Baccalaureate schools
Baccalaureate schools prepare students for further education at tertiary level, namely at a university. There are Baccalaureate schools in all cantons. The Confederation and the cantons jointly regulate the recognition of Baccalaureate schools.
The recognition of Baccalaureate schools is governed by the Federal Council's Ordinance on the Recognition of Baccalaureates (MAV) which entered into force in 1995 and the identical Regulation on the Recognition of Baccalaureates (MAR) issued by the Conference of Cantonal Ministers of Education (EDK). The Baccalaureate has since been evaluated in two stages (EVAMAR, the evaluation of the baccalaureate reform). In the wake of the second evaluation (EVAMAR II), the Confederation and the cantons laid down basic mathematics and first language skills demonstrating general scholastic aptitude, in order to secure admission to university without any need for additional examinations in the long term.
Organisation of Baccalaureate education
Enrolment in a Baccalaureate school usually takes place in the last year of lower secondary level or following the lower secondary level. The Baccalaureate programme generally lasts four years. In the case of a three-year Baccalaureate programme (enrolment after lower secondary level), preparatory Baccalaureate education must take place in the last year of lower secondary education. Alongside Baccalaureate schools that last four years (short-cycle Baccalaureate schools), some German-speaking cantons also have Baccalaureate schools in which enrolment takes place after primary level (long-cycle Baccalaureate schools, which last six years). The French-speaking and Italian-speaking parts of Switzerland do not have any long-cycle Baccalaureate schools.
Each Canton stipulates the conditions for admission to a Baccalaureate school. The decision is based on an assessment of the student’s achievements. This may take the shape of an overall assessment, the student’s grades, an entrance examination, or a combination of these instruments.
Learning objectives
The educational goals of the Baccalaureate schools are to teach the students basic knowledge and skills with a view towards life-long learning, to encourage intellectual open-mindedness and independent thinking and judging, and to achieve the readiness to study at university. Baccalaureate schools aim to promote intelligence, personality development and health, individual study and working techniques, acquisition of knowledge and use of ICT, and skills in the fields of social issues, ethics, politics, science, communication, culture and aesthetics.
Curriculum and subjects
The Baccalaureate schools teach according to curricula which are issued or approved by the canton and are based on the Swiss Conference of Cantonal Ministers of Education's core curriculum for baccalaureate schools.
The basic subjects, a specialised subject and a complementary subject constitute the Baccalaureate subjects; a Baccalaureate essay must also be completed.
The following subjects are basic subjects:
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First national language
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A second national language
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A third language (a third national language, English or an ancient language)
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Mathematics
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Biology
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Chemistry
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Physics
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History
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Geography
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Visual arts and/or music.
All students take an introductory course in economics/law and computer science as additional compulsory subjects. The cantons can offer philosophy as an additional compulsory subject.
The specialised subject can be selected from eight subjects or groups of subjects, and the complementary subject from fourteen. Not all subjects are offered at all schools. The cantons determine which subjects are offered at baccalaureate schools.
The cantons specify the number of hours per week according to the Federal Council's Ordinance on Recognition of Baccalaureate (MAV) respectively the Regulation on Recognition of Baccalaureate (MAR) issued by the Conference of Cantonal Ministers of Education (EDK). According to the MAR/MAV the proportions of time allocated to compulsory subjects are 30 to 40%, for mathematics and natural sciences 25 to 35%, for humanities and social sciences 10 to 20%, and for visual arts and/or music 5 to 10%. The total time allocated for the main specialism, secondary specialism and Baccalaureate essay is 15 to 25%.
In most cantons, there are Baccalaureate schools at which a bilingual Baccalaureate can be obtained. In addition, students can often obtain international foreign language certificates, or enrol in preparatory courses for the certificate examinations.
Assessment of students
The cantons regulate the assessment of students. The assessment is oriented towards the curriculum's learning objectives. On the basis of the learning objectives, the teacher determines which knowledge and skills the students must achieve and is responsible for the assessment. Performance is assessed by means of a grade scale of 1 to 6 (6 = best grade, 4 = sufficient, below 4 = insufficient). At the end of a semester or school year, a graded report is issued, which is decisive regarding transition to the next grade. Learning reports are seldom used.
Leaving certificate
At the end of the Baccalaureate programme, a written Baccalaureate examination, which may also be supplemented by oral examinations is taken in at least five Baccalaureate subjects. The examination subjects are the first language, a second national language, mathematics, the specialised subject and one further subject. The Baccalaureate grades are determined by:
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the performance in the examination subjects and the performance during the final year of education
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the performance in the remaining subjects during the last year of education in which the respective subject was taught
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the assessment of the Baccalaureate essay
The Baccalaureate essay is a larger self-directed piece of work, which the students develop and present. It is usually written in the penultimate or final year of Baccalaureate programme. The Federal Council's Ordinance on Recognition of Baccalaureate (MAV) respectively the Regulation on Recognition of Baccalaureate (MAR) issued by the Conference of Cantonal Ministers of Education (EDK) regulate the norms for obtaining a Baccalaureate. The Baccalaureate basically entitles the holder to enrol directly in cantonal universities, Federal Institutes of Technology (FIT) and universities of teacher education. For universities of applied sciences, additional requirements are to be fulfilled.
Catching up on a Baccalaureate
Adults who wish to catch up on a Baccalaureate can attend a recognised Baccalaureate school for adults (duration: at least three years). It is also possible to obtain a Baccalaureate without attending a recognised Baccalaureate school or a Baccalaureate school for adults: the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI) provides the option of taking the Swiss Baccalaureate examination. It's up to candidates to decide how they wish to prepare for the Swiss Baccalaureate examinations. They may either study autodidactically or attend a private Baccalaureate preparatory school.