Grade Boundaries

Grade boundaries and the formation of grades

Criterion-referenced assessment

The test responses of the Matriculation Examination are generally assessed in two stages. In both stages, criterion-referenced assessment is applied; that is, scores are awarded for responses in accordance with the agreed assessment criteria.

In some tests, there are tasks that are assessed automatically on the basis of the Board’s criteria and statistical analysis.

In the first stage of criterion-referenced assessment, the test performance is given a preliminary assessment by a teacher at the candidate’s own school. In this assessment, the teacher makes use of the regulations of the Matriculation Examination and the preliminary features of a good answer for the specific test. The preliminary features of a good answer are published on the Matriculation Examination Board’s website after 17:00 on the day of the test. The subject sections prepare these preliminary features well in advance of the examination day, at which point candidates’ responses are not yet available.

The Matriculation Examination Board carries out the final assessment of all test performances. Censors award scores in accordance with the assessment criteria agreed jointly by the Board and at each subject section’s censors’ meeting. When determining the scores, consideration is given to what each task is intended to assess and/or how candidates’ competence is demonstrated in the responses reviewed at the censors’ meeting. Teachers, teacher organisations and other stakeholders may submit observations on the test or proposals concerning the assessment criteria to the Matriculation Examination Board.

The Matriculation Examination Board publishes the final features of a good answer on its website after the final assessment. These reflect the final assessment guidelines established at the censors’ meeting. Changes made at the censors’ meeting are one significant reason why candidates’ scores may differ between the preliminary and the final assessment.

Relative grading and the standardised composite score mean (SCS mean) method

The Board determines the grade boundaries separately for each examination round after the assessment process has been completed. The grade boundaries are based on the scores obtained by first-time candidates.

First-time candidates are those who are taking the test for the first time as part of completing the Matriculation Examination based on the general upper secondary school syllabus. Consequently, for example, the number of resitters and the scores they obtain do not affect the grade boundaries. The Board’s actuary calculates preliminary grade boundaries for each subject. The Board’s committees determine the grade boundaries on the basis of the actuary’s calculations. The final boundaries are approved by the plenary session of the Matriculation Examination Board.

The standardised composite score mean (SCS mean) method is used to determine grade boundaries in those subjects where the distribution of scores allows it. In some subjects, such as advanced Russian, where a large proportion of candidates are native speakers, other criteria are used to determine grades.

Under the SCS mean method, grades are determined as follows: A z-score is calculated for each test performance by subtracting the mean score of the subject from the candidate’s score and dividing the result by the standard deviation. A candidate’s SCS mean is the mean of all their z-scores, regardless of when the tests were taken.

Candidates are then ranked on the basis of their SCS mean values. This group also includes candidates who participated in the previous examination round but not in the current one. This ranking is not used directly to assign grades to individual candidates; rather, it describes the overall performance of the examination population. Based on this ranking, grades are distributed as follows:
5% laudatur, 15% eximia cum laude approbatur, 20% magna cum laude approbatur, 20% cum laude approbatur, 20% lubenter approbatur, 15% approbatur and 5% improbatur.

Subject-specific grade boundaries are then determined in line with the grade distribution derived from the SCS mean values. Each grade is awarded in proportion to the distribution of SCS mean–based grades in the candidate population, and each test performance is assigned a grade according to its rank based on test scores.

Example: Heikki scores 88 in the psychology test. The mean score for psychology test performances is 57.5, and the standard deviation is 21.4. His z-score for the psychology test is calculated accordingly. The mean of Heikki’s z-scores across all his tests, i.e. his SCS mean, is 1.37.  In the current and previous examination rounds, there are 64,626 candidates. Heikki’s SCS mean ranks 2,561st, placing him in the top 4.0%. In this ordered list, grades are assigned so that 5% of candidates receive laudatur. These grades are then reflected in the grade distributions of the tests taken by the candidates. In the psychology test, 7.1% of candidates in the ranked list received laudatur. When setting the score boundaries, the aim is therefore to award laudatur to 7.1% of candidates who took the test, which corresponds to a boundary of 91. Similarly, the boundary for eximia cum laude approbatur is set at 75.  Since Heikki scored 88, his grade in psychology is eximia cum laude approbatur.

Because candidates’ performances are compared across tests, it is not meaningful to classify subjects as “easy” or “difficult”. For example, in the spring 2017 advanced mathematics test, 7.2% of candidates received laudatur, whereas in the basic mathematics test the figure was 3.0%, as candidates in the advanced syllabus performed better relative to all test performances.

Since the performances of candidates from the previous examination round are taken into account in the SCS mean method, this reduces the impact of differences between candidate populations across examination rounds on the grade distribution.

Publication of results

Once the General Assembly has approved the grade boundaries, individual candidates’ grades may still be adjusted as part of the consideration of applications for special arrangements or compensation, for example due to disruptions during a test or illness of the candidate. After this, the test results are released to general upper secondary schools, which review the results. If a result reported by the Matriculation Examination Board appears to be incorrect, the principal or the teacher of the subject concerned may request the Board to investigate the matter. When the results are released, the assessed test performances are also made available for inspection by candidates, the guardians of candidates under 18 years of age, and teachers who participated in the assessment process.

If a candidate, or the guardian of a candidate under 18 years of age, considers that the assessment has been carried out incorrectly, they may request an administrative review by the Board. An application fee is charged for the review. If the grade is changed as a result of the administrative review, a new Matriculation Examination Certificate or other relevant certificate will be issued in place of the certificate returned to the Board, and the application fee will be refunded.