High school students prepare for national exams

akarta | Wed, 03/17/2010 7:39 PM | Education Students in Jakarta have been preparing since January for the national exams, which are scheduled to begin Monday, by sitting mock exams.

State senior high school SMAN 24, private high school SMA Labschool and vocational school STM Pembangunan, for example, held several mock exams, individual extensive tutoring and in-depth learning sessions.

“We’re running the mock exams because of the high standards the students have to attain in order to pass the national exams,” Ida Febrianie, an English teacher at SMAN 24, said Wednesday

Students have to average 5.5 in six subjects with no more than two grades less than 4.0 in order to pass the national exams this year. Students at vocational schools have to average 5.5 in four subjects and score a 7.0 in a practical test.

Taufik Yudi, the head of Jakarta Education Agency, said 96.5 percent of Jakarta high school students passed the national exams last year.

However, the track record of other regions was poorer. In East Nusa Tenggara, approximately a quarter of all high school students failed the exams, with seven schools recording a passing rate of zero percent.