Regulations Regarding the State General Secondary Education Standard and Model General Secondary Education Programmes

Issued pursuant to
Section 14, Clause 19 of the Education Law
and Section 4, Clauses 11 and 11.¹
of the General Education Law

I. General Provision

1. The Regulation prescribes the State general secondary education standard which includes model secondary education programmes corresponding to the requirements of such standard, and also the names of the fields of study of general secondary education.

II. Objective, Tasks of the Implementation of the General Secondary Education Content and Values to be Included in the Content

2. The objective of the implementation of the general secondary education content is a competent pupil who is aware of his or her own personal capacities and interests for the purposeful creation of personal and professional future, who respects himself or herself and others, deepens knowledge, understanding, skills and continues to strengthen values and virtues according to his or her own future objectives, acts responsibly, innovatively, and productively in the creation of himself or herself, family, welfare, and sustainable State of Latvia and the world.

3. The tasks of the implementation of the general secondary education content shall be as follows:

3.1. to develop a comprehensive and advanced understanding of such values as life (including health), human dignity (including equality), freedom, family, marriage, work, nature, culture, the Latvian language and the State of Latvia, creating rational and deliberate attitude, responsibility towards himself or herself and others, his or her action, the State of Latvia, and global occurrences;

3.2. to generalise and deepen the knowledge, understanding, skills, values, and virtues obtained through basic education in the fields of study referred to in Paragraph 7 of this Regulation;

3.3. to promote individualised immersion and specialisation in individual fields of study by in-depth acquisition thereof according to his or her interests and future objectives;

3.4. to strengthen and develop the transversal skills referred to in Sub-paragraph 5.2 of this Regulation necessary in different contexts and fields of study in order to be able and willing to study independently throughout life, to plan and manage his or her own process of cognition, to form positive relationships, and to take responsible decisions.

4. The values and virtues defined in the Constitution and in the laws and regulations regarding the guidelines for the upbringing of educatees and the procedures for evaluating information, teaching aids, materials, and teaching and upbringing methods shall be included in the acquisition of the general secondary education content.

III. Compulsory Content of General Secondary Education, Intended Results of the Acquisition Thereof in the Fields of Study, and Principles for the Implementation Thereof

5. The compulsory content of general secondary education shall consist of:

5.1. the values and virtues specified in the Cabinet regulations regarding the guidelines for the upbringing of educatees and the procedures for evaluating information, teaching aids, materials, and teaching and upbringing methods;

5.2. the following transversal skills:

5.2.1. critical thinking and problem solving - the pupil accurately formulates and critically analyses complex situations and abstract ideas, obtains comprehensive and accurate information thereon, uses problem-solving strategies corresponding to the situation, brings forward different solutions and chooses the most appropriate one for the objective, flexibly adapts to unexpected changes;

5.2.2. creative activity and entrepreneurship skills - the pupil, upon viewing the situation with an interest and from different points of view, notices new possibilities and offers different, original solutions, pro-actively seeks possibilities to improve his or her own quality of life and that of others, knows how to manage a process from the creation of an idea until the implementation thereof, uses mistakes as the possibility for growth, remains calm and open in atypical situations;

5.2.3. self-directed learning - the pupil analyses the connection of his or her activity with his or her emotions, personality traits, and behaviour. By orienting towards positive solutions, he or she manages his or her emotions and thoughts. He or she brings forward short-term and long-term objectives, develops a plan for the implementation of objectives and adjusts it for the achievement of the objectives, uses criteria for the assessment and improvement of work, aggregates the acquired experience and uses it in the future. He or she independently chooses, adjusts, and uses learning strategies corresponding to the task to be performed;

5.2.4. cooperation - the pupil successfully cooperates with both uniform and non-uniform group, supports and promotes constructive cooperation of the group, involves and uses the knowledge, skills, and experience of its participants in order to reach the best possible result with focus on the common benefit and the objectives of significance for the group;

5.2.5. civic participation - the pupil, upon characterising interconnections on a local vicinity, country, and global scale, explains his or her involvement in many-sided processes and the consequences of his or her action, undertakes responsibility for it, offers ideas, and actively involves in solving problems of significance to the society. He or she involves in events based on his or her own values and respecting the values of others. He or she justifies the necessity of the rules, complies with them, and promotes changes, substantiating the necessity thereof;

5.2.6. digital literacy - the pupil efficiently uses digital technologies for different purposes, analyses the benefits and risks of digital communication, critically analyses the veracity of the information on media. Upon creating his or her own content, he or she complies with privacy, ethics, and legal conditions. He or she assesses healthy and safe habits for the use of technologies, adjusts them to his or her own needs, and complies with them;

5.3. the knowledge, understanding, and skills in the fields of study referred to in Paragraph 7 of this Regulation.

