What changes might there be in the “accurate” Unified State Examination?

An amazing statement was made at the Council on Science and Education with the participation of the president. University rectors and scientists advocated that the Unified State Examination in mathematics and physics should be tightened. And in general, the approach to teaching at school the “queens of the sciences,” exact and natural, will change. Mathematics should become an additional test for admission to any university: music, literature, law… True, Putin has not yet supported the initiative.

The desire to strengthen mathematics and physics in universities and schools is understandable. The only thing that is not entirely clear is the methods that will be used for this. How exactly do the council members intend to change the Unified State Examination in physics and mathematics, undoubtedly “engineering” disciplines? And do our universities, like in the late USSR, need to graduate 200 thousand engineers annually?

Rector of St. Petersburg State University Nikolai Kropachev stated at the council that the Unified State Examination in mathematics should be made mandatory for all faculties, including legal and creative ones. “I assure you,” the rector conveyed the thought to the president, “the quality of training of graduates—lawyers, sociologists, psychologists (in this case)—will increase sharply.” The President did not agree with him.

But the head of St. Petersburg University was supported by scientists. President of the Kurchatov Institute Mikhail Kovalchuk said that mathematics is a methodology, and not just a subject. And “everyone should be accustomed from childhood to operate with a small number of abstract symbols.”

The director of the Main Geophysical Observatory of Roshydromet, Vladimir Katsov, expressed the same opinion, noting that a climatologist “can’t take a step without mathematics.”

But most of all, parents, schoolchildren and head teachers and teachers were frightened by the deputy chairman of the government, Tatyana Golikova. Although she noted that there is no need to rush into change. They say that the topic (with exams) is “very delicate” and “we won’t get ahead of ourselves,” but she admitted that changes in the Unified State Examination system are coming. Especially in physics and mathematics.

“We are seriously considering these areas, including some approaches to changing the Unified State Examination,” said the Deputy Prime Minister. He added that discussions with experts are already underway. And not only the Unified State Examination itself is discussed, but also the DVI – additional tests in universities.

“So that students focus on the natural sciences and the professions that we need in the future,” added Golikova.

“At least something is clear from the last phrase,” comments methodologist and education expert Anastasia Gordeeva. — Because at first, to be honest, there was a feeling that the academic fraternity itself was not very versed in the intricacies of the Unified State Exam.

However, I will note that we do not have conditional singers who do not pass mathematics. Absolutely all 11th grade graduates take an essay for admission to the Unified State Exam and unified exams in Russian language and mathematics. Another thing is that those who do not enter technical universities, IT, or somewhere else where an advanced level of mathematics is needed, take simpler, basic mathematics. “Technicians” – write mathematics – “profile”. Let me tell you right away: this is an expert-level exam.

Schoolchildren take physics as an additional subject of the Unified State Exam. It is chosen not only by those entering engineering, aircraft design, ballistics, shipbuilding or space. But also farmers, for example. Future geologists, biotechnologists, animal scientists, surveyors, builders and even designers in some areas – everyone needs the Unified State Exam in physics. I would like to emphasize that, in general, the “set” of the Unified State Examination for admission is a requirement of universities, and cannot be established by anyone other than the university itself.

Additional entrance examinations (ADT) are, in fact, an internal examination of the university. DVIs exist in our tops: Moscow State University, St. Petersburg State University, Higher School of Economics, RANEPA, etc. And in creative ones, of course: sing, dance, draw… Often this is not one exam, but 2-3, in stages.

Other possible reforms of the Unified State Exam and the subjects themselves are a revision to deepen the programs in physics and mathematics. Yes, this can be so, but to the detriment of something. The load on students and teachers is such that only Prostokvashino’s principle is possible: “To buy something unnecessary, you need to sell something unnecessary.” And the humanities will again fall into the category of “unnecessary”.

It is also possible, in theory, to cancel basic mathematics and take only the specialized one. My opinion is that if the profile for everyone remains in its current form, it will simply be a massive failure. 70 percent or more of graduates will not be able to write specialized mathematics.”

Help “MK”: According to Rosstat (1988), out of 1.5 million scientists in the country, 715.7 thousand people were “engaged in technical issues.” There were 42.7 thousand scientists in the field of agricultural sciences. 39.6 thousand people work in pedagogical science, 8.7 thousand in legal science. Social sciences accounted for 11% of all scientists. Of these, 20.9 thousand were engaged in philosophy, 58.6 – philology, history – 28.5 thousand. Only 4.6 thousand scientists studied psychology, 4.4 thousand studied architecture.