Bagrut

Te'udat Bagrut (Hebrew: תעודת בגרות‎‎) is a certificate which attests that a student has successfully passed Israel's high school matriculation examination. Bagrut is a prerequisite for higher education in Israel.^[1] A Bagrut certificate is awarded to students who pass the required written (and in some cases oral) subject-matter examinations with a passing mark (56% or higher) in each exam. The Bagrut certificate however should not be confused with a high school diploma (te'udat g'mar tichon, Hebrew: תעודת גמר תיכון‎‎), which is a certificate awarded by the Ministry of Education attesting that a student has completed 12 years of study.

65.5% of Israeli high school 2014 graduates or other individuals studying for the 2014 exam (usually post-compulsory military service persons completing Bagrut requirements later in life in order to apply for higher education) had passed the requirements to be eligible to receive a Bagrut certificate. Of the overall population who was of high school graduation age in 2014, 52.7% were eligible to receive a Bagrut certificate.^[2]

Overview

Bagrut examinations assess knowledge on subjects studied in high school. They are frequently compared to the New York State Regents Examinations, the College Board's Advanced Placement (AP) tests, the British A-levels, and the German Abitur. Bagrut scores are one of the criteria examined in applications to elite military units and Israeli academic institutions.^[3] Other criteria include students' high school grades and the Psychometric Entrance Test.

The process of matriculation in Israel is supervised by the country's Ministry of Education. The exams of all compulsory subjects and most elective subjects are designed and written by the Ministry, thereby creating a standard measure of the students' knowledge throughout the country. In academically oriented high schools, the last two years of studies are geared to preparing students for the bagrut exams.

Bagrut exam sheet

Compulsory subjects

• Tanakh or the Scriptures of Christianity or Islam, in the relevant sectors of the population
• Language
  • Hebrew or Arabic grammar
  • Hebrew or Arabic composition
• English language (written and oral)
• Mathematics
• Knowledge of the nation and state
  • Civics and Minorities studies
  • History of the Jewish People
• World History
• Hebrew/Arab and world literature
• At least one elective, such as geography, physics, chemistry, biology, computer science, Arabic, French, social sciences etc.
• Physical Education (only for students who studied in a traditional high-school setting, i.e., not those studying under the "external" track)

Most exams are available in different levels of difficulty, expressed in "units of study". In most subjects, students may choose the number of units in which they are tested. In order to receive a "full" matriculation certificate, the student must take and pass at least one subject matter exam at the 5-unit level of difficulty and earn a total of at least 21 combined study units in all bagrut exams taken. Correspondingly, the make up of a student's classes during his or her high school years is matched to the student's expected units of study they will test in their bagrut exams. So for example, a student who is planning to take the 5-unit mathematics exam will take mathematics courses specifically designed for a 5-unit level of difficulty all throughout their high school career.

History

A copy of the 2010 mathematics exam (in the four and five units levels) was leaked to students, but a teacher reported it to authorities and all tests were replaced.^[4]

In 2011, the percentage of 17-year-olds who passed the matriculation exams rose to 48.3 percent and the number of students sitting for the exams in both the Jewish and the Arab school systems increased.^[5]

See also

• Education in Israel

References