Studentexamen

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This article is about the Swedish former exam. For the Finnish equivalent sharing the name, see Matriculation exam (Finland).
Young men celebrating Studentexamen with a relative, in the final year of the formal exams 1968.

Studentexamen (Swedish for "students' examination" or "students' degree"), earlier also mogenhetsexamen ("maturity examination") was the name of the

Ylioppilastutkinto
) still exists (Finland parted from Sweden 1809). The exam traces its origin to the academic statutes from 1655 requiring the dean to examine students arriving at university before allowing
private tutor
. Although these were not actually supposed to be allowed to graduate, this rule was not always strictly upheld.

Attempts at a reform of the system led to the proposition in 1828 of the so-called Large Commission on Education, allowing students who had not completed a studentexamen to matriculate but disallowing them both from taking a degree or receiving any form of scholarship. The proposition also defined nine disciplines:

Modern languages, Theology, Philosophy, Mathematics, History with Geography and Natural history, of which the prospective student had to have a grade of approbatur (Latin; in Swedish godkänd) in six and admittitur
(a lower grade, in Swedish called försvarlig) in the three other to be allowed to enter university. These examinations were all oral, but a few years later, written examinations were introduced in Swedish and Latin.

In 1864, the studentexamen was moved from the universities to the secondary schools. It was thus changed from being primarily an entrance examination to academic studies to being a graduation diploma from the gymnasium or läroverk. In order to retain some academic control over the standard, a system was conceived where the Crown would appoint "censors"[2] from the universities to take part in the examinations, and, if necessary, to fail a student passed by the teachers. The name of the examination was changed to mogenhetsprövning or mogenhetsexamen ("maturity examination"), and was known under this name until 1905, when the name studentexamen was restored.

With the new secondary school system (the gymnasieskola or "gymnasium school") introduced in 1968, the final examination or studentexamen was abolished, but the word is in colloquial use for the completion of secondary school, known as gymnasieexamen, based on grades from cumulative courses.

See also

Studenteksamen, literally students' examination, is a three-year course which is more or less equivalent to the English A level.

References

  1. ^ Kalle Lind (23 February 2018). "1968 – året då allting hände". Populär historia (in Swedish). Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  2. SAOB, Vol. 5 (1903), column C 41, online edition
    , No. 4 a: "person som blifvit förordnad att vara närvarande vid vissa examina, i sht mogenhetsexamen, o. vaka öfver att icke några underhaltiga examinander godkännas" ("a person appointed to be present at certain examinations, esp. maturity examinations, and guard against the passing of incompetent examinees").
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