The latest MATSEC results point to a sharp deterioration in Mathematics outcomes, with the proportion of registered candidates obtaining any SEC Mathematics qualification falling to 66.1%, the lowest rate recorded in the six main examination sessions held since 2021.
Out of 4,694 candidates registered for SEC Mathematics in 2026, 2,472 obtained Level 3, 522 obtained Level 2 and 110 obtained Level 1. A further 1,590 candidates were classified as Not Attained. This means that 3,104 candidates obtained a qualification at any level.
The decline is significantly worse than last year. In 2025, 3,289 out of 4,600 registered candidates obtained Levels 1, 2 or 3, producing an overall qualification rate of 71.5%. The figure therefore fell by 5.4 percentage points in a single year, with 185 fewer candidates obtaining a qualification despite the number of registrations increasing by 94.
Using the broadest measure—Grades 1 to 7 under the previous system and Levels 1 to 3 under the new one—the rates were 73.5% in 2021, 70.1% in 2022, 69.1% in 2023, 70% in 2024, 71.5% in 2025 and 66.1% in 2026. The average for the previous five years was approximately 70.8%.
The figures are even more concerning when Level 3—the qualification normally required for progression into further study—is considered separately. The proportion of registered Mathematics candidates obtaining Level 3 fell from 55.8% in 2025 to 52.7% this year. In absolute terms, the number of Level 3 results fell from 2,567 to 2,472.
Mathematics had already become the weakest of Malta’s three core SEC subjects before the assessment system was changed. Under the old examination structure, the proportion of registered candidates obtaining Grades 1 to 5 fell from 55.8% in 2021 to 51.1% in 2023, recovering only marginally to 51.8% in 2024.
Direct comparisons between the old and new systems must nevertheless be treated carefully. Since 2025, the final Mathematics result for school candidates has included a school-based assessment worth 30% of the total mark, with the externally controlled written examination accounting for the remaining 70%. MATSEC itself has cautioned that the substantial regulatory changes introduced in 2025 affect comparisons between different years. However, this was supposed to have increased the positive outcome in results and it didn’t, suggesting the crisis very deep.
Both the 2025 and 2026 cohorts were assessed under the same broad system, yet the overall qualification rate still fell from 71.5% to 66.1%, while the Level 3 rate also declined substantially.
The results deepend concerns that the introduction of school-based assessment and new qualification labels has not resolved the underlying deterioration in Mathematics education. Even with 30% of the final result now derived from assessments administered by schools over three academic years, one-third of registered candidates still failed to obtain a Mathematics qualification at any level.
Feature photo from TVM.
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