The reform on the 2026 high school leaving exam was officially approved by the Chamber of Deputies, with 138 votes in favor and 91 against: among the changes for the next State Exam (which will once again be officially called the “High School Leaving Certificate Exam”) the reduction of the subjects for the oral interview, which drop from 6 to 4, and the obligation to take the oral test to be promoted. The objective of the reform, according to the Ministry of Education and Merit, is to evaluate the overall growth of the student, also enhancing their argumentative ability.
But how has this scholastic test changed over the years and how many reforms has it undergone in these 102 years of history? The high school leaving exam, in fact, was established in 1923 by the minister Giovanni Gentile and in more than a century it has changed structurally both in terms of methods and subjects considered, with the aim of adapting to the needs of contemporary schools.
What changes for students with the 2026 high school leaving exam reform
The changes planned for 2026 are different, starting from the name: the final test of the upper secondary education cycle is once again called the “Maturity Examination”, exactly as it was before the 1997 reform, following which it was renamed the “State Examination”.
In general, the main changes will concern the oral interview: the subjects to be taken to the oral test will drop from 6 to 4 – identified by the Ministry of Education and communicated in January – which will have to be discussed in front of two external and two internal commissioners. These will however need to be integrated with the evaluation of the overall training course, which will also take into account civic education and school-work training (ex PCTO).
However, the two written tests are confirmed: the first dedicated to the Italian language and the second focused on the subjects characterizing the school curriculum. To pass the final exam, among other things, it will be mandatory to present both the written and oral exams: the final interview “will not be valid if the student deliberately chooses silence”. Looking instead at the votes for behavior, a 5 in conduct will result in automatic failure, while with the 6 the student will be asked to take a “proof of active citizenshipAt the final evaluations, the maximum score will be reserved for those who have achieved at least 9 in conduct.
As also confirmed by the Ministry of Education and Merit, the objective of this reform is to “evaluate the overall growth of the student, his degree of autonomy and responsibility, enhancing not only knowledge, but also the argumentative ability and personal maturation of the students”.
What the final exam was like in the past: from 1923 to today
Today the final exam does not only represent a school test to be passed to graduate from high school, but also constitutes a symbolic rite of passage, from adolescence to adulthood. As mentioned, the state exam was introduced in 1923, at the beginning of the fascist regime, through the reform of the then minister Giovanni Gentile. Over the course of 102 years it has undergone numerous reforms: let’s see the main ones.
The first high school exam with the Gentile reform
The very first high school leaving exam was in force exclusively for high schools and included classical subjects such as Latin, Greek, philosophy, mathematics and history: it was composed of 4 written tests and an oral interview, which took place on all the subjects of the course and on the national programs of the last 3 years of high school. The examining commission was made up exclusively of external teachers, mostly university professors, while the voting did not involve a single final score, but as many as there were exam subjects.
The state exam after the Second World War
During the Second World War, the high school leaving exam was simplified both in terms of methods and contents. Once the conflict was over, Minister Guido Gonella restored the original version of the final exam, making only two small changes: the Commission was integrated with two internal teachers, while the exam program was limited to the topics covered during the last school year.
The 1969 reform and the following 30 years
The 1969 reform of the school leaving exam is one of the most important in the history of this school test, which will retain these characteristics for the following 30 years. In particular, the decree proposed by the then minister Fiorentino Sullo (later converted into law in 1971) established:
- The extension of the high school leaving exam to all study courses of the four-year and five-year cycles of upper secondary education.
- The reduction to two written tests and two subjects for the oral interview, one of which is chosen by the student.
- A single final score expressed in sixtieths.
The innovations of the high school leaving exam in force since 1999
To adapt to new scholastic needs, in 1999 the maturity was reformed again: the official name was changed to “State Exam”, with a view to no longer being based on the concept of maturity, but on the «verification and certification of knowledge, skills and abilities». Specifically:
- The exam was expanded with the addition of a third written test, prepared by the Commission, which was followed by an oral interview on all the disciplines of the final year.
- The Commission was reorganized and made up of 50% internal members and 50% external members, plus a Commission President, also external to the Institute.
- The final evaluation began to be expressed in hundredths and distributed as follows: 45 maximum points from the written tests, 35 maximum points from the oral interview and 20 maximum points from the school credit, accumulated in the last 3 years.
The state exam after 2019
The latest structural reform of the high school leaving exam came with legislative decree 62/2017, in force since 2019 and therefore valid for all high school graduates born from 2000 onwards. Among the most important changes were:
- The abolition of the third written test 20 years after its introduction, with the aim of reducing the workload for students and making the assessment more standardized at a national level.
- The introduction of “envelopes” for the oral interview, to be used as starting materials for the test.
- The modification of the evaluation system, with a maximum of 40 points assigned as school credit and a maximum of 20 points for each test (two written and one oral).
- The introduction of the mandatory PCTO (Path for Transversal Skills and Orientation), the so-called school-work alternation.
In 2020 and 2021, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the high school leaving exam was reduced to a maxi oral test, longer and more detailed and capable of partially replacing the written exams.
