The central practical exam (CPE) for lower vocational education (VMBO) (age ± 16 years) is part of the central final examinations during which students have to take nationwide exams in Dutch, English and one of the arts (dance, drama, music, visual arts), and a minimum of four other subjects. Students can choose one of the visual arts (if offered by the school): audio-visual art, drawing, handicraft, or textile art. The visual arts exams consist of two parts, a practical (the CPE) and a written exam. The practical one starts in January and ends by the end of April. The written
exam is taken in May and takes 2 hours to complete. For the CPE students have 720 minutes available, divided in working lesson hours over a period of six weeks.
Diederik Schönau