A Serious Talk About the Unified State Exam

Vladimir Chiganashkin, teacher of physics at Pskov Technical Lyceum, Pskov, Russian Federation. Email: v-chiganashkin@mail.ru Address: 9 Nekrasova St., Pskov, 180000, Russian Federation.The author argues that the Unified State Exam (USE) is a unique and irreplaceable method of final testing created by the computer era to rate academic performance of graduates. The USE is in many ways more efficient than the preceding educational assessment system. Once introduced, the USE allowed to make assessment uniform and objective by using computer technology. The tasks are designed to get a full idea of student performance from the test, which was impossible with the conventional assessment system. A large number of test versions prevents cheating. A 100-point scale allows to classify students easily into groups according to their academic progress. Combining graduation examination in schools with preliminary examinations in universities makes it useless to put higher grades in academic certificates.The author believes that the USE makes graduate students strive for better performance in order to get high points, teachers provide a higher compliance of students achievements with the uniform standard, and parents select schools for their children more consciously.Factors affecting academic performance of school students are investigated. Widespread bias against the USE is discussed, as well as the high-profile scandal about the USE testing in 2011. The key failure in USE implementation is the possibility of using mobile phones with access to the Internet. As a result, cheaters obtain points sufficient to get state-funded places in universities reserved for honest and hard-working students.DOI: 10.17323/1814-9545-2012-2-285-294