All-Time Record in Number of Israeli Students Taking 5-Unit Exams in Mathematics, English, and Physics
Record numbers of Israeli high school seniors achieved advanced 5-unit exam scores in English, mathematics, and physics in 2026, outperforming population.
Jerusalem, 22 September, 2026 (TPS-IL) — Israel’s Ministry of Education reported record participation in advanced 5-unit matriculation exams for 2026, with student enrollment outstripping overall population growth despite wartime disruptions.
For the first time, over half of all high school seniors (50.4%) enrolled in advanced English, rising to 70,587 students from 61,033 in 2023. Physics recorded the steepest proportional increase, expanding from 14,701 to 17,528 students (12.5% of the senior cohort), while advanced mathematics candidates grew to 24,129 (17.2%).
Education officials highlighted that growth across all three STEM and language disciplines significantly outpaced the 10% overall expansion of the 12th-grade cohort since the last pre-war academic benchmark, marking a milestone in academic resilience.