The second phase of secondary school national exams began this Tuesday. The first phase was marked by delays and grading errors, which led to expectations of many requests for re-evaluation. The ministry assured that the grading method used now will be identical to the one employed in the first phase.
Start and Duration of the Second Phase
This morning, the 12th-grade Portuguese exam was administered, being the first exam after secondary school students received the results of the first phase exams. The second phase of the national exams will last until Friday, culminating with the English exam at 2:00 PM.
Concerns and Student Protests
Students' confidence was shaken due to failures in the digital grading system, delays in grade disclosure, and errors identified during the assessment. On Monday, there were protests against the situation. One of more than 30 protesters, gathered in front of the Ministry of Education, stated that the disclosed grades were very likely incorrect.
Problems in Grading and Corrections
The schedules for the national exams only started being posted on Friday evening, but initially without all the grades, due to failures pointed out by the National Exams Jury (JNE). Although the pending grades arrived at schools over the weekend, on Monday, thousands of students had their initial grades in Physics and Chemistry and Geography reviewed because errors were detected in the evaluation of specific items of the tests.
Schedules and Opportunities for Recovery
The Government decided to maintain the established calendars for the national higher education access competition, which ends on August 6, as well as those for the second phase of the exams. However, students who feel disadvantaged have the option to take exams in a special session in September, allowing them to compete for higher education in the second phase.
9th Grade Exams and Exceptions
The second phase of the final exams for the 9th grade also started today, with Portuguese scheduled for 9:30 AM. The Mathematics exam for this level is scheduled for Thursday at 9:30 AM. The Minister of Education cited as an example students who reported inconsistencies in the digitalization of the first phase exam and who did not have these issues corrected by the end of the registration deadline for the second phase, which ended on Monday.
The only exception mentioned was the Geography A exam, whose registration deadline was extended until the end of today due to an error in the evaluation of two items, which forced the correction of the grades, which were sent to schools only in the middle of the afternoon on Monday.
