Mathematics Exam Now Required for Graduating High School (10)

Published: 11.09.2012 12:39

Photo: Postimees/Scanpix

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Students who started upper secondary school this year will be required to take the state mathematics exam at the end of the 12th grade, emphasizing the increased priority the subject is now being given by the Ministry of Education.

A new national curriculum that took effect this year also categorizes mathematics as a standalone branch of study, separating it from subjects like physics, chemistry, geography and biology, which are now categorized as natural sciences.

Of the three state exams that 12th-graders must take to graduate, students had been able to choose the subjects of two or more, while only the Estonian language and literature exam was universally required. Mathematics now becomes the second required exam. 

Students who have chosen study programs with an extended math element will now have to complete fourteen courses during their three years of high school, while those with a reduced math element will have eight. Both types of study will require the mathematics exam. By comparison, Estonian language and history each require six courses under the new curicculum, wrote Postimees.

The architect of the new mathematics curriculum was University of Tartu Educational Studies Department lecturer Sirje Pihlap. She said that the mandatory exam idea came from the Ministry of Education and that math teachers were mostly opposed to the idea.

“I believe the ministry enforced a symbolic meaning with the mandatory exam, signaling [mathematics'] importance over other subjects,” said Pihlap.

 

Robin Ilves

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Comments (10)

  • Spawnie

    11.09.2012 13:06

    "Students who have chosen study programs with an extended math element will now have to complete fourteen courses during their three years of high school, while those with a reduced math element will have eight. Both types of study will require the mathematics exam." Both categories of students will have to take the exam with the SAME difficulty level? Sounds very unfair.

  • fan

    11.09.2012 13:32

    ''math teachers were mostly opposed to the idea..'' And yet this is imposed? Is this really a democratic country?

  • to fan

    11.09.2012 14:28

    A majority decision by one of the interest groups decides a matter of national importance? That doesn't sound very democratic there, either.

  • Pant

    11.09.2012 15:53

    Well, in the end you can introduce as many mandatory exams as you want. However quality does not come from exams.

  • Math

    11.09.2012 20:46

    @Spawnie - There will be two different exams. @fan - What does democracy have to do with the designing of a math curriculum and its subsequent exams?

  • avatar

    auslane

    12.09.2012 11:31

    @Math - agreed. Teachers are not necessarily best placed to make curriculum decisions. And although it's old fashioned, maths helps everybody, especially if there is some practical application (eg learning about interest and credit cards, or statistics and it's usage in every day life).

  • avatar

    knut_albers

    12.09.2012 13:58

    It's a bad thing for usurers indeed, auslane. As long people are unable to understand, that a daily interest rate of 0.95% means an annual interest rate of 346.75%, the education on math in High Schools seems to lack quality. However, if required final exams in Maths will ease the situation, is another question though. I hink it's primary the instructions that causes the problems and what pupils do not learn there (but should). In German High Schools, business arithmetics are not instructed at all, unless you are lucky enough to have a school that provides optional classes in economy. I found it always out of reality to distinct quantities in animals and other phony forms of instructions with no practical relevance in everyone's daily adult "afterlife." Maybe it behaves the same in Estonian schools.

  • Mart Mang

    12.09.2012 16:58

    This doesn't add up for me...

  • Dutch

    12.09.2012 20:15

    @knut_albers: I doubt there is a banker in Estonia that would agree with your calculation. In fact, you might want to re-educate yourself in the field of logarithm's. :-) 0,95% x 365 days would be the "annual interest rate" ?!?! Whatever it is that you are good at, math is clearly not it!

  • avatar

    knut_albers

    13.09.2012 11:52

    Dutch, creditors of interest-only consumer loans in Estonia typically use the daily percentage rate. Multiply the daily percentage rate by 365 to convert it to an annual percentage rate (and the result must be multiplied by 100 if the answer came out as a decimal and you want to express it as a percent.) It's of course a different story when money factoring comes into play, but that was not my point.