Maturità: Italy's high school final exams kick off on 18 June

527,000 students in Italy to sit Maturità in June. More than half a million final-year students in Italy will start the Maturità state exams, the Italian public high-school diploma, on Thursday 18 June. The Esame di Maturità kick off at 08.30 with a written Italian exam, with students given up to six hours to write an essay providing analysis or critical reflection on one of seven different literary texts. There will be three categories: two topics dedicated to the analysis of the text, three focused on the argumentative text and two that will require the development of a current topic. The next day, Friday 19 June, it will be the turn of the second test which will be focused on students' profiency in different subjects depending on the type of school they attend. Notte prima degli esami: Italy's pre-exam anthem For example, in classical high schools the Latin test will be taken; at the scientific high school the mathematics test; in the business technical institutes it will be business economics. The duration of the test varies from six to eight hours, depending on the school course. In some cases, such as in the artistic high school, the test can last several days. The Maturità format comprises two written tests assessing students' comprehension of the Italian language and another subject, followed by an oral test based on the courses taken by the student. Changes to oral exam This year's exam is the first under new reforms affecting the oral examination: rather than the previous open-ended format involving a multidisciplinary presentation and material proposed by teachers, candidates will now be examined on four disciplines chosen annually by the education ministry. There are also stricter rules against "blank" performances or refusal to sit a test. Last year several high school seniors made headlines for boycotting the oral exam, as a form of silent protest, but ultimately passed the Maturità anyway. Under the new rules, those who deliberately refuse to take the oral exam will fail. The final grade is a combination of credits accumulated during the last three-year period of school - a maximum of 40 points - along with the results of the Maturità which offer the possibility of totalling up to 60 points, divided equally between the three phases: 20 for the first test, 20 for the second and 20 for the oral exam. Photo credit: Stefano Guidi / Shutterstock.com.