Students take matriculation exams
Students take matriculation examsYossi Zamir, Flash 90

During the academic year 2015-2016, 12,859 out of the 1,399,008 matriculation exams (.92%) were disqualified due to suspicions of cheating, Israel Hayom and the Movement for Freedom of Information reported.

Fifty-percent of the students whose tests were disqualified were able to restore the results of their exams on appeal.

During the academic year 2014-2015, the number of disqualified tests was 10,952 (out of 1,452,623), or .75% of exams.

In 2015-2016, 11,563 students were suspected of not adhering to the testing regulations, whereas the number of such students in 2014-2015 was 9,962 and in 2013-2014 was 11,090.

The subjects in which the most matriculation exams were disqualified were math (7,198 exams) and English (2,955 exams).

Statistics for the academic year 2016-2017 are not yet available.

Over the past few years, Israel's Education Ministry has spent millions of shekels in attempts to prevent cheating during the matriculation examinations.

Proctors disqualified the exams when a student was suspected of copying, removing a page from the exam, placing incorrect [information] stickers on the examinations, writing in pencil, using white-out, or using materials which were not allowed to be used during the exam.