Luxembourg Minister of National Education, Childhood and Youth Claude Meisch today presented a range of changes to high school examinations that are aimed at giving baccalauréat holders the best chance of admission to the university of their choice.
Recognising the evolving international academic landscape, and the need for Luxembourg students to appeal to institutions abroad, the number of subjects students will be required to take for their end of school exams has been reduced from between seven and ten to just six so that they can specialise more deeply in their chosen subjects. The number of oral examinations will also be reduced from three to two.
In secondary education, the changes will apply from the school year 2017/2018. In technical secondary education, they will come into force for 2018/2019.
Branches not selected for the national examination will be evaluated by an annual score based and knowledge tests organised during the year. They will be taken into account for the award of the diploma.
To better document the student's efforts during the last two years of secondary school and to better reflect the specificities of the Luxembourg school, especially languages, a more complete certification will be awarded to the bachelor. It takes the form of a complement to the final diploma.
The complement will mention not only the subjects examined and their grades, but also the other subjects studied in 2nd and 1st year with their final yearly mark. It will give a detailed description of the skills and knowledge acquired, e.g. language skills, cultural and literary content, and may also include extra-curricular activities in which the student has participated.