6. The intended results to be achieved by a pupil in transversal skills upon finishing grade 12 are specified in Annex 1 to this Regulation.

7. The intended results to be achieved by a pupil shall be complex, they shall disclose the final result in action, include knowledge, understanding, and skills in the fields of study, transversal skills, values and virtues and shall be expressed as literacy in the following fields of study:

7.1. the field of study of languages - the pupil skilfully uses languages as the means of thinking in cognition, including acquisition of different fields of study and introspection, communicates in formal and informal language situations according to the situation, skilfully assesses different sources of information, chooses the facts necessary for him or her, formulates his or her attitude, clearly expresses and justifies his or her arguments in both the Latvian language and foreign language, convincingly uses all the languages known by him or her in cross-cultural communication;

7.2. the social and civic field of study - the pupil explains world events, their causal relationships and ideological basis in the past and present, expresses his or her attitude towards social, economic, political processes and responsibly engages in them, takes decisions related to career and future possibilities and positively influences welfare locally and globally, notices injustice and acts so as to prevent it, treats varied expressions of the society with dignity and understanding;

7.3. the field of study of understanding of culture and self-expression in art - the pupil explains cultural artefacts, the diversity and possibilities of recreation of the cultural heritage, is aware of his or her cultural belonging and identity, takes care of and develops it, becomes acquainted with contemporary art and culture as an expression of the values of the society, in his or her artistically creative activity purposefully uses the acquired specific skills in different types of art and enjoys his or creative activity, relates the acquired artistic creation experience with personal growth and achievement of professional objectives;

7.4. the field of study of natural sciences - the pupil recognises, offers, and assesses explanations for certain natural phenomena and processes, and also concepts of natural science, uses research skills for solving problems belonging to natural science and interdisciplinary problems, assesses risk factors for his or her own health and safety and that of others, acts responsibly, chooses environmentally friendly action, uses natural resources reasonably, promoting sustainable development of the society;

7.5. the field of study of mathematics - the pupil understands mathematics as a systematic aggregate of knowledge and skills which allows to quantitatively describe and cognise the surrounding world, uses the acquired algorithms, mathematical modelling, and other methods characteristic to mathematics in different contexts, reasons inductively and deductively, uses advantages of technologies, upon creating solutions and explaining his or her action and result, characterises that which is of significance for his or her growth and further activity in the acquired experience of mathematical activity;

7.6. the field of study of technologies - the pupil learns to create products appropriate for different target audiences, their wishes and needs, design solutions and software, conducts research of users, prototyping, organises resources necessary for the development of a solution and plans introduction of the solution, assesses these processes according to the design values (sustainable development, aesthetics, usability, ethics, safety, and economics) and recommends improvements, uses the software, program-controlled devices, and material processing devices and technologies necessary in the study process and everyday use competently, safely, and responsibly, explains practical use of scientific achievements in the development of technologies;

7.7. the field of study of health, security and physical activity - the pupil acts intentionally in his or her everyday life according to the habits of healthy lifestyle, independently and responsibly chooses physical activities and engages in them, defines and implements objectives for the growth of movement skills and physical preparedness of significance for him or her, uses and assesses the most efficient tactical solutions and strategies in individual physical activities and that of a team, is able to identify danger and risks in different environments and situations, including in the case of danger to the national security, understands his or her obligations, rights, and possible action within the context of comprehensive national protection, takes preventive safety measures, identifies steps for safe action, choosing the most appropriate strategies for solving of problems.

