The secondary education is organised in:

• Lower secondary education/gimnaziu covers grades 5 – 8
• Upper secondary education may be:
  • high-school education, which covers the high-school grades 9 - 12/13, with the following routes:
    • theoretical
    • aptitude-based
    • technological
  • vocational education, including dual vocational education, with the duration of at least 3 years.

The tertiary non-university education includes the post-secondary education.

General compulsory education includes primary education, lower secondary education and the upper secondary education.

High-school education is organised in two successive cycles:

• the lower cycle of high-school, which covers grades 9 and 10
• the upper cycle of high-school, which covers grades 11 - 12/13.

High-school education – the aptitude-based and the technological routes – and vocational education are organised for specialisations and qualifications. These are established by the Ministry of Education, according to the National Register of Qualifications.

The professional and technical education is composed of:

• professional education 
• technical education
• post-secondary education.

Upper secondary education offers to all students who completed compulsory education (students who completed lower secondary and the lower cycle of high-school, and students who vocational education respectively) the possibility to specialise in various fields - theoretical, vocational and aptitude-based – in order to prepare them for the labour market and/or to continue their education at the next educational levels.

The students who complete vocational/dual vocational education acquire knowledge, skills and competences mainly in connection with jobs, for vocational qualifications at levels 3, 4 and 5, according to the National Qualification Framework. At the same time, the students who complete vocational education, including dual vocational education, may continue their studies in high-school education.

School-based assessment, summative and formative, is conducted at classroom and school level, according to The National Education Law no.1 / 2011, with the legal updates and changes. 

A new Ministerial Order 4183/2022 promotes the Regulation for Organisation and Functioning of Pre-university Education Institutions updating the range of assessment instruments to be used at school level. These can include:

• oral questioning
• written papers/ tests
• scientific experiments and practical activities
• reports
• projects
• practical tests as well as other instruments elaborated by the school’s chairs/departments and approved by the head of school or elaborated by the Ministry of Education and the County School Inspectorates.

There are no national standardized tests administered in pre-university education, at system level.