Polish eighth-grade exam results improve across all main subjects, English tops at 73%

National overview

Nearly 387,000 eighth-grade students took the compulsory egzamin ósmoklasisty between 11 and 13 May, and on 3 July the Central Examination Commission (CKE) released the nationwide averages. The results show a clear upward trend across all three main subjects compared to the previous year. Polish reached 65% (up 1 percentage point), mathematics 55% (up 5 points), and English 73% (up 3 points). The only decline was recorded in German, which fell from 61% to 59%.

Subject-by-subject performance

The strongest improvement appeared in mathematics, where the average climbed five percentage points year-on-year, although it remained the lowest-scoring subject at 55%. Polish rose modestly to 65%, while English consolidated its position as the best-performed subject at 73%. According to the CKE, the share of students scoring between 90% and 100% across all three papers was about 3.6% of all test-takers, roughly 12,500 individuals.

The CKE director told Radio Eska that the best-mastered skills included reading iconic texts and knowledge of a compulsory book for Polish, operations on powers for mathematics, and linguistic functions for English. The weakest areas were recognising the subject and attribute in a sentence (Polish), abstract thinking that combines algebra and spatial geometry (mathematics), and command of language means (English).

Foreign language choices

Over 98.5% of candidates chose English as their modern foreign language, with fewer than 2% opting for German. A small number sat exams in Russian, French, Spanish and Italian. Among all foreign languages, Spanish yielded the highest average at 77%, followed by French (76%), Russian (75%), English (73%), Italian (65%) and German (59%).

Regional highlights

Several provinces trailed the national benchmarks. In Wielkopolska, where almost 40,000 students sat the exam, the averages were 63% for Polish, 53% for mathematics and 70% for English, each a couple of points below the countrywide figure. The Podlaskie region reported 63% in Polish, 54% in mathematics and 72% in English. Lower Silesia mirrored that pattern with 63% in Polish and 53% in mathematics, though its English result matched the national 73%. Pupils in the Lublin region performed slightly better in Polish (66.63%) but scored 53.59% in mathematics and 71% in English.

What the exam means

Passing the egzamin ósmoklasisty is a formal requirement for finishing primary school, but no minimum score is set, it cannot be failed. However, the results carry considerable weight because they account for half of the admission points during recruitment to secondary schools. The other half comes from grades on the school certificate and other achievements. The CKE noted that the published data do not yet include students who took the exam during the additional June session.