8. The intended results to be achieved by a pupil in the fields of study shall be formed in three levels of the acquisition of the study content:

8.1. on the general level of acquisition the pupil solves problems in familiar situations, supplements, generalises, and systematises the knowledge, understanding, and skills acquired in basic education, acquires experience in problem solving, critical thinking, decision-making. On the general level of acquisition it is mandatory to acquire a part of the content of each field of study according to the level of general secondary education;

8.2. on the optimal level of acquisition the pupil strengthens the skills to plan and implement independent action of cognition and problem-solving, identifies and solves problems in simple, unfamiliar situations, establishes deepened conceptual understanding in the field of study with interdisciplinary elements, demonstrates complex skills, acquires product creation experience. Acquisition of the study content on the optimal level of acquisition is a pre-condition for the acquisition of the study content on the highest level of acquisition and is important for comprehensive general secondary education;

8.3. on the highest level of acquisition the pupil intentionally, responsibly, creatively, and independently plans and supervises his or her cognitive activity, independently solves the problems in unfamiliar, complex situations, establishes a deep conceptual understanding in the field of study, recognises interdisciplinary regularities, learns to plan, implement, supervise, and assess the product creation process independently. On this level of acquisition the study content shall be advanced, expanded, and materially important for the study direction intended by the pupil.

9. The intended results to be achieved by a pupil in the fields of study are specified:

9.1. in the field of study of languages - in Annex 2 to this Regulation;

9.2. in the social and civic field of study - in Annex 3 to this Regulation;

9.3. in the field of study of understanding of culture and self-expression in art - in Annex 4 to this Regulation;

9.4. in the field of study of natural sciences - in Annex 5 to this Regulation;

9.5. in the field of study of mathematics - in Annex 6 to this Regulation;

9.6. in the field of study of technologies - in Annex 7 to this Regulation;

9.7. in the field of study of health, security, and physical activity - in Annex 8 to this Regulation.

10. In order to achieve the intended results in the field of study, a pupil shall acquire subjects according to the following courses:

10.1. the basic course shall provide knowledge, understanding, and skills at the general or optimal level of acquisition of the study content;

10.2. the advanced course shall provide knowledge, understanding, and skills at the highest level of acquisition of the study content;

10.3. the specialised course shall provide specific knowledge, understanding, and skills at any level of acquisition of the study content.

11. The names, objectives of the courses, the preconditions for the acquisition thereof, and the intended results to be achieved by a pupil are specified in Annex 9 to this Regulation.

12. The educational institution:

12.1. shall implement the educational programme within 3360-3780 lessons in the form of full-time studies and within 1890-2205 lessons in the form of extramural studies or distance learning;

12.2. shall offer at least four advanced courses of which the pupil chooses and acquires three according to his or her interests. The educational institution shall implement at least two sets of advanced courses. Each set of courses shall consist of at least three advanced courses with at least one different advanced course in each set;

12.3. shall implement basic courses in all the fields of study according to the advanced courses chosen by the pupil;

12.4. shall implement the basic course in mathematics at the optimal level of acquisition of the study content;

12.5. shall offer and according to the choice of pupils implement the basic course in chemistry, physics, geography, and biology at the optimal level of acquisition of the study content;

12.6. may implement specialised courses corresponding to the interests of pupils;

12.7. shall implement inter-disciplinary course "Project work" in which the pupil conducts and defends research, creative or social work in relation to one or several advanced courses;

12.8. the activities referred to in Annex 8 to this Regulation shall be implemented regularly within three years;

12.9. new courses which are different from those referred to in Annex 9 to this Regulation may be created, integrating or dividing them. In such case the educational institution shall indicate in the study plan in the State Education Information System which courses are implemented in an integrated manner and which are divided, and also shall indicate the name of the course and the number of lessons;

12.10. may involve partners, for example, higher education institutions in order to ensure the achievement of the results or the acquisition of courses intended individually for the pupil;

12.11. may equate the knowledge, understanding, skills, or experience acquired by the pupil outside the educational programme to the results intended to be achieved by the pupil in the course, thus releasing the pupil from the acquisition of a part or entire corresponding course. The educational institution shall determine the procedures for the ascertaining of the conformity of the results intended to be achieved by the pupil and shall equate them;

12.12. may determine courses which are fully or partly implemented in any of the official languages of the European Union.

