to III of the primary school teachers give single marks for compulsory and additional/optional classes in the manner specified in the statutes of the school (marking can be descriptive or numeric). Mid- and end-of-year marks for compulsory and additional classes, as well as mid- and end-of-year marks for behaviour are descriptive. 

In Grades IV to VIII of the primary school, teachers use the following scale for numeric mid- and end-of-year marking: 6: excellent, 5: very good, 4: good, 3: satisfactory, 2: acceptable, 1: unsatisfactory. In ongoing or coursework, mid- or end-of-year assessment, teachers can also use descriptive marking in all or some compulsory or additional subjects if this is provided for in the school statutes.

When giving marks for physical education, technology, technical classes, visual art, music and art classes, teachers should consider, in particular, the efforts made by the pupil to fulfil the specific requirements of a given subject/type of class.

Pupils can take a so-called verification exam (egzamin sprawdzający) if the mid- or end-of-year mark given by the teacher is too low in their (or their parents’) opinion. Pupils take a qualifying exam (egzamin klasyfkacyjny) if their achievements cannot be assessed for various reasons (such as an individualised learning programme or path, learning outside school, for example, at home, or the pupil's illness).

In assessing the pupil’s behaviour, the class tutor, teachers and pupils in a given class evaluate to what extent the pupil respects the principles of social coexistence and ethical norms and fulfils obligations specified in the statutes of the school. 

Starting in Grade IV, teachers use the following scale to give end-of-year and final marks for behaviour: excellent, very good, good, acceptable, unacceptable, inadmissible. 

The mark for behaviour should not influence subject marks, the promotion to the next grade or the completion of primary/single-structure education. However, in specific cases, the teaching council of the school may decide that the pupil will not be promoted to the next grade or finish the primary school due to their inadmissible behaviour. 

External assessment

All pupils finishing Grade VIII of the primary school take the compulsory eighth-grader exam. It is a written exam that assesses the extent to which a primary school pupil (learner) meets the requirements set in the core curriculum for general education in the primary school. The exam covers the following compulsory subjects:

• Polish language

• Mathematics

• Modern foreign language

Taking the eighth-grader exam is a necessary precondition to finish the primary school. Results of the exam have no impact on completion of primary or single-structure education; neither do they have impact on the promotion to the next grade in art schools providing general education at the primary education level where the grade corresponding to Grade VIII of the primary school is not the final grade in the education cycle. However, they are of major importance as one of the criteria in the process of admission to post-primary schools.

The arrangements for the eighth-grader exam are laid down in the Regulation of the Minister of Education and Science of 2 August 2022 on the detailed  requirements and procedure for conducting the eighth-grader examination, as subsequently amended (Rozporządzenie Ministra Edukacji i Nauki z dnia 2 sierpnia 2022 r. w sprawie szczegółowych warunków i sposobu przeprowadzania egzaminu ósmoklasisty, z późn. zm.). 

Pursuant to temporary regulations based on the Act of 12 March 2022 on the assistance for citizens of Ukraine in connection with the armed conflict on its territory, as subsequently amended (ustawa z dnia 12 marca 2022 r. o pomocy obywatelom Ukrainy w związku z konfliktem zbrojnym na terytorium tego pańatwa, z późn. zm.), specific arrangements are in place for the eighth-grader exam for Ukrainian pupils. They are not required to take all parts of the exam (in particular, the Polish language). In the school year 2025/2026, Ukrainian pupils who started education in Grade VIII of the primary school after 30 September 2025 may indicate in a written statement, by 2 March 2026, the modern foreign language that they have chosen for the eighth-grader exam. 

Progression of pupils

Pupils in Grades I to III are promoted to the next grade on the basis of a descriptive end-of-year assessment of their performance in classes. The assessment takes into consideration the pupil's level of knowledge and skills in relation to the requirements in the core curriculum for general education at the first stage of education. It also shows the pupil’s developmental and educational needs that should be addressed to overcome any possible learning difficulties or develop talents. 

In exceptional cases, if this is justified by the level of development and achievements of a pupil in a given school year or their health condition, the teaching council may decide that the pupil in Grade I to III of the primary school will repeat the year. The teaching council takes such a decision at the request of the class tutor, after consultation with the pupil’s parents, or at the parents’ request, after consultation with the class tutor. 

It is also possible to promote a Grade I or II pupil to a higher grade during a school year at the request of the pupil’s parents and with the consent of the class tutor or at the request of the class tutor and with the consent of the pupil’s parents. The teaching council may decide to promote Grade I and II pupils to a higher grade during a school year if their level of development and achievements indicate that they are able to learn during one school year the contents included in the curriculum for two grades. 

Pupils in Grades IV to VIII are promoted to a higher grade if they have received positive end-of-year marks (that is, marks higher than ‘unsatisfactory’) for all compulsory subjects/classes and for the national or ethnic minority language or the regional language. 

If pupils have one ‘unsatisfactory’ mark, they can take a repeat/resit exam. Pupils who have not passed the exam are not promoted to the higher grade. However, the teaching council of the primary school may decide to promote conditionally a pupil who has received mark 1 (‘unsatisfactory’) in one subject only. 

If pupils have not attended more than 50% of compulsory classes and there is no basis for their assessment, they can take a so-called qualifying exam on the date agreed with them and their parents.

Pupils complete a school year or the entire cycle of primary education with 'distinction' if their average end-of-year mark for all compulsory classes is at least 4.75 and their behaviour mark is at least ‘Very good’.

Certification

All public primary schools and non-public primary schools (which should meet the requirements set for public schools) award standardised certificates which are official documents. The relevant Regulation of the minister responsible for school education defines the layout of the documents and the rules for filling them (for example, certificates with distinction have a vertical red-and-white stripe and are marked "with distinction").

School certificates confirming the completion of each grade or the failure in promotion are necessary when pupils change school (their place of residence), and the final primary school leaving certificate is required for admission to a post-primary school.

In addition to the final primary school leaving certificate, each pupil finishing the primary school receives a certificate with results of the eighth-grader exam, issued by the Regional Examination Board.