What is the minimum grade required to move from the ninth grade to the tenth? And to receive a certificate of completion for 12 grades? Are there any restrictions in this regard in primary school, or are children promoted from grade to grade automatically, regardless of their academic performance?
As an expert on the portal bb.lv, senior expert of the communication and public relations department of the State Education Development Agency, Jana Veinberga, stated:
– In Latvia, the minimum passing grade in primary and secondary school is 4 points. To enter the 10th grade of the general secondary education program, it is necessary to obtain a certificate of basic education.
To receive a certificate of basic education upon completion of the 9th grade in the 2025/2026 academic year, students must achieve annual grades in all subjects of the basic education program. An annual grade below four points is allowed in no more than one subject. Students must also complete a monitoring assessment in a foreign language (English, German, or French – at the student's choice).
Finally, students must pass centralized exams in Latvian language and mathematics, scoring at least 15% and obtaining a centralized exam certificate. Exceptions are made for cases where a student is exempt from state assessment work as established by the Cabinet of Ministers Regulations. To receive a secondary education certificate in the 2025/2026 academic year (that is, to graduate from the 12th grade):
n for all subjects of the general secondary education program of the respective educational institution, students must achieve grades of no less than four points;
n they must achieve a minimum score (20%) on the state assessment work provided by the state standard of general secondary education (except in cases where a student is exempt from state assessment work as established by the Cabinet of Ministers Regulations).
Regarding grades 1–3, students are promoted to the next grade if, at the end of the academic year, they either received a passing grade in all subjects or, after additional educational activities and retesting, there was no justified recommendation from the pedagogical council to retain them in the same grade for another year.
Students in grades 4–8 are promoted to the next grade if, at the end of the academic year, they received grades of no less than four points in all subjects, or if they received a grade below four points in no more than one subject during retesting.
Students in grades 10–11 are promoted to the next grade if, at the end of the academic year or upon completion of a subject (course), they received grades of no less than four points in all subjects (courses).
