Maturity 2021, tomorrow at the start: how it works, the rules

Maturity 2021, tomorrow we start. On Wednesday 16 June, more than 540 thousand students will have to face the last obstacle of their school career and face the much feared and longed-for high school exam. As last year, the graduates will face an ‘adapted’ exam according to the anti-Covid rules. However, it is not “a reduced maturity, it is not under-examination – assured in recent days the Minister of Education, Patrizio Bianchi – It is an examination where there is a written test which is that of a paper, it is not a written test traditional, we have chosen the path of advanced didactic activities, that is, I agree on a theme with my teachers, a theme that allows you to explore everything you have learned and acquired in your school career “. The examination boards are made up of 6 internal teachers plus an external president (the Ministry published the names of the presidents on May 31). The commissions will be 13,349, for a total of 26,547 classes involved. Therefore, as for last year, precisely in consideration of the health emergency, no traditional written tests. The exam will consist of a “reinforced” interview, also called maxi oral, an oral test that will start from the discussion of a paper, the topic of which was assigned to the students by the class council by April 30th. they had a month to be able to develop and treat it in depth thanks also to the support of a teacher who accompanies this path, helping each candidate to enhance what they have learned. The paper was assigned on the basis of the path taken and the disciplines characterizing the field of study, with the possibility of being integrated with contributions from other disciplines, experiences related to the Paths for transversal skills and orientation or individual skills present. in the student’s curriculum. The paper can have different forms, in order to take into account the specificity of the different study fields, the planning of the scholastic institutions and the characteristics of the student in order to enhance the peculiarities and the personalized path taken. The disciplines characterizing the field of study have been published together with the ordinances: there will be, for example, Latin language and culture and Greek language and culture for the classical high school, Mathematics and Physics for the scientific high school, Foreign language and culture 1 and Language and foreign culture 3 for the linguistic high school. And again, Human Sciences for the Lyceum of Human Sciences, Painting disciplines for the Artistic Lyceum, specialization in graphic and pictorial arts, Business Economics for the Technical Institute, economic sector, specialization in Administration, Finance and Marketing, Multimedia Design and Technical Laboratories for the ” Technical Institute for the Technological Sector, Graphics and Communication, Laboratory of Tourist Reception Services and Law and Administrative Techniques of the Accommodation Facility for the Professional Institute, Address Services for Food and Wine and Hotel Hospitality. All other disciplines are published on the Ministry website. INTERVIEW – After the discussion of the paper, the interview will continue with the discussion of a text already studied in the teaching of Italian language and literature, with the analysis of materials (a text, a document, an experience , a problem, a project) prepared by the commission with a discussion of conceptual nodes characterizing the various disciplines. There will be space for the exposure of the experience carried out in the PCTO (Pathways for transversal skills and orientation). During the interview, the candidate will demonstrate that he has acquired the skills and knowledge required in the field of civic education. The indicative duration of the interview will be 60 minutes. VOTE – The academic credit will be awarded up to a maximum of 60 points, of which up to 18 for the third class, up to 20 for the fourth class and up to 22 for the fifth class. Up to 40 points will be awarded with the oral exam. The final evaluation will be expressed in hundredths and it will be possible to obtain honors.In conducting the interviews, the information contained in the student’s curriculum will be taken into account, which includes the academic path but also the activities carried out in other areas, such as sports, volunteering and cultural activities . Language certifications, extracurricular activities and any other document deemed useful can be included in the curriculum. The curriculum can be compiled in digital format, through the dedicated web page prepared by the Ministry of Education. At the end of the exam, the curriculum will be attached to the diploma and made available to students on the platform. The number of candidates who take the interview cannot exceed 5 per day; the order of convocation of the candidates will be according to the alphabetical letter established on the basis of the draw by the individual committees.Among the changes compared to 2020 is the return of admission to the exam. There is therefore no automatic “promotion” but the possibility of taking the Maturity exams is arranged by the class council with the final ballot. Participation in the Invalsi national tests is not a requirement for access and it is the educational institutions that establish any exceptions to the attendance requirement, envisaged for three quarters of the individual timetable. Another novelty of the 2021 edition is the “Student Curriculum” , a document that, together with the scholastic path, presents the activities carried out in other areas, including extracurricular ones, such as sports, music, volunteering and cultural activities. The commission will take the Curriculum into account during the interview but will not affect the final grade. To comply with the ‘anti-Covid’ rules, the safety protocol for conducting face-to-face exams follows the measures adopted already in 2020: 2 meters are expected. distance between candidate and commission, only one chaperone for each student, the use of a surgical mask. In the event of quarantines (including commissioners) or long-term stays, the examination by videoconference is allowed: even the Covid-positive student can ask to carry it out electronically, possibly requesting its displacement (any absence due to Covid positive, as for any other disease, must be certified). Many regions have opened vaccinations for high school graduates, a further measure to ensure safe maturity, but for participation in the exam the vaccine is not mandatory.