On July 8, the Dutch Ministry of Education, Science and Culture (OWC) published preliminary final exam results for the 2025-2026 academic year across two major secondary education tracks: Higher General Secondary Education (HAVO) and Pre-University Education (VWO), revealing mixed outcomes that still show an overall upward trend compared to last year.
Across all HAVO programs, just 34.3% of 1,946 total candidates passed their final exams immediately on their first attempt. Breaking down the HAVO numbers: 668 students earned an immediate pass, 414 failed outright, 628 have been scheduled for a retake exam, 98 are eligible for a delayed make-up exam, and 138 candidates withdrew from the exam cycle before results were finalized. Two-year HAVO programs posted particularly underwhelming preliminary results: Christelijk HAVO recorded a 31% immediate pass rate, while HAVO-III notched a comparable 35.9% pass rate. Three-year HAVO tracks, by contrast, delivered more consistent, stable performance across the board.
For VWO, the more rigorous pre-university track, outcomes were far stronger: 50.2% of 1,290 total candidates passed immediately. The VWO breakdown shows 647 immediate passes, 197 outright failures, 370 candidates moving to retakes, 57 eligible for delayed make-ups, and 19 candidate withdrawals. Private VWO institutions boasted standout results this year: Arthur A. Hoogendoorn Atheneum led all schools with a 93.5% preliminary immediate pass rate, with 72 of its 77 candidates passing on the first try. Nassy Brouwer College followed with a strong 69.8% pass rate, while ACI recorded a solid 64.3% immediate pass rate.
Overall, nearly one-third of all candidates across both education tracks will need to complete a retake exam to earn their diploma.
The release of this year’s results was delayed by several days after officials discovered errors in two math exam papers, Wiskunde 1 and Wiskunde Q. Education Minister Dirk Currie explained that one question on Wiskunde 1 did not align properly with the curriculum students had prepared for, while two questions on Wiskunde Q were incomplete. In collaboration with subject teachers and school principals, ministry officials implemented grading corrections to ensure no student was unfairly penalized for the exam errors.
Ministry officials frame the 2025-2026 results as a positive development overall. The Inspectorate for Senior Secondary Education notes that while performance gaps between individual schools remain, preliminary full-year results show a clear upward trajectory compared to the 2024-2025 academic year. Inspectors also project that final pass rates will rise significantly once all retake exams are completed and scored.