NARIC guide on Higher Education Systems in the European Union

The examinations are administered by special commissioni d’esame (boards of examiners), appointed by the Ministero della
Pubblica istruzione (Ministry of Education). The same Ministry is responsible for the annual tasks of fixing the exam
schedule, selecting the exam subjects in relation to the different types of USE institutions, deciding which USE institution
have to act as examination centres, and so on.
The boards of examiners are external: they are made up of qualified teachers who, coming from Italian cities or districts other
than those of the candidates, have no previous acquaintance with them: such a criterion has been adopted as a guarantee of
greater impartiality and strictness. The number of examining boards may amount to one or more at each institute previously
chosen as an examination centre, depending on the number of students to be tested there.
Only those students who have regularly attended the last year of USE at State or State-recognised institutes and have
successfully passed the final internal assessment (scrutinio finale) in all subjects are allowed to take the maturity
examinations. The internal assessment — which is meant to evaluate the candidates’ knowledge and understanding of the
individual subjects included in the final year’s curriculum — consists of formulating an analytical judgment on the students’
performance in each subject. This evaluation is given by the teachers who taught the subjects themselves; they also give a
numerical rating, using a scale from 0 to 10 with 6 as the minimum pass mark; since 10 is never — or very rarely —
attributed, 9 is usually regarded as the highest mark.
Students admitted to the maturity examinations are tested on six subjects, two in writing and four orally. The general
organisation is as follows.
(a) Written exams
First day
Italian (compulsory for all students, independently of their type of USE): candidates are requested to write an essay on a
given theme within a fixed time. Themes are determined at national level, four for each type of USE institution (first:
Italian literature and civilisation; second: world history; third: topical subject; fourth: topic reated to the specialistic area
of each USE). The titles are officially announced on the morning of the exam and each student may choose one out of
four.
the test varies with the type of USE institution, as it must concern one of its characteristic subjects; it may consist of a
translation from a classical or modern language into Italian (or vice-versa), in the case of classical or foreign language
institutes; in the solution of maths/physics problems (scientific institutes), etc., to be carried out within a fixed time.
(b) Oral exams
Under the supervision of the whole examiners’ board, each candidate is interviewed by teachers of the four disciplines
determined by the Ministry, in the following order:
first — Italian literature and civilisation;
second — discipline chosen by the candidate;
third and fourth — the remaining two disciplines, at the board’s discretion.
The oral interview also includes some discussion about the student’s written work.
When expressing their final evaluation, examiners must primarily take into account the examinees’ general competence and
maturity; then, they also consider the students’ knowledge of the exam subjects, and, finally, their previous study performance
(e.g. the grades obtained in the last year’s assessment) as well as any other information made available to the board.
Each examiner awards marks, from 1 to 10, 6 being the minimum passing grade. The sum of all the marks attributed to each
student corresponds to the final grade quoted in his/her diploma di maturità. Therefore, as each examining board is made up
of six members, the examinees’ performance is ultimately evaluated out of 60, according to a scale where 36/60 and 60/60 are
the minimum and the maximum passing grades respectively.