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Assessment in Vocational Lower Secondary Education

Bulgaria

6.Upper secondary and post-secondary non-tertiary Education

6.6Assessment in Vocational Lower Secondary Education

Last update: 27 November 2023

Pupil/Students Assessment

Assessment is internal and external. Teachers are responsible for internal assessment. The school principal, the school board, and administrative officers from the Ministry of Education, Youth and Science, the Regional Inspectorates of Education, National Boards of State Matriculation Exam Assessment, Boards for Assessment of Vocational Qualification Exams conduct external assessment.

Students’ assessment is done in different formats:

  • On-going assessment – through oral examinations, written examinations and practical examinations;
  • Exams – score corrective exams at the end of grade 12, state matriculation exams after completing grade 12, examinations for acquisition of vocational qualification after completion of vocational education; Each year the dates and procedures of the state examination for vocational schools are outlined in a Ordinance issued by the Minstry of Education, Youth and Science.
  • Assessment for establishing the level of attainment of the state educational requirements for the study content – for a certain grade, stage or level of education.

Assessment is done using a six-point rating system. The grades awarded are:

  • Excellent 6;
  • Very good 5;
  • Good 4;
  • Fair 3;
  • Poor 2.

In the subjects of professional training, practical tests are conducted. In the individual and/or in the group practical assignments, as well as in work on projects and laboratory exercises, assessment criteria are formulated in accordance with the approved ones in the national examination programs for acquiring a degree of professional qualification. Term assessment for the training modules in vocational training is formed only when the training in these modules ends at the end of the study period. For a subject, which according to the school curriculum, is studied only during one of the terms, an annual mark is formed on the basis of the respective term mark. In production practice, only an annual assessment is formed on the basis of the overall performance of the student in the learning process and at least two ongoing tests. When the vocational training is carried out in modules, the annual assessment is set according to the assessment system described in the curriculum for the respective module. At the completed stage, for the acquired degree of education and / or qualification in a profession, final marks are recorded in the documents set aside for this purpose.

A qualification in a profession is acquired when, after assessment or validation, it is established that all units of learning outcomes achieved, included in the state educational standard for acquiring a qualification in the respective profession, have been achieved. Individual units of study results included in the state educational requirement for acquisition of qualification on the relevant profession may be assessed or validated, for which credits shall be assigned. A credit is a measure of a unit of achieved study results included in the state educational requirement for acquisition of qualification on the relevant profession. The credits are awarded by the educational institution and are certified by a document according to a sample approved by the Minister of Education and Science. Credits may be accumulated for the purpose of acquiring a professional qualification in a profession and / or may be transferred for the acquisition of a professional qualification in another profession from the same professional field. Credits awarded to units of learning outcomes in general vocational training may be transferred and accumulated for the acquisition of a professional qualification in all professions. 

Recognition of a professional qualification acquired in a school of a foreign country is carried out only in connection with the recognition of a completed class or degree of education. Recognition is an official written confirmation of the correspondence of a completed period, class, stage, completed degree of school education and acquired professional qualification in a school of a foreign country or in a school of the European Schools system with those in school education in the Republic of Bulgaria. It may aim at access to vocational education in the country, to training in the higher education system or to facilitate access to the labor market. It is carried out by the Regional Department of Education.

Acquired competencies through non-formal and informal learning are subject to validation and are assessed by passing one or more exams. When the validation of competencies is for one class of one subject studied for the acquisition of general education or vocational training, the examination is one and is taken on the curriculum defined in the respective curriculum for the subject. When the validation of competencies is for one class in all subjects studied for the acquisition of general education or vocational training, the examinations are in each of the subjects and are taken on the curriculum defined in the respective subject curricula. When the validation of competencies is for all classes of the stage in one subject studied for the acquisition of general education, the exam is one and is taken on the curriculum defined in the state educational standard for general education in the subject.

Progression of Pupils/Students

After the pupil completes a certain grade he/she is eligible to progress into the next grade if his/her annual grades in all academic subjects of their compulsory, core curriculum optional or specialized studies is not lower than Fair (3.00). Students who got a Poor (2.00) grade, sit for a corrective exam in the respective subject(s) in no more than two regular corrective examination sessions during the academic year, administered after the end of the school year in June or July or from 1st to 13th September according to a procedure, specified by an order of the school head. Students who do not sit for the corrective exam or get a Poor (2) grade repeat the grade with the exception of those who are in their last year at upper secondary school. Completion of a high school class is certified in the students’s grade book.

Certification

Students completing lower secondary vocational education are issued Certificate for Vocational Qualification and a diploma for completed basic education (lower secondary education). Completion of basic education is the minimum amount of education required by Bulgarian law. Afterh receiving their diploma, students can either proceed to upper secondary vocational educational or use their professional skills to enter the labor market.