High school graduates had the opportunity to take the state exam in Estonian, Estonian as a second language, mathematics and a foreign language.

A total of 11,680 candidates took the state exams this year. Of these, 9,314 were high school students, 1,830 were students at vocational education institutions and 537 were individuals who had previously obtained secondary education. Unlike last year, the number of exam-takers did not decrease — instead, it rose by nearly a thousand.

"In recent years, results across all exams have gradually but steadily improved, approaching pre-COVID levels. This year, it was encouraging to see that both the average score and the pass rate for the Estonian as a second language exam increased. There were also notable gains in the results of the broad mathematics exam and the Cambridge English language exam," said Alge Ilosaar, head of the Education and Youth Board's assessment center.

This year, there were 85 perfect scores in total.

While state exam results showed a steady upward trend, Ilosaar noted that this was not the case for basic school exams. Of particular concern is the growing gap in mathematics performance between Estonian- and Russian-speaking students, with the latter scoring significantly lower.

"Although basic school instruction is the responsibility of individual schools, the widening of this gap needs attention at the national level. We must work on identifying its causes," Ilosaar added.

Ilosaar also expressed concern that in 2025, there were 135 schools in Estonia where more than 30 percent of students did not meet the minimum threshold on the mathematics exam.

Both the state and basic school final exam papers are prepared by subject-specific examination committees composed of university experts and active teachers, based on the exam specification document.

The purpose of the exams is to provide students, parents, schools, school operators and the state with as objective and comparable feedback as possible on the effectiveness of teaching and learning. "When designing exam tasks, it is essential to ensure that every student has the opportunity to demonstrate their acquired knowledge and skills, rather than being tested on how they handle exceptional or unusually complex situations," Ilosaar noted.

The results mentioned are preliminary as of June 19. A summary of state exam statistics and more detailed analyses will be published in the fall.

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