The exam in brief
In 2027 the main session is on 10 May (Polish, 150 minutes), 11 May (maths, 125 minutes) and 12 May (foreign language, 110 minutes), each starting at 9:00. Results come out on 6 July 2027 as a percentage and a percentile for each subject.
There is no pass mark: the result does not decide whether your child finishes primary school. But sitting the exam is compulsory, and the score — up to 100 of the 200 admission points — counts towards a place at a Polish secondary school.
A pupil without Polish citizenship whose limited Polish makes reading the paper hard can get adapted Polish and maths papers, more time and a bilingual dictionary, if the school's teaching council agrees. The facts below come from the CKE (Central Examination Board) notices of 20 August 2026 and the Ministry of Education; each one links to its source.
Three papers, three different problems for a non-native pupil
Polish, maths and the foreign language test different skills — and for a child who learned Polish recently, each one is hard in a different way.
- Polish tests reading and writing in Polish — The hardest paper for a newcomer: exam texts and a written answer with an argument and a quotation. This is exactly where the adapted paper and adapted marking for foreign pupils apply.
- Maths tests solving — and reading the question — The maths is the same as anywhere, but the questions are worded in Polish. Many marks go not on the calculation but on misreading the task, so the Polish words used in maths questions are part of the preparation.
- The foreign language is the one studied at school — Usually English. The time stays at 110 minutes even with accommodations, and a pupil who already speaks the language well can collect the most marks here.
The 2027 exam: official facts
Every point links to its source: the CKE director's notices of 20 August 2026 or the Ministry of Education page. The documents are in Polish. What applies to a particular pupil is decided by their school.
Main session: 10–12 May 2027
Polish on Monday 10 May, maths on Tuesday 11 May, the modern foreign language on Wednesday 12 May 2027. Each paper starts at 9:00, one subject per day. CKE: 2027 exam timetable notice (PDF, Polish)
Additional session: 9–11 June 2027
For a pupil who missed the May papers for health or other serious reasons, or had to stop: Polish on 9 June, maths on 10 June, the foreign language on 11 June 2027. CKE: 2027 exam timetable notice (PDF, Polish)
Length: 150, 125 and 110 minutes
That is the standard paper: Polish 150 minutes, maths 125, the foreign language 110. Pupils granted accommodations can have more time. CKE: how the 2026/2027 exam is run (PDF, Polish)
The foreign language is the one studied at school
The exam is offered in English, French, Spanish, German, Russian and Italian, but the pupil sits the language they study at school as a compulsory subject. The declaration was due by 30 September 2026; a change can be reported until 10 February 2027. CKE: how the 2026/2027 exam is run (PDF, Polish)
Results: 6 July 2027, as percentages
Each of the three subjects gets a percentage score and a percentile. The results certificate is handed out on the same day. CKE: how the 2026/2027 exam is run (PDF, Polish)
No pass mark, but sitting it is compulsory
The results do not affect finishing primary school, so the exam cannot be “failed”. A pupil who does not sit it and is not exempted by the director of the regional examination board repeats the final year. CKE: how the 2026/2027 exam is run (PDF, Polish)
The score counts for secondary-school admission
Admission to a Polish secondary school (szkoła ponadpodstawowa) is scored out of 200 points: 100 for the exam result and 100 for grades and achievements on the school certificate. A school may not set a minimum score in advance. Ministry of Education, gov.pl: secondary-school admission rules (Polish)
Foreign pupils: an adapted paper and more time
A pupil without Polish citizenship whose limited Polish makes reading the texts hard can sit adapted Polish and maths papers (in Polish, the marking rules are adapted too): Polish up to 195 minutes, maths up to 165, the foreign language unchanged at 110. A separate room, a bilingual dictionary and having the longer Polish texts read aloud are also possible. It needs a positive opinion of the school's teaching council (rada pedagogiczna). CKE: 2026/2027 accommodations notice, table 1.10 (PDF, Polish)
After schooling abroad: separate accommodations
A pupil with adaptation difficulties after earlier schooling abroad can get Polish marked under the rules used for specific learning difficulties, a separate room and a bilingual dictionary — and extra time if they already had it at school and this is documented. This also rests on the teaching council's opinion. CKE: 2026/2027 accommodations notice, table 1.15 (PDF, Polish)
Parent deadlines: 20 and 25 November 2026
By 20 November 2026 the school tells parents in writing which accommodations the teaching council proposes. Within three working days, by 25 November at the latest, parents state whether the pupil will use them. CKE: how the 2026/2027 exam is run (PDF, Polish)
Six steps for a family new to the system
The first three are done once, the rest repeat every week.
