Romanian Baccalaureate Exam Becomes 'Fourth-Grade Formality' as Standards Decline

The Romanian language and literature exam at the Baccalaureate level, once a rigorous test of critical thinking and literary analysis, has transformed into a "fourth-grade level formality," according to educators. For a decade, from 2015 to 2025, the written exam maintained a seemingly consistent structure: three hours, three main subjects, and a total of 100 points. However, behind this facade, a profound shift in evaluation standards has occurred.

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When I look back at the subjects from 2015, what you learned truly mattered.

Claudiu Zamfirescu, a Romanian language teacher from Timișoara, critically observes a significant lowering of standards and a hollowing out of the exam's substance. He contrasts the current exam with that of 2015, recalling a time when "what you learned truly mattered." In earlier years, students were required to write substantial essays, with every argument and commentary sequence carrying weight. For humanities students, the expectation was for genuine critical essays demonstrating perspective and personal style.

Zamfirescu believes that if such demanding tasks were presented today, many students would fail, not due to a lack of ability, but because they haven't been prepared for that level of rigor. The pandemic further accelerated these changes. While the 2020 exam was reorganized due to COVID-19, the 2021 session saw new Baccalaureate programs introduced. Although framed as an "expansion of the list of canonical authors," Zamfirescu argues this led to the inclusion of easier authors and shorter texts, simplifying the subjects. The grading scheme, he contends, was designed to ensure students passed rather than to select the most capable.

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Now, if they were given something like that, many would fail spectacularly. Not because they are weaker, but because no one has prepared them in these directions.

This simplification has led to a situation where the exam's demands have diminished considerably. The shift from requiring in-depth critical essays to a more lenient "we applaud you for trying" approach signifies a major departure from the exam's original purpose of assessing advanced high school knowledge.

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The pandemic turned things upside down for us. In 2021, they introduced new programs, supposedly 'expanding the list of canonical authors.' It sounds good, but the reality is they included easier authors, shorter texts, and simplified the subjects. The grading scheme was designed to pass people, not to select.