Exams without a computer from spring 2027

In short

Applies from

Written exams from spring 2027

What changes

The computer disappears from part 2, and the whole exam is written by hand

Subjects affected

The upper secondary maths subjects, biology 2, chemistry 2 and physics 2

Subjects not affected

Biology 1, physics 1 and chemistry 1

Allowed on part 2

Your own notes on paper, printed material and a simple scientific calculator

Udir's reason

Reducing the risk of AI use

Last exam under today's rules

Autumn 2026

Who it applies to

The change applies to everyone sitting a written exam from spring 2027, both school students and external candidates. It is part 2 that changes. Part 1 has already been without any material, and it stays as it is.

Subjects that lose the computer on part 2

• All the upper secondary maths subjects, that is 1P, 1T, 2P, 2T, S1, S2, R1 and R2, including the vocational variants
• Biology 2
• Chemistry 2
• Physics 2

Subjects that are not affected

• Biology 1, physics 1 and chemistry 1 continue as before

Udir writes about the maths subjects in upper secondary. Exams in year 10 are not mentioned this time around.

What you may bring to part 2

The calculator

Udir describes the calculator like this: it should be able to handle square roots, logarithms, sine, cosine and tangent, and to work out standard deviation. That is an ordinary scientific calculator, nothing advanced.

It cannot be a graphing calculator, it cannot be programmable, it cannot have CAS or symbolic algebra, and it cannot communicate with other devices.

Wait before you buy. So far Udir has only described what the calculator should be able to do, not which models are approved. The sample papers in week 42, and any further guidance from Udir, may make the requirements clearer, so I would wait until that picture is settled before buying anything.

Timeline

• Autumn 2026 The last exam period under today's rules. A computer is still allowed on part 2.
• Week 39, 2026 Sample papers in biology 2, chemistry 2 and physics 2.
• Week 42, 2026 Sample papers in maths. Only then will we see how the tasks actually change.
• Spring 2027 The new rules apply from the first exam.

What we do not know yet

The framework has been decided, but a number of practical questions are still open as of 31 August 2026.

• Which calculator models will do. Udir describes what the calculator should be able to do, but has not published any overview of specific models.
• What the tasks will look like. Without GeoGebra and spreadsheets the task types have to change, and the sample papers in week 42 are the first concrete thing we get to see.
• What programming will look like. Udir writes that from spring 2027 candidates may be asked to write programs in R1 and S1, that is on paper. What that looks like in practice we will not know before the sample papers arrive.
• How assessment is adjusted. When everything has to be worked out by hand, both the time it takes and what is reasonable to expect from an answer change.

I update this page as more comes from Udir.

How I would prepare

I do not know what the tasks will look like before the sample papers arrive in week 42. What I do know something about is what happens to students who have had GeoGebra available for two years and then have to work without it. Usually the arithmetic underneath the answers has been left unused. The program solved the equation, drew the graph and read off the intersection point, and the student followed along without doing it themselves. That is the part I would start with now.

• Start working by hand this autumn, not in May. Your speed with fractions, equations and factorising does come back, but it takes a few weeks. The first time a student who has had the tools available since Vg1 solves a quadratic equation on their own, it is slow, and that is completely normal.
• Practise seeing how a graph behaves without drawing it. When you cannot plot the expression, you have to read from it yourself where it rises, where it turns and roughly where it crosses the axes. This is what I spend most of my time on with students at the moment.
• Write your own notes through the year. Your own notes on paper are allowed on part 2, and in a set you wrote while you were learning the material you know where to find things. One you borrow the week before the exam you mostly spend time searching in.
• Get to know the calculator well ahead of time. Standard deviation, logarithms and trigonometry take a few key sequences you should have tried before exam day. Borrow a simple scientific calculator in the meantime, so you avoid buying one before the requirements are clearer.
• Practise judging whether an answer is reasonable. With a program you rarely get an answer that is a thousand times too large. When you work by hand it happens, and then it is you who has to catch it. A quick estimate before you start is the simplest way I know of.

Guides to come

As more comes from Udir, I will extend this page with separate guides.

• Buying a calculator and what to look for, once the requirements are clearer
• Part 2 by hand and what an answer should look like, after week 42
• Programming without a computer and what happens to the coding part, after week 42