Almost 12 Percent of Danish Ninth Graders Fail Main Exams

Nearly 12 percent of Danish ninth graders failed key exams this summer. They failed either Danish or mathematics. This means 11.8 percent did not get grade 2. Grade 2 is the lowest passing score in Denmark. These students cannot start youth education programs right away. Education expert Andreas Rasch-Christensen called this rate too high. He works at VIA University College.

The Ministry of Education reported the 11.8 percent figure. Public broadcaster DR reported a 10.5 percent failure rate. The ministry counted students who missed exam registration. DR excluded those unregistered students.

The average final exam grade was 7.3. This average matches results from the past four years. Failure rates have increased over recent years. In the previous school year, 9.9 percent failed. In 2023-2024, the rate was 10.1 percent. In 2018-2019, only 6.9 percent failed.

Recent PISA studies also show falling performance in Denmark. Students scored lower in reading, math, and science. Danish politicians blame mobile phones for lower student concentration. The government now wants to ban mobile phones in schools completely. CPH Post reported these figures.