NVO 7

Overview

NVO 7 (Национално външно оценяване, National External Assessment) is a state-wide exam that Bulgarian students sit at the end of grade 7, run under the Ministry of Education and Science (MON). It closes out the lower-secondary stage of school (grades 5–7) and its results form the basis for applying to profiled gymnasiums, specialised schools and vocational schools that start from grade 8. Students taking it are usually around 13–14 years old.

Who can apply

Every student completing grade 7 in a Bulgarian school sits NVO 7 in Bulgarian Language and Literature and in Mathematics — both are compulsory and are a condition for moving on from the lower-secondary stage. A student who also wants to apply to a class or school that requires a foreign-language result can additionally sit an optional foreign-language test as part of the same NVO 7 cycle; this test is not compulsory and is taken only by students who register for it.

Exam pattern

For the 2025/2026 cycle, the Bulgarian Language and Literature test had 26 items across its two parts (one lasting 75 minutes, the other 90 minutes), and the Mathematics test ran as two 90-minute modules (180 minutes in total). The exact item count and timing are set by MES each year through an official exam model, so they can change from one year to the next.

Marking and results

Both compulsory tests are marked in points rather than as a school grade. For admission purposes, a student's NVO 7 points are combined with their grade 7 annual marks in Bulgarian Language and Literature and Mathematics (each annual grade is converted to a points value) to produce a single admission score, usually called "бал." In the standard formula, the NVO points in each of the two compulsory subjects count twice; some profiles — for example, mathematics-profiled classes — weight the Mathematics NVO result more heavily than Bulgarian Language and Literature instead. This admission score is what ranks a student for a place in a profiled gymnasium, specialised school or vocational school starting in grade 8.

Important dates

For the 2026/2027 school year, the Ministry of Education and Science set the compulsory NVO 7 exams for June 16, 2027 (Bulgarian Language and Literature) and June 18, 2027 (Mathematics), under its schedule order for that school year. For the previous cycle (2025/2026), the compulsory exams were held on June 17, 2026 (Bulgarian Language and Literature) and June 19, 2026 (Mathematics), with the optional foreign-language test on June 22, 2026; registration for the optional foreign-language test for that cycle was open February 3–17, 2026. Exact dates are confirmed afresh by MES each school year, so students should check the current year's schedule order close to the exam.

After the exam

Once results are released, each student's admission score is used in the centralised ranking process for places in profiled gymnasiums, specialised schools and vocational schools admitting from grade 8. Students and parents submit a ranked list of preferred schools and profiles, and places are offered in ranking rounds based on the admission score, until all places are filled.

Preparation tips

• Practice with the official exam models and past tests that MES publishes for Bulgarian Language and Literature and Mathematics each year, since the exact format can change between cycles.

• Time full practice attempts to match the real structure — two timed parts for Bulgarian Language and Literature, two timed modules for Mathematics — rather than practising single questions in isolation.

• If considering the optional foreign-language test, confirm the registration window for that school year early, since it closes well before the exam itself.

• Keep grade 7 coursework steady through the year: annual subject grades feed directly into the admission score alongside the NVO 7 results.