External testing system needs improvements
The system of external independent testing has been implemented in Ukraine since 2001. Only 4,000 graduates and several institutions of higher education in our country have taken part in the first experiment, as it is called by the Ministry of Education and Science. The new system for entering higher educational institutions has been systematically improved, but last year the ministry cancelled the experiment, announcing compulsory testing for all school leavers in 2008.
At the moment, the data of the Ukrainian Quality Education Assessment Center indicate that the registration of participants in this year’s testing is being completed (the deadline for applications is Feb. 20). However, educators are troubled by the low activity of schoolchildren in some regions of the country. For example, only 20 percent of school leavers have been registered in Zaporizhia oblast. The staff of the education ministry is also worried that there might not be enough funds to conducting the testing campaign: out of the required 130 million hryvnias only 52 million have been allocated. According to Ihor Likarchuk, the head of the Ukrainian Quality Education Assessment Center, the only hope is to obtain assistance from physical and juridical persons, and local budget reserves.
“We are encouraged by the fact that 68 percent of 11th-grade students are eager to take part in the testing, since they find many advantages to this,” Likarchuk noted. “According to the results of the final exams, most graduates enroll in higher educational establishments without taking additional exams. Out of 117,000 graduates, 39,000 pupils enrolled in institutions of higher education last year. This number is quite high because last year’s testing was conducted in the form of an experiment, and not every school and higher educational establishment was working according to this scheme. The proper processing of the results and identification of tests were the biggest problem. In order to prevent falsifications, the Kyiv students’ tests were checked by educators from Kirovohrad, Lviv students’ tests by teachers from Odesa, etc. This kind of scheme will remain in place this year.”
Ukrainian educators admit that the system of external testing is not perfect. According to Minister of Education and Science Ivan Vakarchuk, no decisions have been taken with regard to contract-type of studies or correspondence courses, or how to equalize educational opportunities in cities and the countryside. The minister noted education problems in villages are mostly resolved on the regional level. Some higher educational institutions hold competitions in villages, like Olympiads for gifted children. Thanks to them bright children get a chance to study in these educational establishments. However, few higher educational institutions propose such initiatives.
At the moment, trial testing is being conducted for all those who desire it at regional departments of the Ukrainian Quality Education Assessment Center. The results of the trial testing conducted in Odesa oblast show that graduates earned the required number of points to obtain a certificate (4 is the minimum number).
“The experimental testing has proved that teachers sometimes give too high grades to students when they are guided by certain factors: the students’ diligence, personal sympathies, etc.,” said Olena Onaiets, the president of the Association of School Principals. “However, we are now worried that holding external testing in April or May will interrupt the study process. As last year’s testing shows, once 11th-graders obtain their certificate, they stop going to classes, which are supposed to last until May 31. Also, once students find out what subjects will be tested, they ignore their other subjects. All this reduces the general level of their knowledge.”
As a way out of the situation, educators are proposing to conduct compulsory testing for the basic subjects of the school curriculum (History, Ukrainian language, Mathematics, Physics, and Chemistry). Now it is too late to introduce correctives, but they should be taken into account next year, because the general quality of education depends on this.
