Pupil assessment

The assessment system in all types of post-primary schools is based on the amended School Education Act of 7 September 1991 (ustawa z dnia 7 września 1991 r. o systemie oświaty). The system comprises internal and external (summative) assessment. 

Internal assessment

Internal assessment covers learning achievements and behaviour (conduct). It is a formative type of assessment.

Internal assessment of pupils' learning achievements involves assessing the level of knowledge and skills and the progress made in relation to the requirements based on the curricula. 

Internal assessment aims to:

• inform pupils about their learning achievements and behaviour, and their progress in this respect;

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

• support pupils in the individual planning of their development;

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

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

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

Internal assessment includes:

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

• setting criteria for the assessment of behaviour;

• conducting ongoing or coursework assessment, and giving mid-year marks for compulsory and additional classes, and mid-year      marks for behaviour according to the scale and in the forms approved in a given school;

• conducting so-called qualifying exams;

• giving end-of-year marks for compulsory and additional classes and end-of-year marks for behaviour according to the scale defined in the regulation;

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

• defining conditions and methods for informing parents (legal guardians) about pupils' progress and learning difficulties.

Teachers assess pupils separately in each subject. Marks for subjects are given by teachers of individual subjects. End-of-year marks take into account marks which a pupil received during the school year. There is ongoing or coursework assessment, so-called ‘classification’ (mid- and end-of-year) and final assessment. Single or coursework and mid-year marks provide the basis for end-of-year marks for classes (subjects). 

Teachers use the following marking scale to assess pupils’ learning achievements: 6 – excellent, 5 - very good , 4 – good , 3 – satisfactory, 2 – acceptable, 1 – unsatisfactory. When giving marks in Physical Education, teachers should consider, in particular, the pupil’s efforts to fulfil the specific requirements of the subject. School marks and marking criteria should be made available to pupils and their parents.

Pupils receive marks for their behaviour according to the following scale: excellent, very good, good, acceptable, unacceptable, and inadmissible. In principle, mid- and end-of-year marks for behaviour have no influence on mid- or end-of-year marks for classes, the promotion to a higher grade or the completion of the education cycle. However, the school's teaching council may decide that the pupil cannot be promoted to the next grade or finish the school if they have been given an inadmissible mark for behaviour at the end of two consecutive school years.

Pupils may take a so-called qualifying examination if they or their parents consider that the mid- or end-of-year mark given by the teacher is too low.

External assessment/Summative assessment

Maturity exam

The maturity exam is conducted for pupils who have finished 5-year technical secondary schools, and 2-year stage II sectoral vocational schools where pupils who have finished a 3-year stage I sectoral vocational school can continue education.

The arrangements for the maturity exam for these types of schools are the same as for general secondary schools; see External assessment in the Chapter 5.3 ‘Assessment in general upper secondary education’ / .

Vocational examinations

External vocational exams are an important element of Polish education. Pupils/learners take vocational exams to formally confirm their vocational qualifications. A vocational exam assesses the extent to which they have acquired the knowledge and skills required for one qualification identified within an occupation. An exam is based on the requirements set in the core curriculum for a specific occupation which is listed for sectoral vocational education. 

Exams can be taken by: 

• pupils in stage I sectoral vocational schools who are not juvenile workers, and pupils who are juvenile workers employed by an employer other than a craftsman to receive vocational training; 

• pupils in technical secondary schools; 

• learners in stage II sectoral vocational schools; 

• learners in post-secondary schools. 

Pupils/learners are required to take a vocational exam in the school year indicated by the school head as a precondition for being promoted to the next school grade or finishing the school. 

Regional Examination Boards conduct exams, and the school head or the employer is responsible for the organisation of the exam in the venue where it takes place. Exams take place in the winter and summer examination periods. 

A vocational exam consists of a written part and a practical part. 

The written part is conducted in the form of a written test, using the electronic vocational examination system. It lasts between 45 and 90 minutes (the exact duration is set for each occupation in the Guide to Vocational Exams, developed and published by the Central Examination Board). 