- Talk to the school about accommodations now
Ask whether the teaching council will consider accommodations for a foreign pupil or for adaptation difficulties after schooling abroad. The written information is due by 20 November 2026; after that you have three working days to accept or decline.
- Do one diagnostic paper in each subject
To time, in one sitting, without looking anything up. Past papers are published by CKE. Unpleasant and necessary: without it the plan is built on a hunch.
- Break the result into topics
Not “bad at maths” but: percentages, geometry, equations. For Polish, also note whether marks went on understanding the text or on writing. The list is the work plan for the coming weeks.
- Polish: a personal glossary and a skeleton for the answer
Words from the papers that stopped your child, collected in one notebook with a translation. Half a page on each set text (lektura) in their own words, with three quotations, and a fixed shape for the written answer.
- Maths: typical questions and the Polish words in them
The same kind of question solved five times in a row stays. Write down the key words of each question type — “oblicz”, “uzasadnij”, “ile procent” — so the wording stops being a trap.
- The foreign language: vocabulary from the papers
Words written out from questions that actually appeared, not from topic lists. Seven per sitting, checked both ways.
If a diagnostic paper comes out very weak across a whole subject, it may be missing foundations from earlier years — common when the previous school followed a different curriculum. Ask the teacher which topic to start from: working through year-eight material on empty ground will not hold.
One mock paper, two ways of using it
A hundred and twenty-five minutes of work. What happens after them decides whether they were worth the time.
A paper with no debrief
- The student does a maths paper, checks the answers against the key, counts the marks.
- Result: 21 out of 30. The paper goes on the pile, the next one comes out in a week.
- After ten papers the score has not moved, because the same mistakes are made every time in the same three topics.
- What is left is the belief that “papers do not help”.
The same paper with a list of mistakes
- The same paper, the same 21 out of 30.
- Every wrong question goes on a list with one note beside it: percentages, geometry, equations.
- It turns out that seven of the nine mistakes are one topic — percentages.
- Next week: two hours on percentages and five questions of the same type in a row, not one from each topic.
- The next paper comes only after that, not before — and it is there to check whether that one topic has stopped eating marks.
Three papers done and debriefed give more than ten done and put away. A paper is a diagnostic tool, not endurance training.
Break the last result into topics — fifteen minutes
If there is any marked paper or mock exam in the house, do this today.
- Write out the numbers of the questions that went wrong
The numbers alone, in a column. No marks and no comments.
- Beside each one add the topic in one word
Percentages, geometry, equations, reading comprehension, vocabulary. One word, not a sentence.
- Count how often each topic repeats
Usually two or three topics account for most of the marks lost.
- Pick one and plan a week around it
One, not all of them. With a run of questions of the same type at the end.
The result is a list of two or three topics instead of the verdict “bad at maths”. That is the difference between a plan and unease: a topic can be worked through in a week, “maths” cannot be worked through at all. If the mistakes spread evenly across all the topics, that usually means running out of time on the paper rather than missing knowledge — and then you work on pace, not on material.
Do not do this straight after the paper, while the feelings are fresh. The next day, calmly, at the table.
What the research says
Two papers behind two decisions: six months rather than one, and the paper as a tool.
Cepeda et al., 2006 — a review of 184 papers on spacing
The same number of hours spread over time gives clearly better recall than the same hours massed. On material from several years that is the difference between a six-month plan and a month of panic.
Roediger and Karpicke, 2006 — retrieval from memory
Testing yourself improves later recall more than another reading does. A paper is exactly that kind of test — provided the work on the mistakes follows it.
The research looked at general principles of learning, not at this exam and not at our course. Splitting the work across three subjects and the preparation calendar are practice, not a conclusion from the studies. The full list of papers our programme rests on: the Space Memory methodology
What not to do in the last month
Four things that take more than they give in April.
Opening new topics
A topic touched for the first time a month before rarely has time to settle. That time works better on reviewing what almost holds already.
Papers without a debrief
Ten papers done with no list of mistakes give less than three done and worked through.
Studying through the night
Shortened sleep before the exam takes away exactly the sharpness the room asks for. Extra study hours do not make up for the rest you lost.
Comparing yourself with the class
Other people's mock results say nothing about your plan. The measure is the difference between your first paper and your last.
Three assumptions that cost expat families time
All three are common among families new to the Polish school system.
