decided at national level and the same for all examinees: either textual comprehension and critique, or the writing of an essay (a first test judged sufficient is awarded at least 13 points). In those parts of Italy where Italian is not the only official language, the first test can be alternatively held in the local co-official language (German in the province of Bolzano, Slovenian in some areas of the province of Trieste and Ladin in some municipalities of the provinces of Trento and Bolzano) seconda prova (second test, up to 20 points), a written test on a subject dependent on the kind of school attended, decided at national level for each different path (a second test judged sufficient is awarded at least 13 points) colloquio orale (oral interview, up to 20 points), an overall oral test (prova orale) regarding all the subjects of the last year. During the oral test, the exam committee grades a presentation made by the examinee related to the final year's arguments and poses questions related to the presentation or to the previous tests (an oral test judged sufficient is awarded at least 13 points) up to five points (to a maximum of 100) in cases the examining board judges appropriate to meriting students whom, at the end of the third written test, had at least 70 points in total. Students are examined by an exam committee which is divided equally between their own teachers and teachers from other schools. The first and second tests are written by the Ministry of Education, while the oral test is prepared and administered by the exam committee. The total score is the sum of the pre-exam score, the written tests' scores and the oral test score. If the total points exceed 100, the final score is reduced to 100. If, during the years, the students stand out for their scores (the student never gets less than 8 in the final scores of the last three year, and has more than 9,1 as GPA), they get a "100 cum laude", which gives students a reduction of the first year's university fees. The secondary high school exam is passed with a score of 60 or more, and any secondary high school diploma is valid for access to any university course of any university faculty. This system has changed many times during the last 20 years; before, the score was expressed in