I wasn't clear what was clarified from the discussion of whether we should be giving magen grades for the Oral Interview, and so I wrote Judy Steiner. She told me I could print her response. Dear David, I do not represent the Irgun Hamorim. I represent the Ministry of Education – and therefore the answer is yes, you need to give a tsiyun shnati for the oral interview. I suggest you access: http://www.anglit.net/main/faqs/faqs6.html This was posted April of last year. Also, here is a FAQ posted last year: http://www.anglit.net/main/faqs/faqs5.html How are we supposed to give a magen (shnati) grade for the Oral test? We have not received guidelines for this. The school grade for oral exam should reflect the pupils' ability to express themselves orally. The Inspectorate has not set any specific guidelines about how to evaluate pupils' oral proficiency, as we feel that this is up to the teacher. However, here are some ideas that teachers have shared with me (none of which are compulsory): 1. Teachers can evaluate the project presentation part of the oral exam when the pupils present their projects to the class. 2. Teachers can evaluate the extended interview part of the oral exam by having pupils work in groups, or in pairs, and the teacher evaluating their oral skills. 3. Teachers based their grade on different oral activities that they have done during the year. 4. Some teachers give a matconet of the oral exam and find it to be an extremely worthwhile experience. All the best, Judy