Although the pass rate for this year’s school leaving exams is down slightly, changes in the way final marks are calculated did not lead to the dramatic drop many had been expecting, the Volkskrant reports on Wednesday.

On average, the pass rate was down 1.8%, but the secondary school council had suggested this would be far higher because of the tougher standards.
From this year, everyone taking their school leaving certificate needed an average of at least 5.5 out of 10 for each of the national exams.
A school leaver’s final result is based on a combination of course work, school exams and national exams. In the old system pupils who scored well in course work and school tests but not in the central examinations could still pass.
The pass rate in vocational education fell from 93.7% to 91.2% and for pre-university classes from 88.8% to 86.2%. The change was marginal for pre-college pupils.
‘We should not under-estimate pupils,’ said education minister Marja van Bijsterveldt in a reaction. ‘Lots of youngsters are quite capable of working harder.’