It happened: the first intermediate Polish language exam

On Wednesday, 19th of April, students of the third grade of junior high schools receiving education in the Polish language were the first ones to take an intermediate exam in their mother tongue and literature. 807 students of Polish schools in Lithuania took the test.

Principal of the John Paul II Junior High School Adam Blaszkiewicz and principal of the Ferdinand Ruszczyc Junior High School in Rudomin Żaneta Jankowska said in an interview with “Kurier Wileński” that the reintroduction of the mother tongue exam to the list of state exams is a very important development.

A result that has been fought for throughout the years

– This exam is the result of what we have fought for so many years, that is, we have a mother tongue exam at the A-Levels. We only have to view it positively. The organization of the exam itself was quite a challenge for the school because we had to seat 85 people at the computers with headphones. But we managed to do it,” says Adam Blaszkiewicz.

The principal of the Ferdinand Ruszczyc Junior High School in Rudomin also has a very positive opinion of the mother tongue exam.

– Everything went very well. The results are also good, a lot of people scored 40 out of 40. We are happy that finally, students can take the Polish language exam and the result of the intermediate exam will be added to the result of the A-levels,” stresses Żaneta Jankowska.

Mother tongue exam is very much needed

Helena Strela, polonist-methodologist of the Ferdinand Ruszczyc junior high school in Radomin, said in an interview with “Kurier Wileński ” that the exam in the mother tongue is very necessary.

– Students with whom I spoke say that the exam was not difficult for them and that the trial exam was even a bit more difficult. I evaluate the tasks themselves very positively,” emphasizes the teacher.

“From the 1st of September 2022, an updated curriculum of the mother tongue and Polish literature is being implemented in the schools of the Polish national minority in Lithuania. From next year, the eleventh grades of all schools in Lithuania will take an intermediate exam in compulsory and elective subjects. Those who pass them will be able to take the A-levels exams next year,” explains Asta Ranonytė. – explains Asta Ranonytė, Deputy Director of the National Education Agency.

This exam is the first step in the practical implementation of changes in external evaluation in Lithuanian comprehensive schools. After improving the procedure for organizing and conducting A-levels exams, in 2024, students of the Polish national minority will be able to take the state A-levels exams in their mother tongue and literature only after passing the intermediate exam.

Preparations for the intermediate exam in Polish language and literature had been underway since the autumn of last year.

Listening, reading, writing

The exam consisted of 3 parts: listening, reading and writing. During the listening part, students were given one or more audio recordings on various cultural and social topics, lasting up to 5 minutes, and in the reading part, texts of up to 800 words covering various socio-cultural contexts. It was tested whether and to what extent students understood the key information, expressed thoughts, opinions or judgments. Text production tasks will assess the ability to compose and edit a text, such as the appropriate use of linguistic tools to achieve correctness, clarity, coherence of the text, etc.