Students from independent schools fare worse in speaking Maltese

Students from church and state schools outperform students from independent schools in the oral component of the Maltese SEC exam but students from state schools are outperformed by students from independent and church schools in the written component of the exam.

This emerges from a report by the Matsec Support Unit based on results of exams in 2015.

In the Oral component, candidates opting for Paper IIA (the more difficult choice, which gives students a chance for a higher grade) candidates coming from church schools outperform state school candidates who in turn outperform independent school candidates.

Among candidates sitting for Paper IIB (the easier option which at most guarantees a pass mark) the difference between church and state school students is not statistically significant. However, state school students still perform better than those from independent schools . 

But with regard to the written papers the differences between church and independent school candidates are not statistically significant for both Paper IIA and Paper IIB candidates. However, students in the non-state sector outperform state school candidates with a difference that is statistically significant. 

Female candidates outperformed male in nearly all components of the 2015 SEC Maltese examination. 

In the oral component, however, a difference between males and females is only observed among Paper IIB candidates.