3, 4 or 5 units
Math is one of the compulsory Bagrut subjects, and you take it at one of three levels.
The levels are counted in study units: יחידות לימוד “yechidot limud”, written יח״ל. Most English speakers say points (“I'm doing 5-point math”), and so do the Ministry's own English formula sheets.
The number is the level, not a grade. 4 and 5 units both go deep into calculus, sequences and vectors; 5 units goes furthest, adding topics such as induction, calculus of trigonometric functions and complex numbers. 3 units is built around applied math: growth and interest, statistics and probability, and geometry you can measure.
3 units
Three papers, one a year
- 35172 or 35173
- First paper, grade 10 25%Three clusters: society and science, the plane and space, and finance. 35173 is the version your school assesses itself.
- 35371
- Second paper, grade 11 35%The same three clusters, on grades 10 and 11.
- 35372
- Third paper, grade 12 40%Analytic geometry and linear programming, then the normal distribution, the quadratic model and solids in space.
On 35172 and 35371 you may answer as many questions as you like, fully or partly. Your points add up to at most 100. The Ministry calls these accumulation papers (שאלון צבירה).
4 units
Two papers
- 35471
- First paper, grade 11 65%Statistics and probability; geometry; calculus of polynomial, rational and root functions.
- 35472
- Second paper, grade 12 35%Sequences, geometry in space, and growth and decay; calculus of exponential and log functions.
5 units
Two papers
- 35571
- First paper 60%Short questions on any topic; induction, sequences and probability; plane geometry and trigonometry; calculus of polynomial, root, rational and trigonometric functions.
- 35572
- Second paper 40%Analytic geometry, vectors, trigonometry in space and complex numbers; growth and decay, exponential and log functions.
the Ministry's new curriculum page (papers, weights) and its 2026–27 circular for math teachers (grades), both in Hebrew. The topics are the chapter titles printed on the summer 2026 papers. The percentages are each paper's share of your math grade.
This school year, 2026–27
Every student sits the papers above. For the winter and summer 2027 exams, the Ministry also left some topics out. From 2027–28, all topics are back.
A safety net for 4 and 5 units
If you study 4 or 5 units and end up just short, your grade can count one level down, with points added. It applies when the final grade for your two papers is between 51 and 59, and you scored at least 51 on at least one of the exams.
Moving from 4 to 3 units adds 25 points to each paper's final grade. Moving from 5 to 4 adds 15.
the Ministry's safety-net notice (January 2023, Hebrew), which its 2026–27 circular points to.
Why 5 units matters for university
Israeli universities add bonus points to subjects taken at 4 and 5 units when they work out your Bagrut average, and 5-unit math gets one of the biggest bonuses. On 17 October 2026, Tel Aviv University's calculator added 35 points for 5-unit math. The Technion added 30 points for a 5-unit math grade of 60 or more, and counted math twice in the average.
For most of its programs, the Technion also asks for 5-unit math with at least 70. With a lower grade, or with 4 units, you need 70 on its own math placement exam.
The rules differ between universities and change from year to year, so check with each university's own calculator:
Tel Aviv University's Bagrut calculator, and the Technion's pages on bonuses and Bagrut requirements, read on 17 October 2026.