partial is valued at 25% of the final mark, and for grades 5 to 8 it applies to Romanian Language and Mathematics and only in the eight year, Geography or History, and in the case of a bilingual school or one with teaching in a minority language, that particular language. At the end of each semester, an average is computed following a four-step procedure: first, all marks are added and an arithmetical average is computed from those marks. If there is a thesis, this average, with 0.01 precision, is multiplied by 3, the mark at the teză (rounded to the nearest integer) is added, then everything is divided by 4. This average (with or without teză) is then rounded to the closest integer (5/4 system – thus 9.5 is 10) and forms the semester average per subject. The next step is computing the yearly average per subject. This is done by adding the two semester averages per subject and divided by 2. This is not rounded. The last step is adding all the yearly averages per subject and dividing that amount by the total number of subjects. This forms the yearly grade average (media generală). This is neither weighted nor rounded. If the yearly average per subject is below 5 for a maximum of two subjects, then the student must take a special exam (corigență) at the failed subject in August, in front of a school board. If he fails this exam, he must repeat the entire year (repetenție). If the yearly average per subject is below 5 for three subjects or more, the student is no longer entitled to the special exam and must repeat the year. Example: A student in the 7th year with 4 weekly classes of math may have the following marks: 6, 6, 7, 7 in class and 5 in semester paper. His semester average for math is round ((3 · ((6 + 6 + 7 + 7) : 4) + 5) : 4) = 6. If he had 7 in the other semester, his annual average for math is 6.5 (and he passes). Primary school The "preparatory school year" became compulsory in 2012, and is a requirement in order to enter the first grade. According to Article 23 of the Education law no 1/2011 (Legea Educației Naționale nr.1/2011) the preparatory class is part of the primary school and is compulsory. Primary school classes are