13. An educational institution may develop and licence an educational programme with the State Education Quality Service which is different from the model provided in Annex 11 to this Regulation, ensuring:

13.1. conformity of the educational programme with Paragraph 12 of this Regulation and the laws and regulations regarding the guidelines for the upbringing of educatees and the procedures for evaluating information, teaching aids, materials, and teaching and upbringing methods;

13.2. coordination of the results intended to be achieved by a pupil with the National Centre for Education unless they are referred to in Annexes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 to this Regulation;

13.3. a possibility for a pupil to acquire at least two foreign languages.

14. In order to achieve the objective referred to in Paragraph 2 of this Regulation and complete the tasks referred to in Paragraph 3 of this Regulation, the compulsory content of general secondary education shall be implemented according to the following principles:

14.1. the pupil strengthens competence by acquiring knowledge, understanding, and skills purposefully in a practical activity in an integrated manner in the fields of study, developing transversal skills, developing habits, cultivating virtues, and confirming values;

14.2. learning of the pupil is related to his or her experience and everyday life, the pupil is involved in taking of decisions that are topical for him or her, the study encourages to become interested in and involved in the development of the culture of an educational institution and the ongoing processes in the society, to look into the future by cognising and assessing the subjects significant for the personal development and welfare and that of the society;

14.3. the teacher plans and manages learning of the pupil by defining clear results to be achieved, choosing appropriate and diverse tasks, ensuring feedback that provides support and development and a possibility for the pupil to explain the course of activities, to think on his or her learning and the result achieved;

14.4. for the achievement of the objectives of learning, the teacher uses diverse forms of organisation of study according to the learning needs of the pupil, including by devoting a significant part of the study process to a purposefully supported individual, research, public, or creative work for the achievement of the optimal and high level results of acquisition of the study content;

14.5. teachers regularly and jointly plan the study content and approach in order to create a deep understanding and cross-subject connection, to promote transfer of knowledge, to ensure successive development of skills, and to implement uniform and fair requirements for all pupils;

14.6. the educational institution involves the local society in the planning and implementation of the objectives and tasks of the activity, and also in the introduction of changes;

14.7. the educational institution encourages the pupils to be aware of their interests, directions and possibilities of their future studies and professional activity in a timely and purposeful manner, offering diverse activities and career education experience in the study process, qualitative and comprehensive information on the possibilities of future studies and professional activity, individualised consultations and support;

14.8. the educational institution develops an organisation culture and establish a learning environment which is physically and emotionally safe and in which diversity on the grounds of gender, ethnicity, language, religion, health condition, intellectual development, and other characteristics is respected by conforming to the prohibition of discrimination and differential treatment;

14.9. the educational institution involves parents for the support of learning of the pupil, ensuring a regular feedback and informing on the performance and growth of the pupil;

14.10. the educational institution systematically supervises the level of acquisition of knowledge, understanding, skills, virtues and the learning needs of the pupil, including the needs of socio-emotional development which are the basis for psychological welfare, follow the growth of each pupil, use the acquired data for planning of pedagogical activity and provision of appropriate support measures, increasing full-fledged participation possibilities in the study process for every pupil.

IV. Basic Principles for the Assessment of the Learning Achievements of Pupils and Procedures for the Assessment of the Acquired Education

15. Assessment is the acquisition of information in order to judge the performance of a pupil or the result achieved by him or her.

16. The basic principles for the assessment shall be as follows:

16.1. the principle of system - assessment of the study performance is based on a system which is characterised by an aggregate of regular and reasoned activities organised in a specific sequence;

16.2. the principle of openness and clarity - before demonstration of the study performance the pupil knows and understands the intended results to be achieved and the criteria for the assessment of his or her study performance;

16.3. the principle of methodological diversity - different methodological assessment techniques are used for the assessment of the study performance;

16.4. the inclusive principle - assessment of the study performance is adjusted to the different learning needs of every pupil, for example, division of time and duration, environment, type of demonstration of the performance of the pupil, access to the assessment work;

16.5. the principle of growth - dynamics of individual development of the study performance of the pupil is taken into account in the assessment of the study performance, especially at the end of the learning stage.

