On Wednesday, June 18, fifth-grade students from all over Italy will be called to take the first test of the most feared and well-known exam: the final exam. The countdown has now begun, with the “kick-off” set for 8:30. There will be 524,415 candidates , who will be examined by 13,900 commissions for a total of 27,698 classes. This morning, the plenary meeting of the presidents and commissioners was held, which marks, in fact, the official start of the operations related to the exam; a complex meeting, in which there are bureaucratic tasks but you also start to get to know the class. During the meeting, each commission established the start date of the oral interviews for their classes, which will approximately start on June 23, but which each institute decides autonomously. Furthermore, by drawing lots, the order in which candidates will be called was established based on the alphabetical letter. Except for special needs, no more than 5 candidates can be called per day; the oral exams will last until approximately mid-July.
And in these hours of anxious waiting, uncertainty and revision, there is no shortage of toto topics. Gabriele D'Annunzio and Artificial Intelligence are confirmed in pole position even a few hours before the exam. Among the possible topics for the argumentative text, the double anniversary of the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War and, in parallel, of the deaths of Hitler and Mussolini emerges, to be considered as a starting point for a broader reasoning on the current scenario of world conflict. Still remaining on the topic of current events, the hypothesis of a topic on the Church remains alive by virtue of the Jubilee Year but above all of the changeover on the papal throne. A topic on Europe is also not excluded, thanks to two anniversaries: 40 years since the Schengen Treaty and 75 since the Schuman Declaration.
Among the concerns that crowd the minds of high school graduates there is also the one, far from secondary, linked to stress management and the fear of not being up to par. A topic that leads some to evaluate less than recommendable shortcuts. From a survey by Skuola.net, the classic notes remain the students' favorite, despite new technologies and the new possibilities of AI. Perhaps because, in the end, the fear of being caught with a smartphone outweighs the advantage of having a ready answer in your pocket, especially when the risk is that of seeing the test canceled. To exorcise anxiety and fear, many high school graduates also resort to superstitious rites and symbolic gestures. Spirituality seems to play an important role: over 1 in 3 said they relied on prayers, vows or pilgrimages. 36% of students will wear an accessory or an item of clothing considered to bring good luck on the days of the tests. There is no shortage of small personal rituals: 8% will repeat habitual gestures linked to positive moments in the past, 9% will bring with them a family object with a strong emotional value. There are also those who will try to sit next to a classmate "who brings good luck" (6%) or on a "lucky" desk (5%). Finally, 4% will face the final exam with a "blessed pen".
