Education advances final exams for first year of high school

PalmThe Ministry of Education has informed high schools that, starting this year, they will have to complete regular assessment reports before June 5th, which means final exams will be held earlier. This advance will allow for the make-up tests (extraordinary assessments) to be held during the month of June and the final reports to be completed before the 26th of the same month, thus eliminating the September tests. According to the instructions sent to schools, students will be required to continue attending classes until the last day of the school year (June 19th), even if they have already been assessed. Teaching staff will have to organize reinforcement activities, tutoring, and extra tests for students with outstanding subjects, as well as specific proposals.

Several teachers have expressed their displeasure with the change. Speaking to ARA Baleares, a teacher at a secondary school in the Pla de Mallorca region laments the new calendar: "Beyond the fact that they're giving us endless days to finish the syllabus, it will be impossible to get students to come to class happily once they've been assessed, to endure the heat when there's nothing left to play for. Many won't." The teacher herself points out the contradiction between the increase in weekly teaching hours in the new curricula and the reduction in actual days for teaching content: "They're not shortening the syllabus, and while they've increased our teaching hours, now they're cutting them on the other hand," she says.

Educació justifies the measure as an initiative to streamline the school calendar and improve the organization of the school year, in accordance with the proposals presented at the roundtables. It also points out that the Balearic Islands and Andalusia were the only autonomous communities that still maintained extraordinary exams after the summer. Sources from the department assure that the proposal has been agreed upon and "very well received by the educational community."

According to sources from a high school in central Palma, Educació communicated the change of dates in a virtual meeting with management teams on September 9. This has forced schools to bring forward assessments and reorganize teaching activities. At this particular high school, the last day of classes for first-year high school students will be May 29, more than two weeks earlier than in previous years. Regular assessment reports will close 21 days earlier than usual—from June 26 to June 5—while extraordinary assessments will be held before June 19, the official end date of the course.

More weekly hours

This earlier deadline has raised concerns among teachers and management teams, who warn that they will have to cover the same curriculum in less time, in a context where it was already difficult to complete it under the previous calendar. The principal of a high school on the outskirts of Ciutat de Gran Canaria acknowledges that the measure has had a mixed reception. "Some people find the change positive, and others don't," he says. Although he is sympathetic to the intention to streamline the calendar, he expresses doubts about the management of the days following the evaluations. "They cancel effective school days, but also, if a student has passed everything, we won't be able to bring them in. What are we supposed to do with them?" the principal admits. What does make sense is the presence of students with outstanding subjects: "If they fail, it makes sense for them to come in for reinforcement and review activities." The first year of high school has undergone other important modifications this year: weekly teaching hours have increased from 31 to 33, to align them with those of the second year. Curricular changes have also been introduced throughout the entire stage. Thus, the Research Project (RP) becomes an optional subject called Research, Analysis, and Creativity, which can be taken in the first year. New optional subjects have been incorporated, such as Physical Activity, Leisure, and Health, Business Project, Analysis and Creativity, and the European Union. The History and Culture of the Balearic Islands will be covered in greater depth. Finally, the History of Spain will expand its curriculum to include the centuries prior to the 19th century.