Latin at the classical high school, mathematics at the scientific high school.

These are some of the subjects chosen for the second written exam of the 2026 final exam, as per Decree No. 13 of January 29, 2026, signed by the Minister of Education and Merit Giuseppe Valditara.

The exam will begin on June 18th and will include a first written test in Italian, common to all study programs, starting at 8:30 a.m. on Thursday, June 18th . A second written test covering the subjects characterizing each study program and the interview are scheduled for the following day, June 19th.

Other subjects included in the second written exam include: Humanities for the Humanities High School; Business Economics for technical institutes specializing in "Administration, Finance, and Marketing" in the economics sector; Tourism and Business Studies for technical institutes specializing in "Tourism" in the economics sector; Foreign Language and Culture 1 for the Linguistic High School; Design Studies specific to each major for the Art High School; and Theory, Analysis, and Composition for the Music High School.

The oral exam

The oral exam will focus on four subjects: in addition to Italian and Latin, students at the Classical High School must bring History and Mathematics. At the Scientific High School, in addition to Italian and Mathematics, students must bring History and Natural Sciences. The conduct grade will affect the awarding of credit. A dedicated search engine is available to find all the subjects covered in the second exam and the four subjects for the oral exam. Students can also find these subjects in the reserved area of the unica.istruzione.gov.it platform.

"This year, we're returning to the final exam, with a radically revamped oral exam," Valditara said. " We've eliminated the discussion of the document, which forced students to make forced interdisciplinary connections, creating unnecessary apprehension among students, partly due to its random unpredictability, and which didn't necessarily include a disciplinary assessment. We've opted to focus on an interview covering four disciplines, during which candidates will be able to demonstrate not only their level of knowledge and skills, but also their level of autonomy and responsibility. Hence the importance of extracurricular activities, whether sporting or cultural. Hence the importance of particularly meritorious achievements. In a society that needs to rediscover the value of graduation, the new oral exam allows students to fully appreciate their personal development."

Boycott is impossible

Another new feature this year is that it will be impossible to "boycott" the exam: you will fail. There will be a strict obligation to take all the tests, as established by a new regulation after some students last year refused to take the interview in protest against a system deemed too competitive and unfair , trusting that with the credits earned over the three-year period and the grades obtained in the two written tests, they would have achieved a passing grade anyway. Since last year, however, those who earn a 6 in behavior are required to submit an essay on "active and supportive citizenship," which will be discussed during the oral exam. Those who earn less than a 9 in behavior will be penalized when calculating the school credits accumulated over the three-year period . Finally, the "bonus" for the highest-performing students has been reduced from 5 to 3 points, provided the candidate has obtained at least 90 points.

The students' protest

This will be the first year with the new exam model, featuring mixed commissions with two external and two internal professors, and an additional external chair. The oral exam will therefore be reduced to just four subjects, which will be chosen directly by the Ministry of Education and Merit. The student's curriculum will also be evaluated, yet another attempt to go beyond the exam alone to assess the student's entire academic career, but this too has failed .

Angela Verdecchia, national coordinator of the High School Students Network, says: "You can't reduce the school cycle by only presenting activities that earn academic credits or excellence. This tool will actually minimize the few worthy experiences," she says. As for failing students for silence during the oral exam, she says: "It's a repressive maneuver. Valditara therefore prohibits any form of dissent in school, even during the final exit tests. This is a concrete example of this government's idea of school." "The final exam is changing, but our idea doesn't change: reducing five years of education to a test that pits us against each other and that is often reduced solely to the memory ability of the subjects is useless and harmful," she concludes. " We need to rethink the way in which school projects us into the outside world; this exam is certainly not the best model. We therefore call for the abolition of the final exam and of any assessment that reduces a student's career to a number."

(Unioneonline/D)

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