Note
The official site of the Institute for Education Quality and Evaluation could not be reached directly from this environment, so the facts below are corroborated from Serbian news outlets and school-published summaries reporting on the Institute's and Ministry of Education's own calendar and rules, rather than fetched live from the official site. Confirm exact dates, subject choices, and scoring details for your own exam year on the official site before relying on them.
Overview
Zavrsni ispit (the Final Exam), widely known by its older nickname "mala matura" (little matura), is the exam Serbian students sit at the end of grade 8, the last year of primary school (osnovna skola). It is set and coordinated nationally by the Institute for Education Quality and Evaluation (Zavod za vrednovanje kvaliteta obrazovanja i vaspitanja), with individual schools administering the sessions. The exam itself carries no pass or fail threshold; instead, a candidate's scores combine with their grade 6-8 average into a single ranking score used to place each student into a secondary school (gimnazija or a vocational/technical school) and a specific educational profile.
Who can apply
Every student finishing grade 8 of a Serbian primary school sits the Final Exam as a standard part of completing primary education; it is not an optional exam a student opts into separately. Students with disabilities or developmental difficulties can take the exam with accommodations adapted to their individual education plan, arranged through their school.
Exam pattern
For the 2025/2026 school year, the Final Exam consists of three written tests taken on three consecutive days, each starting at 9:00 and lasting 120 minutes.
| Test | Subject | Day (2026 main session) |
|---|---|---|
| Test 1 | Serbian language (or mother tongue, for students taught in a minority language) | Monday, 15 June 2026 |
| Test 2 | Mathematics | Tuesday, 16 June 2026 |
| Test 3 | Combined test on one elective subject, chosen by the student from Biology, Geography, History, Physics, or Chemistry | Wednesday, 17 June 2026 |
Students choose their elective subject for Test 3 well in advance of the exam: an initial choice is made by the end of December of grade 8, with windows in January and again after the mock exam in March to confirm or change it. Geography and Biology are consistently the most popular choices, each taken by roughly a third or more of candidates nationally in recent cycles, ahead of History, Physics, and Chemistry. Schools also run an optional mock Final Exam (probni zavrsni ispit) earlier in the school year, in the same format, so students can rehearse under timed conditions before the graded session.
Marking and results
The Final Exam contributes up to 40 of a maximum 100 ranking points: up to 14 points from the Serbian/mother-tongue test, up to 14 points from the Mathematics test, and up to 12 points from the combined elective-subject test. The remaining 60 points come from the student's school record: the average grade from grades 6, 7, and 8 each contributes up to 20 points (the grade-6, grade-7, and grade-8 averages are each multiplied by 4). A student needs a combined total of at least 50 points across school grades and the exam to be eligible for ranking into a gimnazija or a four-year vocational/technical programme, for the 2025/2026 cycle.
Preliminary results for the main June session are published on the "Moja srednja skola" portal, and candidates can file a same-day appeal (prigovor) on the preliminary score if they believe a test was marked incorrectly; appeals are reviewed and final results are then published a few days later.
Important dates
Dates below are for the 2025/2026 school year as reported from the Institute's and Ministry of Education's published calendar; always check the current year's calendar on the official site, since exact dates shift from year to year.
| Stage | 2026 dates |
|---|---|
| Initial elective-subject (Test 3) choice | By 30 December 2025 |
| Confirm or change elective-subject choice | 19-23 and 28-29 January 2026 |
| Mock Final Exam (probni zavrsni ispit) | 27-28 March 2026 |
| Final change of elective-subject choice | 1-2 April 2026 |
| Serbian/mother-tongue test (main session) | 15 June 2026 |
| Mathematics test (main session) | 16 June 2026 |
| Combined elective-subject test (main session) | 17 June 2026 |
| Preliminary results and same-day appeals | 19 June 2026 |
| Final results | 22 June 2026 |
| Submitting the list of preferences (lista zelja) | 23-24 June 2026 |
| Secondary-school placement results | 29 June 2026 |
| August session (for students who missed the June tests) | 17-19 August 2026 |
How to apply
There is no individual exam application: every grade 8 student is registered for the Final Exam by their own primary school as part of finishing grade 8, and there is no exam fee. The one action a family must take is choosing (and, if needed, later changing) the student's elective subject for Test 3 within the published windows, either on the "Moja srednja skola" portal or directly at the school.
After the exam
Once final exam results are published, each student submits an electronic list of preferences (lista zelja) through the "Moja srednja skola" portal, ranking the secondary-school educational profiles they want to attend, with paper submission at the primary school available as an alternative to the electronic portal. A national computerised algorithm then ranks all candidates nationwide by their combined score (school grades plus exam points) and assigns each candidate, in descending order of score, to the highest-ranked profile on their list that still has places available, continuing until every eligible candidate with a submitted list has been placed. Students who do not reach the 50-point ranking threshold, or whose list of preferences is not submitted in time, do not take part in this placement round.
Preparation tips
Work through the Institute's own published specimen tests and the school's mock Final Exam (probni zavrsni ispit) in March, since both follow the real test format closely.
Decide the Test 3 elective subject early rather than near a deadline, since a late change outside the published windows is not accepted.
Treat Serbian and Mathematics as the highest-leverage tests for the ranking score, since each is worth slightly more than the elective-subject test (14 points versus 12).
Keep the grade 6-8 average in mind across all of grade 8, not just in the exam term, since it contributes 60 of the 100 ranking points, well above the 40 from the exam itself.
Research the previous year's point cut-offs for the specific secondary-school profiles being considered, since they vary by school and by region and change from year to year.
FAQs
Can a student fail the Final Exam?
No, not in the sense of being held back from finishing primary school. The exam has no pass or fail threshold on its own; its points simply combine with the grade 6-8 average into the score used to rank students for secondary-school placement. A student does need a combined total of at least 50 points to take part in that ranking round.
Which subject is tested on the third test?
The student chooses one elective subject from Biology, Geography, History, Physics, or Chemistry, and only that subject is tested on Test 3. The choice is made well before the exam, with windows to confirm or change it in January and again after the March mock exam.
How much do school grades count compared to the exam?
School grades count for more: the grade 6, 7, and 8 averages each contribute up to 20 points (60 points total), while the three exam tests together contribute up to 40 points (14 for Serbian, 14 for Mathematics, 12 for the elective subject), for a maximum combined score of 100.
What happens if a student misses the June exam dates?
Students who do not sit the Final Exam in the June main session can take it in an August session, sitting the same three tests in the same order a few weeks later, before that year's secondary- school placement round runs.