After a lot of sweat and toil in recent months, most students in secondary education (VO) will hear this Wednesday whether they have passed or failed. That is extra exciting this year: for the first time, students who received online lessons for a significant part of their education are no longer treated with leniency. In previous years, they were sometimes allowed an extra resit. One exam batch – that of 2020 – did not have to take an exam at all.
This year, some 186,000 candidates took part in the central exams: over 90,000 in VMBO, 55,000 in HAVO and 39,000 in VWO. In 2022, there were still more than 188,000 students, of whom 94 percent passed, according to the 2022 Exam Monitor for secondary education of the Education Executive Agency (DUO).
Striking trends: in recent years fewer and fewer students are taking exams in science subjects. There is also a declining interest in German and French. This while interest in other modern foreign languages and art subjects is increasing, reports the Board for Tests and Exams.
Music, dance and drama
A total of 55,000 students took the German exam this school year, a thousand less than last year. The enthusiasm for French remained about the same, except in pre-university education, where about a thousand students took less French compared to 2022. A total of 28,000 students took French exams.
The popularity of the subjects of Arabic, Turkish, Spanish and Russian has increased among most students. This year sees the biggest increase in Arabic and Turkish: there are about twice as many candidates as in the previous year. The enthusiasm for Spanish has decreased in pre-vocational secondary education.
It is also striking that in recent years fewer pre-university students have opted for Latin and Greek. The arts subjects, on the other hand, are increasingly popular: music, dance, visual subjects and drama were chosen by some 34,000 students, compared to 32,000 last year. (NRC)