17. The types of the assessment shall be as follows:

17.1. formative assessment which is a part of a continuous everyday study process and ensures a feedback to the pupil and the teacher on the current performance of the pupil as opposed to the intended results to be achieved. The formative assessment shall be implemented by:

17.1.1. the teacher in order to determine the learning needs of the pupil and to provide additional support to the pupil, to plan and improve teaching;

17.1.2. the pupil in order to improve learning, to independently assess his or her own performance and performance of other pupils;

17.2. diagnostic assessment in order to assess the strong and weak points of learning of the pupil and to find out the necessary support. The diagnostic assessment:

17.2.1. shall be implemented by the teacher in order to determine the learning needs of the pupil and to plan the future learning process;

17.2.2. shall be implemented by the National Centre for Education in order to improve the study content of general secondary education, to promote the quality of teaching aids and the professional competence of teachers;

17.2.3. may be implemented by an educational institution in order to determine the learning needs of the pupil and by an educational administration of the local government in order to provide support to an educational institution in the provision of the study process;

17.3. summative assessment which is organised at the end of the learning stage (for example, topic, course, level of education) in order to assess and document the learning result of the pupil. The summative assessment:

17.3.1. shall be implemented by the teacher in order to assess and document how the pupil has achieved the intended result at the end of the learning stage;

17.3.2. shall be implemented by the National Centre for Education in order to assess and document how the pupil has achieved the intended result at the end of the education level;

17.3.3. may be implemented by an educational institution and an educational administration of the local government in order to assess and document how the pupil has achieved the intended result during the courses in which State examinations are not organised.

18. In the case referred to in Sub-paragraphs 17.3.1 and 17.3.3 of this Regulation the summative assessment shall be expressed in 10-point scale (Annex 10). The summative assessment shall be expressed at the end of acquisition of the course. If the course continues in the next academic year, the teacher shall assess the acquired part of the course at the end of the academic year.

19. The way in which the assessment of the learning achievement of a pupil is expressed in the State examination shall be determined by the National Centre for Education.

20. The educational institution shall independently develop the assessment procedures in accordance with the basic principles for the assessment referred to in Paragraph 16 and the types of assessment referred to in Paragraph 17 of this Regulation. Assessment may be contested at the end of the learning stage if it affects the rights and interests of the pupil.

21. The State determined examinations shall be as follows in the stage of general secondary education:

21.1. the State examination in the Latvian language at least at the optimal level of acquisition of the study content;

21.2. the State examination in a foreign language (English, German, or French) at least at the optimal (B2) level of acquisition of the study content;

21.3. the State examination in mathematics at least at the optimal level of acquisition of the study content;

21.4. not less than two State examinations in advanced courses at the highest level of acquisition of the study content, including also the examinations referred to in Sub-paragraphs 21.1, 21.2, and 21.3 of this Regulation.

V. Model General Secondary Education Programmes

22. Annex 11 to this Regulation determines a model educational programme for the following educational programmes according to the classification of education in Latvia:

22.1. for the full-time general secondary education programme;

22.2. for the general secondary special education programme for visually impaired educatees;

22.3. for the general secondary special education programme for hearing-impaired educatees;

22.4. for the general secondary special education programme for educatees with physical development impairments.

23. Annex 12 to this Regulation determines a model general secondary education programme for extramural programme and distance learning programme.

VI. Closing Provisions

24. Cabinet Regulation No. 281 of 21 May 2013, Regulations Regarding the State General Secondary Education Standard, Subject Standards and Sample Education programmes (Latvijas Vēstnesis, 2013, No. 107; 2019, No. 166), is repealed.

25. This Regulation in relation to the implementation of a general secondary education programme in grade 11 shall come into force on 1 September 2021, but in relation to the implementation of a general secondary education programme in grade 12 - on 1 September 2022. Until the abovementioned dates, the general secondary education programmes in grades 11 and 12 shall be implemented in accordance with the laws and regulations regarding the State general secondary education standard, subject standards, and model education programmes which were in force until the day of coming into force of this Regulation.

26. This Regulation shall come into force on 1 September 2020.

Prime Minister A. K. Kariņš

Minister for Education and Science I. Šuplinska

Translation © 2020 Valsts valodas centrs (State Language Centre)