Finnish matriculation examination's exam in Social Studies – an appropriate gatekeeper and competence support?

Abstract

The study set to investigate the Finnish matriculation examination with a focus on the social studies. The goal was to examine how well the subject-specific exams of the examination measure students’ attainment in the courses of the respective subject across upper secondary studies. The data was drawn form a longitudinal study of 6,172 Southern-Finland upper secondary students in 62 schools who passed their matriculation examination in spring 2017. Data on course choices and attainment was received from school and matriculation examination results from the Finnish Matriculation Examination Board. Key finding of the study is the unanimity between the two assessments: students’ grades in the subject-specific exams of the matriculation examination correlated strongly with their respective grades across the courses during their three years of upper secondary studies. The findings give strong support for the matriculation examination as an exit exam and for its use in student admission to higher education.