Rosobrnadzor spoke about the details of the procedure for retaking the Unified State Exam

“Kommersant” learned new details of the “presidential” reform of the Unified State Examination, which provides for the possibility of retaking one of the exams. This year, graduates will be able to use the “second attempt” only once – and with an important condition. Rosobrnadzor warns that the first grade will be canceled in any case, even if the graduate receives a lower score on the retake. And “two-part” exams in foreign languages ​​will have to be retaken in full – it will not be possible to maintain a good grade for the written or oral parts. Because of these innovations, educational departments will have to quickly make changes to the Unified State Exam schedule so that graduates have time to receive all the results by the start of the admissions campaign. Also, Rosobrnadzor considers it “premature” to promise the possibility of retaking the Unified State Exam in several subjects. And the Duma Committee on Education wants to first analyze the results of the year’s exams.

Let us recall that on February 29, President Vladimir Putin, in his address to the Federal Assembly, mentioned several “accumulated” problems in school education. One of them is “the discrepancy between educational programs and exam questions.” As a result, the president said, “the Unified State Examination mechanism must be improved.” Mr. Putin proposed “giving graduates what is called a second chance,” that is, providing the opportunity to retake the Unified State Exam in one of the subjects.

The topic of a “second chance” when passing an exam has been discussed by the educational community almost since the very appearance of the Unified State Exam. And two years ago, deputies from the New People party even introduced a bill that would allow graduates to retake the Unified State Exam within a month if they were not satisfied with the exam result. However, Rosobrnadzor then told Kommersant that it did not support the initiative and considered it redundant (“Kommersant” talked about this on April 28, 2022). But after the head of state’s speech, it turned out that it was possible to do without changing federal legislation. Rosobrnadzor reported that in the next two months it is ready to make changes to the procedure and schedule for the Unified State Examination, so that this year’s graduates can retake the exam.

Kommersant asked Rosobrnadzor to share the details of the reform. The department emphasized that at the moment the amendments provide for the possibility of retaking only one subject. At the same time, Rosobrnadzor advised graduates to “make an informed choice and evaluate their capabilities, since the first result will be canceled regardless of whether it is higher or lower.” The department added that it is “premature” to talk about expanding the opportunity to retake the Unified State Exam to several subjects.

Among other things, Rosobrnadzor clarified the procedure for retaking the Unified State Exam in foreign languages. Let us remember that it consists of two separate parts – written and oral. And if the graduate is not satisfied with the result of one of the parts of the exam, he will have to retake it in full. “Retaking only one part is impossible, since the Unified State Examination participant receives the result for both parts in total. If a decision is made to retake the Unified State Examination in foreign languages, the first result for both parts will be cancelled,” the department warned.

Professor at the Institute for Educational Development at the Higher School of Economics Irina Abankina called the initiative correct and “long overdue”: “The Unified State Exam is an exam with very high stakes. I wouldn’t want the final certification to depend on subjective factors: how the graduate was feeling, whether he was able to cope with anxiety, what option he was given, and so on.” However, she noted, when granting the right to retake the Unified State Exam, the organizers must ensure the same reliability and transparency of the results as during the main exam: “We must be sure that the tasks themselves were of equal complexity, and the evaluation criteria were equal.”

Ms. Abankina is confident that the procedure for retaking the Unified State Exam will be “resource-intensive”, since it is necessary to ensure equal conditions for passing and retaking the exam. At the same time, it is important to assess what costs the opportunity to retake the exam will entail: “We don’t really understand what the number of those who will retake the Unified State Exam will be. We need to understand how many of them there will be, what exams they will have to retake, how many commission members need to be assembled, and what the financial costs will be.” She added that it will be necessary to analyze the results of the Unified State Exam 2024 to understand whether these changes are worth the expense. At the same time, Ms. Abankina herself believes that in the future it is worth expanding the possibility of retaking the Unified State Exam to several subjects. Let us recall that earlier, Academician of the Russian Academy of Education Viktor Bolotov (who was at the origins of the creation of the Unified State Exam system in Russia) warned in a conversation with Kommersant that due to the reform, inspectors will have to work in an accelerated mode, “and this requires additional costs and good financing.”

The first deputy chairman of the Duma Committee on Education, Yana Lantratova (A Just Russia – For Truth), told Kommersant that reforming and even abolishing the Unified State Exam are among the most popular issues among voters. “We definitely support the president’s decision, because some schoolchildren are very worried when taking the Unified State Exam. They can be understood. Of course, the child will experience stress from sitting under cameras in a strange school with unfamiliar teachers. Many exhaled simply from the understanding that they would have the opportunity to retake,” says Ms. Lantratova. She called the proposal of the head of state “the first step of the upcoming changes.” However, parliamentarians will consider the possibility of expanding the Unified State Exam retake to several subjects only after analyzing the results of the Unified State Exam 2024. “This year it will be organizationally difficult to retake several subjects. First you need to try one example. And then we’ll sum up the results and decide whether there is a need to expand this practice. In any case, we will discuss this issue after the regional week at a meeting of the State Duma Committee on Education,” Ms. Lantratova said.

The “presidential” amendment will affect the exam schedule, since graduates must receive all USE results by the beginning of the admissions campaign. “Currently, together with the regions, we are working on the issue of forming an optimal schedule that takes into account both the academic year and the admissions campaign. In addition, all changes will be agreed upon with the Russian Ministry of Education and the Russian Ministry of Education and Science,” the press service added. “The Russian Ministry of Education and Science, together with the Russian Ministry of Education, Rosobrnadzor and other interested federal executive authorities will create all the necessary conditions to provide applicants with the opportunity to retake the Unified State Exam in one of the subjects before the end of the admissions campaign,” the press service of the Ministry of Education and Science assured.

Emilia Gabdullina