“As foreigners we can skip it”
No. The exam is compulsory for pupils finishing a Polish primary school, foreign pupils included. A pupil who does not sit it and is not exempted by the regional examination board repeats the final year.
“Accommodations are automatic”
They are not. They rest on a positive opinion of the school's teaching council, and the school confirms them to parents in writing by 20 November 2026. Ask the form teacher in October whether your child is being considered.
“Polish will sort itself out by May”
Everyday Polish comes quickly; the Polish of exam texts and of a written argument comes slowly. That part needs a plan from the autumn, not a month of cramming.
The preparation calendar for 2027
A reference point for a pupil in Polish grade 8 this school year.
| When | What to do |
|---|---|
| October – November 2026 | Ask about accommodations; reply to the school's letter by 25 November |
| From the autumn | A diagnostic paper and two topics a week |
| April 2027 | Reviews and papers only, no new topics |
| Week before 10 May | The list of mistakes, the format, sleep at a fixed hour |
Check how they work against the clock
The free test is three short game-like tasks: memory, attention and reasoning. For a student before an exam it is the shortest trial of how they cope with a ticking clock.
Open the free testshort test, about 7 minutes · no sign-up · instant result
Take the plan as a PDF
One page to print and pin above the desk — everything in this text in a form you take in at a glance. You download and print it, nothing to leave behind. The sheet itself is in Polish, the language of the exam.
- A countdown from three months to the morning of the exam
- Three subjects and three different ways of studying, each in two sentences
- Three reasons behind mistakes and what to do about each
No sign-up and no e-mail address — the file downloads straight away. Print it and pass it on as much as you like.
What we help with here, and what we do not
Space Memory is not a tutoring school and does not teach Polish as a language or the maths syllabus. We teach how to study: the shape of the week, reviews spread over time, memorising techniques — useful for vocabulary in a new language — and working against the clock. Around an exam that is the part nobody usually shows the student.
Questions from expat families
Does my child have to take the Polish eighth-grade exam?
Yes, if they are finishing a Polish primary school: the exam is compulsory for foreign pupils too. Being a foreigner is not a reason for exemption: exemptions exist only for particular health situations, certain disabilities and laureates of subject competitions. Not sitting it without an exemption means repeating the final year.
When is the exam in 2027?
Polish on 10 May, maths on 11 May, the foreign language on 12 May 2027, each at 9:00. The additional session for pupils who could not sit in May is 9–11 June. Results are published on 6 July 2027.
Can my child fail it?
No. There is no pass mark, and the result does not affect finishing primary school. It does count towards secondary-school admission — up to 100 of the 200 points — so preparation is worth it.
What accommodations can a foreign pupil get?
With a positive opinion of the school's teaching council: adapted Polish and maths papers with adapted marking in Polish, up to 195 minutes for Polish and 165 for maths, a separate room, a bilingual dictionary and having longer Polish texts read aloud. The foreign-language paper stays at 110 minutes.
We are Polish citizens returning from abroad. Is there anything for us?
Yes. A pupil with adaptation difficulties after earlier schooling abroad can get adapted marking in Polish, a separate room, a bilingual dictionary and, if it was used at school and documented, extra time. This also goes through the teaching council.
Can my child take the foreign-language paper in our home language?
Only if it is on the list — English, French, Spanish, German, Russian or Italian — and it is the language they study at school as a compulsory subject. Other languages are not examined.
How do you deal with exam stress in a second language?
Knowing the format helps most: a paper done to time a few times stops being a surprise, and the words that used to stop your child start to look familiar. If the anxiety is strong and does not pass, talk to the school counsellor (pedagog szkolny).
How do classes with Space Memory start?
The first lesson is a free trial: your child meets the coach and the group, and you see how the work goes. If you stay, the first month is paid — four online classes of 90 minutes in a group of 5–10. We teach how to study and remember, not one subject's material.
More on studying
- How to teach a child to study
- No motivation to study
- Tutoring or learning how to learn
- How to study faster
Pages that take the separate parts of the plan further.
Effective study course for kids
Learning as a skill: planning, review and self-testing in class.
How to prepare for a test
The same logic on a smaller body of material
Study techniques for teenagers
Choosing what to work through and what to skim
How to study effectively
The order in which studying gets sorted out
Would you like the student to have a plan and someone keeping them to it?
In online classes we work on the way of studying and on memory: 90 minutes once a week, in a group of 5–10, plus short sessions in between. The first lesson is a free trial; after that, the first month is paid. Leave a request and we will tell you about the next group.
Request a callThe guide is free. Our classes are about the way of studying and about memory, not tutoring in one subject.