Overview
The Third Intermediate exam (commonly called "Thalith Mutawassit", Arabic: الثالث المتوسط) is a national ministerial exam that Iraq's Ministry of Education runs at the end of grade 9, the final year of the intermediate (middle school) stage. It is one of only two points in Iraqi school life where a student's whole academic future turns on a single set of centrally set, centrally marked papers — the other being the Sixth Preparatory exam at the end of secondary school (a separate, later-stage exam). Passing Third Intermediate lets a student move into the preparatory (secondary) stage and choose between the Scientific and Literary tracks; it does not by itself grant any qualification beyond intermediate school.
Note
Iraq's Ministry of Education publishes exam circulars and results on its own site and through the "Najah" results platform, but this file could not fetch those pages directly. The facts below are drawn from secondary Arabic-language education news sites, Iraqi News Agency (INA) reporting, and reference sources such as Wikipedia and Scholaro, cross-checked against each other. Confirm exact dates, subject list and marking rules for your own year with your school or the Ministry's official channels before relying on them.
Who can apply
The exam is for students enrolled in grade 9 (the third and final year of intermediate school) in schools that follow the Iraqi national curriculum, across all of Iraq's governorates. Students are entered for the exam by their school, not as individual applicants. Private-school and home-study ("external") candidates who are registered with a Directorate of Education can also sit the exam as external examinees, though the registration process for this route is set and administered locally rather than through a public online form.
Exam pattern
Students sit one centrally set paper per subject, and every subject is marked out of 100. Based on the published 2026 first-round schedule, the subjects are:
| Subject | Notes |
|---|---|
| Islamic education | Core subject |
| Arabic language | Core subject |
| English language | Core subject |
| Mathematics | Core subject |
| Social studies | Combines history, geography and national education into one paper |
| Biology | Core subject |
| Chemistry | Core subject |
| Physics | Core subject |
| French language | Only for schools that offer French as a second foreign language |
Each paper is held on its own day, with a few days' gap between papers rather than consecutive-day testing.
Marking and results
Iraq's general school grading scale runs 0–100 per subject, and the minimum passing mark is 50 out of 100 in each subject. A student who fails one or two subjects is normally allowed to resit only those subjects in a second round later in the summer; failing more than that typically means repeating the school year. Iraq used to also allow a further "third chance" resit for students who still failed after the second round, but reporting from 2022 describes the Ministry ending that extra round — so treat any third-round policy as uncertain for a given year rather than something to count on.
Important dates
Dates are set fresh each year by the Ministry and shift from year to year, so treat the following as an example of the typical shape of the calendar (2026 first round) rather than a fixed schedule:
| Round | Period (2026) |
|---|---|
| First round | Began Wednesday 20 May 2026, with papers running through mid-June 2026 |
| Second round (resits) | 26 August – 12 September 2026 |
The first-round papers in 2026 were scheduled as: Islamic education and Arabic (20 May), English (24 May), Mathematics (2 June), Social studies (6 June), Biology (9 June), Chemistry (11 June) and Physics (14 June), with French (16 June) for schools offering it. Second-round results for 2026 were announced on 20 September 2026.
How to apply
There is no separate application for a currently enrolled grade 9 student: the school registers its own students for the exam with the Ministry as part of the normal end-of-year process. Students who are not attending a recognised school (home-study or some private-school cases) register as external examinees through their local Directorate of Education; the exact paperwork and deadlines are set by each directorate, so check with it directly rather than assuming a single nationwide process.
After the exam
A student who passes Third Intermediate moves on to the preparatory (secondary) stage, where they choose between the Scientific track and the Literary track for their remaining school years (some areas also offer a vocational track). Scores from the Third Intermediate exam, along with the student's own preference and sometimes seat availability at a given school, are typically used when students apply for a seat on their chosen track. A student who fails and cannot clear the required subjects in the second round normally repeats grade 9.
Preparation tips
Treat every subject as pass/fail on its own: since each paper needs 50/100 to pass, do not let a strong subject compensate for a weak one.
Past-paper practice matters. Local sites that republish previous years' ministerial papers are widely used by intermediate students to get used to the question style in Arabic, English, mathematics and the sciences.
Keep a close eye on the published exam-day timetable each year rather than assuming it repeats the previous year's dates, since the Ministry has moved exam dates in some years.
If a subject is still weak after the first round, treat the second-round resit seriously rather than as a formality — it is usually the only remaining chance before repeating the year.
What grade does the Third Intermediate exam cover?
It is sat at the end of grade 9, the final year of Iraq's intermediate (middle school) stage, after three years of intermediate schooling.
What is the passing mark?
Each subject is marked out of 100, and the minimum passing mark is 50 out of 100 per subject — there is no single combined pass mark that can offset a failed subject.
What happens if a student fails one or two subjects?
They are normally allowed to resit just those subjects in a second round held later in the summer. Failing more subjects than the allowed limit typically means repeating grade 9, and the extra "third chance" round that used to exist for repeat failures has reportedly been phased out, so do not assume it will be offered.
Does the exam decide whether a student goes into the Scientific or Literary stream?
It is a major factor. Passing Third Intermediate lets a student move to the preparatory stage, and their exam results (together with their own preference and seat availability) feed into which track — Scientific, Literary, or in some areas vocational — they are placed into.