High school students taking a test
High school students taking a testFlash 90

The Samaria town of Elkana has the highest percentage of students receiving their high school diplomas, Israel Hayom reported.

Elkana, which has a matriculation rate of over 98%, is followed by the Tel Aviv-area city of Givat Shmuel, where 97% of twelfth-grade students received their diplomas.

Israel Hayom noted that both cities rank high on the socioeconomic ladder, and both have relatively small numbers of twelfth-grade students: Elkana has 131 12th graders, while Givat Shmuel has 627.

The Arab town of Kaukab Abu al-Hija in the Lower Galilee, and the central town of Kiryat Ekron, tied for third place, with 96% successfully completing their matriculation exams, and the Lev Hasharon Regional Council came in after them, with 95.5%. Ramat Hasharon (94.6%), Shafir (94%), Givatayim (93.8%), Shoham (93.7%), Hurfeish (93.4%), Deir Hanna (92.8%), and Beit Jann (92.6%) rounded out the list of Israel's top cities for education.

Last week, Israel's Education Ministry published the national statistics, which show that 70% of Israel's twelfth grade students who took the matriculation exams received their diplomas this year - an all-time record.

The statistics also showed that the number of twelfth-grade students receiving testing accommodations has continued to climb, reaching disproportionate heights: In Tel Mond, 83% of twelfth-graders enjoyed testing accommodations, as did 77% of twelfth-graders in Samaria, 75% in Merom Hagalil, 71% in Emek Hefer, and 69% in Even Yehuda.

Accommodations include additional test time, oral testing, and a tester reading the test out and writing down the student's answers.

Israel Hayom noted that the statistics hint that families with higher socioeconomic status seem to be paying for evaluations for their children, leading them to receive accommodations during their matriculation exams. In recent years, the Education Ministry has worked to reduce the number of students receiving unnecessary testing accommodations.