It is quite a big difference between Swedish and Italian marking. It is much more complicate in Italy and I think it is a bit harder in Italy too. In Sweden it is not that difficult to go from upper secondary school to the university. But in Italy you have to have very high marks and do well on the final exam. In Sweden we don't have a final exam.

In Sweden we have a scale, which is from IG to MVG and between those G and VG. An IG is like zero points; G is like ten points, VG like fifteen points and MVG like twenty points. You don't have to have G in every subject but it would be good if you want to go to the university. Upper secondary schooling is free of charge and voluntary. Upper secondary school in Sweden provides basic skills both for working life, life in community and for further studies.

Different subjects

We have about 17 different obligatory subjects in Sweden an in Swedish, English and Maths you have to have a G. Otherwise you can't go to the university. We also have Geography, Art History, Social science and much more. During three years we can also choose four optional subjects. This means that a student can choose for example an electronic course even if he or she studies at the Social science program and a student from the Construction program can choose a course in flowerbinding.

Finish School

When we have finished school we almost always go further to education, at university or something else. If you can't go to the university, if you haven't marks enough for the program you want to attend you can attend an upper secondary adult education. At that place you can improve your marks and maybe go to the university next year. At the end of upper secondary schooling students receive a leaving certificate which sum up the grades they have achieved in all courses studied.

Italy's marks

In Italy they have a scale from 0-10, but they almost never give the students under three. If you go under six you have failed. They also have three written and one oral test during the last three years, its examtests. The oral test is worth 35 points and the others are each worth 15 points. During the years in upper secondary school you can also get 20 extra credit points. If you take all of them you get 100 points and you have to have 60 if you don't want to fail.

How do you get the points?

It is the teachers in the school who decide how high marks a student should have at the examtests and if the student will have any extra credit points. A student can have been a very good student all the years, and when the final exam comes and he/she fails, the student has failed totally and can't go to the university. You can say that those years the student already has done were unnecessary.

How many points do you need?

If you want to go to the university you have to have 60 points and also marks over 6. This means that if you don't have that you have to change school and do the education again. I don't think it's so easy to get the marks and also make 60 points at the final exam tests. What do you think?

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Writer: Kristina Berglund (sp02-07@park.se).
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