Polish teachers protest low pay for lengthy matriculation exam grading

Polish language teachers are voicing strong discontent over their compensation and workload as matriculation exam graders. They argue that grading essays in Polish is significantly more time-consuming and complex than evaluating tasks in subjects like mathematics or English, which often rely on closed-ended questions.

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We check the papers the longest, we earn the least.

According to Wioletta Roguska, an examiner and a key figure behind a petition signed by over a thousand Polish teachers, the disparity in workload is substantial. She explained that while math and English examiners can grade around 90-120 papers per day, Polish examiners manage only about 30-40 in the same timeframe. This means Polish teachers spend three times as long on the grading process for comparable pay.

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Polish language exam papers are very heavy and take longer to check. So, in the end, we work the longest and earn the least.

The petition, addressed to the Ministry of Education and the Central Examination Board, highlights that Polish exam papers require detailed assessment of written arguments, composition, style, linguistic accuracy, and adherence to formal requirements. Each essay is read at least twice, demanding an individual and attentive approach from the examiner.

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Examiners in mathematics and English can check about 90–120 basic-level papers in one day. However, Polish language examiners can check the same number of papers in 3 days.

Teachers are also pointing out the pay gap. For grading a basic-level Polish matriculation paper, examiners receive 30 Polish zloty (PLN) for the test part and 43 PLN for the essay. In contrast, math papers at the basic level earn 40 PLN, and foreign language papers earn 32 PLN. While advanced-level papers offer higher rates, teachers argue the pay is not commensurate with the effort involved. The petition also notes that training for Polish examiners is considerably longer than for their counterparts in other subjects.

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This means realistically three times the work time for a comparable number of papers.