High-Tech Matriculation Database and Index for 2023

Earlier this year, Tel Aviv University launched the High-Tech Matriculation Database and Index for 2022. The launch event took place at a special conference that received wide media coverage and was attended by the Minister of Interior, many mayors, and local authority heads of education departments. High-Tech matriculation refers to a study track of five units in mathematics, English, physics and/or computer science in high school. The track with this combination of subjects has been found to significantly enhance the prospects of entering an R&D position in high-tech and, therefore, is a target of government policy. The goal of the government is to increase the rate of graduates with high-tech matriculation from 9% in 2018 to 15% by 2028.

The Index allows every city in Israel to know its percentage of graduates and the trajectory over the past decade, as well as gender gaps. The goal is for the data to serve as a benchmark for intervention programs at the local level. The Ministry of Education intends to include this data in its annual transparency report starting this year. However, this measure will be presented by the Ministry only as a one-year snapshot, as part of a comprehensive report that includes multiple measures related to education performance. Additionally, it seems that the Ministry of Education intends to exclude data related to the study of English from their report.

Therefore, Tel Aviv University proposes to update the Index with 2023 data. They will also analyze the potential for expanding the rate of graduates in each city. To do so, they will identify high school students who are missing only one subject area required for high-tech matriculation. For example, students with five units in mathematics and English, who do not intend to major in either physics or computer science. This analysis will assist municipalities in preparing educational programs tailored to their specific target audiences. The index will be published by the end of 2024 and will be discussed at a special conference in 2025.

* The text above shows the grant as approved by the Foundation’s Board of Directors / Grant 589