Latvia approves 2026-2027 state examination schedule

Latvia’s Cabinet has approved the schedule for state examinations in the 2026-2027 school year, including a new centralised science examination for ninth-grade students, LSM reported, citing the Education and Science Ministry.

Monitoring tests in basic skills for third and sixth-grade students, as well as tests on the implementation of a unified school for second, fifth and eighth-grade students, will take place in February and March 2027.

The tests are intended to provide comprehensive information on how students have mastered the education content, support data-based decisions to improve education quality at school, municipal and national levels, and help plan support for students and teachers, the ministry said.

Ninth-grade centralised examinations will be held in written Latvian on May 20, 2027, mathematics on May 25, and the science field on June 2. Monitoring tests in a foreign language and spoken Latvian are planned for April.

To receive a certificate of basic education, students must take the foreign-language and spoken Latvian monitoring tests and achieve at least 20 percent in the Latvian language and mathematics centralised examinations. The 20 percent threshold will not apply to the science examination in the 2026-2027 school year.

The centralised examination session for general secondary education will run from May 10 to June 11, 2027. To receive a general secondary education certificate, students must achieve at least 20 percent in centralised examinations in Latvian, mathematics and one science subject at the optimal level or science at the general level.

Taking a centralised examination at the advanced level will not be mandatory in the 2026-2027 school year. Students will be able to choose advanced-level examinations if they are needed for their further education. Students planning to take an advanced-level examination in a particular subject will not have to take the optimal-level examination in that subject.