Regulation changes assessment rules for final examinations from 2027

The Federal Minister of Education has tightened the assessment rules for final examinations. In the future, an overall assessment may only be made if the examination candidate has fulfilled at least 30% of the tasks set in the written exam or oral partial exam, respectively. The regulation was promulgated on September 24, 2026, in the Federal Law Gazette for the Republic of Austria under the number BGBl. II No. 283/2026.

The regulation of the Federal Minister of Education amends the regulation on performance assessment in final examinations, BGBl. II No. 215/2021, in the version of the regulation BGBl. II No. 175/2022. The promulgation cites as legal bases the School Education Act, BGBl. No. 472/1986, last amended by BGBl. I No. 76/2026, the School Education Act for Working Professionals, Colleges and Preparatory Courses, BGBl. I No. 33/1997, last amended by BGBl. I No. 2/2026, as well as the Vocational Matura Act, BGBl. I No. 68/1997, last amended by BGBl. I No. 2/2026.

Affected are the final examinations at general higher education schools, at vocational higher education schools, as well as the vocational matura (Berufsreifeprüfung). Section 3 paragraphs 1 and 2 as well as Section 7 of the original regulation are amended; in the last sentence of Section 3 paragraph 1, the phrase “the performances” is replaced by the phrase “any performances”.

The New 30 Percent Threshold

The amendment replaces the second, third, and fourth sentences of Section 3 paragraph 1 with a single sentence. According to this, an overall assessment may only be made if the tasks set have each been fulfilled by at least 30%. The threshold applies equally to written exams and oral partial exams.

When the 30% is Definitely Achieved

The newly worded Section 3 paragraph 2 specifies when the fulfillment of at least 30% is definitely given:

• in a written exam, if a compensation exam in the respective examination area was passed;
• in the standardized examination area German as well as in Slovenian, Croatian, and Hungarian as the language of instruction, if the “content” dimension was predominantly fulfilled in one of the two tasks of the chosen topic package;
• in non-standardized examination areas, if the requirements determined by the (subject) teacher conference were fulfilled;
• in an oral partial exam, if one of several independent tasks within the assignment was fulfilled;
• in an oral partial exam without a division into independent tasks, if one of several requirement areas was fulfilled.

Entry into Force and Transitional Provision

The new § 7 Para. 3 regulates the entry into force: § 3 Para. 1 and 2 in the version of the ordinance BGBl. II No. 283/2026 shall enter into force upon the expiry of the day of promulgation. Notwithstanding this, they are to be applied to final examinations with a main date from 2027 onwards.

Until they become effective, the aforementioned provisions shall apply in the version prior to the ordinance BGBl. II No. 283/2026. For repetitions of final examinations that took place before the main date in the 2027 school year, they shall remain decisive beyond this point in time.

The promulgation bears the official signature of the Federal Chancellery; it is signed with the name Wiederkehr.

For examination candidates, the amendment represents a clear minimum threshold: an overall assessment is no longer possible without at least 30% of the tasks being fulfilled. Schools and examination boards must adapt their assessment practices to the new rules by the 2027 main date.

Source: Federal Law Gazette for the Republic of Austria, Part II, No. 283/2026, issued on September 24, 2026, Ordinance, (official reference: BGBl. II No. 283/2026).