The practical part involves an examination task performed by the exam taker, which aims to assess practical skills needed for a qualification within a given occupation. It lasts between 120 and 240 minutes (the exact duration is set for each occupation in the Guide to Vocational Exams developed and published by the Central Examination Board).

To pass a vocational exam, a pupil/learner must score: 

• at least 50% of the total number of points available for the written part; and

• at least 75% of the total number of points available for the practical part. 

The locations where the written part of an exam are taken:

• for pupils/learners: the school that they attend;

• for school graduates: the school that they have finished.  

Upon passing an exam for a given (single) qualification, pupils/learners receive a vocational qualification certificate (certyfikat kwalifikacji zawodowej), issued by the competent Regional Examination Board. After passing exams for all qualifications identified within a given occupation (and completing education at the required level), pupils/learners obtain a vocational diploma (dyplom zawodowy). 

The external examination system for vocational qualifications is sufficiently flexible to enable the validation of non-formal and informal learning outcomes. It is open to people who acquired knowledge and skills outside the vocational education system. 

The arrangements for conducting vocational exams are laid down in the School Education Act of 7 September 1991, as subsequently amended (ustawa z dnia 7 września 1991 r. o systemie oświaty, z późn. zm.) (Articles 44zzzb to 44zzzu) and the Regulation of the Minister of National Education of 28 August 2019 on the detailed conditions and procedure for conducting a vocational examination and an examination confirming qualifications for an occupation, as subsequently amended (rozporządzenie Ministra Edukacji Narodowej z dnia 28 sierpnia 2019 r. w sprawie szczegółowych warunków i sposobu przeprowadzania egzaminu zawodowego oraz egzaminu potwierdzającego kwalifikacje w zawodzie, z późn. zm.), based on Article 44zzzv of the School Education Act. 

Progression of pupils/students

Pupils/learners are promoted to a higher grade if they have received ‘acceptable’ (2) or higher marks for all compulsory subjects at the end of the school year. Pupils/learners who have received one ‘unsatisfactory’ (1) mark can take an exam in the subject concerned. A pupil/learner who has not passed such a resit exam has to repeat the same year.

The school’s teaching council may conditionally promote a pupil/learner who has received mark 1 (unsatisfactory) in only one subject. A pupil/learner can be conditionally promoted to the next grade only once during the entire education cycle in a given type of secondary school.

If pupils/learners did not attend more than 50% of compulsory classes and, thus, there is no basis for assessment, they can take a so-called qualifying exam on an agreed date.

Certification

All public secondary schools, and non-public schools which comply with the requirements set for public schools, award standardised certificates (the layout of these documents and rules for filling them in are laid down in the relevant regulations).

Vocational secondary school graduates receive a school leaving certificate (świadectwo ukończenia szkoły). Those who have finished the school ‘with distinction’ receive a school leaving certificate with distinction.

Pupils who have finished a technical secondary school or a stage II sectoral vocational school and have passed the maturity exam are awarded a maturity certificate (świadectwo dojrzałości). The certificate includes the results of the written and oral parts of the exam. Those who have re-taken the exam and improved their results in one or more subjects, or have taken the exam in additional subjects, receive an annex to the certificate. The certificate and its annexes are issued by the Regional Examination Boards. The maturity certificate provides access to higher education.

Vocational school graduates receive vocational qualification certificates (certyfikat kwalifikacji zawodowej), issued by the competent Regional Examination Board. Once they have passed exams for all of the qualifications identified within a given occupation and have finished the school, they are awarded a vocational diploma (dyplom zawodowy). 

At the holder's request, the Regional Examination Board can issue a vocational diploma together with a Europass Certificate Supplement, which is based on a description of the holder's qualifications or of the occupation as provided in the core curriculum for a given occupation. The document defines the range of competences of the diploma holder, makes it easier to understand the contents of the diploma, describes the skills and qualifications of the holder, and is closely linked to a given occupation (all diploma holders receive the same supplement in a given country). The document has the same structure as in all other EU countries.