Email, Pasi Sahlberg, director general, Centre for International Mobility and Cooperation, Helsinki, Dec. 12, 2012
Lähettäjä: Selby, Gardner (CMG-Austin) [wgselby@statesman.com]
Lähetetty: 12. joulukuuta 2012 17:46
Vastaanottaja: Pasi Sahlberg
Aihe: Reporter in Texas, Question Below!
Good day!
For a fact check, we are looking into a claim befitting your expertise. The claim is that unlike Texas, Finland has just one mandatory student exam.
This appears to the Finnish Matriculation Exam.
Would that be right?
From this web page<http://www.ylioppilastutkinto.fi/en/>, however, it looks like students have to take at least four tests to get past the exam and may choose to take more than 10 tests. Am I reading that right?
Other thoughts?
Thanks.
Wgs
W. Gardner Selby
PolitiFact Texas
346 pm
Dec. 12, 2012
yes, that's right. There is only one external standardized examination that students must take before leaving high school and that is at the very end after they have completed most of the courses in high school. However, this is an examination that consists of minimum of four exams. One of them is mandatory. Students if they wish can take more exams to that examination. Normally they take five or six in total. Current system allows students to spread these exams over a period of one year, e.g. spring-fall-spring. Most students take most of their 4 to 6 exams in one go during their last spring. Very very few sit ten exams.
I hope this helps.
Pasi
Pasi SAHLBERG, PhD
Director General
CIMO (Centre for International Mobility and Cooperation) Hakaniemenranta 6, PL 343
00530 Helsinki FINLAND