Exit exams start for 170,000 secondary school students
The central exit exams for the around 170,000 secondary school students in the Netherlands start today. HAVO students have the physics paper up first, VWO students are starting with Dutch, and VMBO gl/tl students have their English exam today.
Several tens of thousands of VMBO students have already started writing their exit exams last month. Schools were allowed to start digital exams for pupils in VMBO primary and intermediate education from April 1. Pupils who take written exams have also already started.
Last year, 91.5 percent of secondary school students passed their exit exams. Historically, most pupils in VMBO (pre-vocational secondary education) pass their exit exams. HAVO (pre-university secondary education) students generally do the worst. Last year, over 10 percent of these students failed.
In the State of Education 2025 report last month, the Education Inspectorate linked the lower HAVO pass rate to “VMBO avoidance behavior,” according to the Volkskrant. Kids, or their parents, sometimes consider vocational education as lesser, and, as a result, there are relatively many pupils at HAVO level who can’t cope with the required level.
When it comes to cramming for the exams, Stefan van der Stigchel, a professor of Cognitive Psychology at Utrecht University, advises pupils to find a stimulus-free environment, like a study hall or another quiet place.
And put your phone as far away as possible, he told NOS. Every message tone or beep breaks your concentration. He compared it to dieting with a pack of cookies within reach. “That doesn’t work either.” Van der Stigchel suggests putting the smartphone in a different room altogether.
