Pupil/student assessment

The assessment procedures at technical schools are similar to those used in lyceums and are controlled by the same regulations. Criteria for assessing pupils include:

● Participation in class;

● Workshop and laboratory work;

● Written assignments;

● Quizzes;

● Revision tests;

● Class tests;

● Final examinations.

Pupils take written examinations at the end of the year in Modern Greek, Mathematics, Physics, Technical Drawing and specialised classes in Technology. The final examinations in Grades A and B are internally set and managed by the individual school. The content frame and the types of the examination papers are determined by the Ministry of Education and Culture. The teachers of the school are responsible for deciding the specific content and marking the papers. 

The examinations in Grade C are centrally organised and set by the Ministry of Education and Culture on a pancyprian basis and are called the 'Pancyprian Examinations'. The Pancyprian Examinations serve both as final school examinations and entrance examinations for the public universities and colleges of Cyprus and the Greek universities. 

Marks are awarded on a numerical scale of 1-20, both at the end of the first four-month term and at the end of the school year. Based on the regulated numerical scale, the pupil’s academic performance is characterized as follows: 

• Excellent: 19-20

• Very Good: 16-18

• Good: 13-15

• Almost Good: 10-12

• Failure: 1-9

Progression of pupils/students

Progression of pupils at the technical school level, as with lyceums, is based on the following provisions of Regulations ΚΔΠ 130/2011:

● The minimum pass grade is 10 (Almost Good).

● A pupil is promoted in June if he/she either receives at least a 10 in every subject, or, if he/she fails a subject which does not involve written examinations at the end of the year, his/her average grade is at least 10 for all the subjects with an examination as well as the subject he/she has failed.

●  A pupil is required to repeat a year in June if he/she has failed three or more subjects which involve a written examination, or two subjects with a written examination and two without. A pupil is also required to repeat a year in June if he/she has been absent for more than 51 unexcused periods or 161 periods either excused or not.

● A pupil is promoted in September, after repeat examinations, if he/she is awarded at least a 10 in every subject or, if he/she fails a subject which does not involve a written examination at the end of the year, his/her average grade is at least 10 for all the subjects with an examination as well as the subject he/she has failed.

● A pupil is required to repeat the year in September if he/she does not receive the grades required for promotion as outlined above, or if he/she does not sit the examination without a good reason.

Pupils who are required to repeat a class can only do this at the end of the school year. Pupils are only allowed to repeat a year twice in one school. If they are required to repeat the year for the third time, it is necessary for them to enrol at a different school.

Certification

Certification in STVE is controlled by the same regulations as for the lyceums (ΚΔΠ 168/2011). Pupils that successfully complete grade A or grade B of the technical schools are awarded a certificate that is the only requirement for enrolment to the next grade. The marks obtained by the pupil are indicated on the certificate.

 A pupil who graduates from a technical school is awarded a school leaving certificate (apolytirio). In order to satisfy the requirements of the apolytirio , he/she must:

● Achieve a grade of at least 10 in all subjects.

● Achieve an average grade of 10 in all examined subjects and the subject he/she failed, if he/she has failed a subject without an examination.

● Achieve an average grade of 12 in all examined subjects, if he/she has failed a subject with an examination with a grade of no less than 8.

The grades obtained by the pupil are indicated on the apolytirio. The technical school apolytirio is awarded by the end of June of the referenced school-year.

A pupil who fails to receive his/her certificate in June has the right to retake the examinations in September, February or June for the next three years. If he/she passes according to the criteria outlined above, he/she is awarded the apolytirio of the technical schools.

The technical school apolytirio is equivalent to the lyceum apolytirio and entitles graduates either to pursue further studies or to enter the labour market.

Organisational Variations and Alternative Structures

There are no organisational variations or alternative structures in Vocational Upper Secondary Education.