According to the General Upper Secondary Schools Decree (810/1998), the students and their parents or other guardians are to be provided with information concerning the individual students’ schoolwork and progress of studies at sufficiently frequent intervals.
Assessment is based on the objectives defined in the curriculum. A course is assessed once it has been completed. The purpose of assessment is to give students feedback on how they have met the objectives of the course and on their progress in that subject.
According to the General Upper Secondary Schools Decree (810/1998), students’ knowledge and skills in each subject or subject group are assessed by the students’ teacher or, should there be several teachers, jointly by the teachers concerned. The final assessment is carried out by the principal together with these teachers.
The scale of grades used in numerical assessment is 4–10. Grade 5 indicates adequate, 6 moderate, 7 satisfactory, 8 good, 9 very good and 10 excellent knowledge and skills. Grade 4 is reserved for a failed performance. Some courses are assessed with passed/failed.
At the end of general upper secondary education, students usually take the matriculation examination.
The examination consists of at least four tests; one of them, the test in the candidate’s mother tongue, is compulsory for all candidates. The candidate then chooses three other compulsory tests from among the following four tests: the test in the second national language, a foreign language test, the mathematics test, and one test in the general studies battery of tests (sciences and humanities). The candidate may include, in addition, as part of his or her examination, one or more optional tests.
There is a separate assessment system for the matriculation examination. The tests are initially checked and assessed by each upper secondary school’s teacher of the subject in question and finally by the Finnish Matriculation Examination Board. The Latin grades and the corresponding points given for the tests are:
- laudatur (Latin for "praised", 7),
- eximia cum laude approbatur ("passed with exceptional praise", 6),
- magna cum laude approbatur ("passed with much praise", 5),
- cum laude approbatur ("passed with praise", 4),
- lubenter approbatur ("satisfactorily passed", 3),
- approbatur ("passed", 2), and
- improbatur ("failed", 0).
Visit the Matriculation Examination Board site
Assessing General Upper Secondary School Diplomas
Students can demonstrate their skills and knowledge in home economics, visual arts, crafts, physical education, media, music, dance and theatre by completing an optional general upper secondary school diploma. These diplomas complement the skills and knowledge the students have acquired and demonstrated in general upper secondary school leaving certificate and matriculation examination. General upper secondary school diplomas can be part of specialisation courses in the curriculum.
The Finnish National Board of Education has confirmed national guidelines for passing general upper secondary school diplomas. The guidelines include the instructions on taking the diploma as well as assessment criteria and diploma format. In some subjects, diploma assignments change annually and are available to schools by the end of spring.
General upper secondary schools are responsible for following national guidelines when giving students the certificate. Implementation of diploma courses is voluntary for general upper secondary schools.
Diploma courses available for students must be specified in the upper secondary school’s curriculum. General upper secondary school diploma certificate is given by the general upper secondary school as an appendix to the general upper secondary school leaving certificate.
Further information on general upper secondary school diploma in English (pdf)
General upper secondary school diploma in Finnish and Swedish (EDU.fi)