System change - Entrance Examination 2023

In August 2022, an amendment to the Secondary School Act had come into force, which had already been passed by the Zurich Cantonal Council in 2015. The amended examination conditions applied for the first time at the IMS entrance examination in October 2022 and thereafter at the entrance examinations in March 2023 (Short-Term High School, HMS, FMS, and BMS).

ZAP stands for Zentrale Aufnahmeprüfung. These have existed for some time for the transition from Long- and Short-Term High School to IMS, HMS, FMS and BMS.

The aim of the change in regulations is to standardize all entrance examinations in the canton of Zurich. While the preliminary grades of the elementary school had long been taken into account for the transfer to the Long-Term High School, this was not the case for the ZAP2 and ZAP3.

The new examination procedure brings the examinations into line with each other. Accordingly, the following rules apply equally to ZAP1, ZAP2 as well as ZAP3.

Specific summaries and adaptations of the individual exams can be found in the 'Summary' section below.

Examination subjects

The examination is exclusively written and will be limited to the following subjects

• German 50%
• Mathematics 50%

This means for the

• ZAP2 schools concerned the omission of French as an examination subject.
• ZAP3 schools concerned the elimination of French and English as examination subjects.

So, the Central Entrance Examination still consists of the following parts:

Permitted Aids

Inclusion of Prior Performance Grades

Another concern of the new regulation is the inclusion of the students' previous performance in the entrance examination. This is new for ZAP2 and ZAP3, but was already the case for ZAP1. In concrete terms, this means that the admission decision is now made up of the following components in equal parts:

• Exam grade (50%)
• Advance note (50%)

The preliminary grade is based on the last school report before the examination. For all entrance examinations except IMS, this is the January report of the 1st semester. For the IMS, the July report (2nd semester) applies due to the earlier examination date in October.

Note: No prerequisite credits may be applied to BM2.

The following school subjects are relevant for the preliminary performance grade:

Conditions for the inclusion of the preliminary grades

Pre-performance grades can only be recognized if certain conditions are met in full. If one or more conditions are not met, the prerequisite grades will not be counted, and only the examination grades will count. Preliminary performance grades are counted either for all subjects or for no subject.

Working and learning behavior not relevant

In a draft of the ordinance, it was initially planned that the back of the report and thus the work and learning behavior should also be included in the evaluation (5 school subjects and the learning behavior weighted at one-sixth each). However, this met with resistance and was dropped from the draft, so work and learning behavior do not count for the examination.

Weighting of preliminary and examination grades

The average grade is calculated from the examination grade and the preliminary grade. This is rounded to two decimal places and is made up as follows:

Exam grades consist of quarter grades. All other grades are not rounded for calculation.

Omission of the oral examination

Previously, students who had narrowly failed the entrance examination to the Short-Term High School could take an oral examination. With the new regulations, the possibility of an oral examination is eliminated. A failed written exam is therefore definitely considered as failed.

Examination dates and contents

• The date of the entrance examination does not change due to the new regulations, the examinations will continue to take place at the beginning of March or in October (IMS).
• The different ZAP3 exams have the same requirements with different contents.
• BM1 and BM2 candidates will no longer be tested with the same exam.
• ZAP2 and ZAP3 do not take place on the same day.
• In addition to ZAP3, the IMS conducts an internal examination.

Can I register for more than one school?

Until now, a passed examination for the Short-Term High School was automatically also valid for the FMS or, together with a suitable apprenticeship, also for the BM1. This will no longer be the case in the future.

• Now, ZAP2 exams are only valid for ZAP2 schools and ZAP3 exams are only valid for ZAP3 schools.
• However, it is possible to register for several ZAP2 schools or for several ZAP3 schools at the same time.
• It is also possible to register for both the ZAP2 exam and the ZAP3 exam in the 9th school year.
• There is no alternative to the ZAP1 exam. 
• After a successfully completed school year at a middle school, the transfer to other schools - also ZAP-across - is possible under certain conditions without an exam.
• Registration for an exam now costs CHF 50.

Example of dual enrollment:

• It is possible to register for the Short-Term High School and the HMS at the same time within one year, for example, both schools conduct the same entrance examination.
• For the Short-Term High School, the passing grade is 4.75, and for the HMS 4.5.
• With an average grade of 4.75, both paths would be open in this case. If only a 4.5 is achieved, the path to the HMS remains open.

When is the exam considered passed?

Depending on whether the prior achievements are credited or not, the exam is considered passed if the following minimum grades are achieved. The required grade point average without prior performance is in each case 0.25 grade points lower than the grade point average with prior performance grade. Accordingly, the advance performance grade is an advantage if it is more than 0.5 grade points higher than the passing grade without advance performance. This is normally to be expected.

Example: Short-Term High School
If the passing grade is 5.0, the difference is already compensated. If it is higher, there is an advantage.

Passing grades:

Changes in ZAP2 – Summary

Main changes from March 2023

• French is no longer an examination subject. Only Mathematics and German are examined.
• 50% of the preliminary grades can be credited in the subjects German, Mathematics, French, English, Nature and Technology. 
• The ZAP2 exam is valid for both Short-Term High School and HMS.
• The ZAP2 exam no longer entitles the student to transfer to a ZAP3 school.

Further changes from March 2023

• Registration for an exam costs CHF 50.
• Adjusted passing grades (see: When is the exam considered passed?).
• The Board of Education is responsible for the content of the exams.
• Inspection of the exam is regulated uniformly: Photos allowed, copies for a fee

Changes to ZAP3 - Summary

Most important changes from March 2023

• The examination subjects French and English will be dropped. Only mathematics and German will be examined.
• 50% of the preliminary grades can be credited in the subjects German, mathematics, French, English, nature and technology.
• The preliminary grades cannot be credited in BM2.
• The ZAP3 examination is valid for BMS, FMS, and IMS.

Further changes from March 2023

• Registration for an exam will cost CHF 50 in the future.
• The Board of Education is responsible for the content of the exams.
• The Board of Education is responsible for the content of the examinations.
• Inspection of the examination is regulated uniformly: Photos allowed, copies for a fee.

Accurate orientation to the new examination requirements at the Lern Forum

The Lern Forum has adapted all teaching materials and learning objectives to the new examination requirements and conducts all courses within the framework of the new learning objectives in order to provide students with optimal support.