"For security reasons and due to logistical difficulties, conducting an external independent evaluation in a traditional format is not possible. Therefore, the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine is considering having an improved national multi-subject test (NMT) in 2023 as an alternative," – said the Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine Serhii Shkarlet.
Currently, the Ministry has initiated the preparation of a special bill that will allow the NMT to be carried out in 2023, the details will be published in the relevant Admission Procedure approved by the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine after the adoption of the relevant law by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.
The Minister outlined the preliminary characteristics of the NMT structure, which is a type of external independent evaluation conducted in temporary examination centers in a computer-based format and covering questions in several subjects. The NMT has become the main innovation and one of the prerequisites for a successful admission campaign in 2022 under martial law.
It is planned that in 2023 the NMT will contain mandatory and additional blocks. The mandatory block of the NMT will consist of four subjects: the Ukrainian language, mathematics, the history of Ukraine, and one of the foreign languages (English, French, German and Spanish languages will be offered to entrants).
On a separate day, applicants will be able to take an additional block of NMT in physics, chemistry or biology, the result of which can replace the assessment in the history of Ukraine or a foreign language.
According to the Minister, the improved version of the NMT will take into account the wishes of graduates who were differentiated by the level of study of various subjects (chemistry, biology, foreign languages, etc.) during their studies.
The NMT test tasks will be completed in accordance with the programs of the ZNO in the relevant subjects. It is also assumed that the main block of NMT will last for one day with a break.
"First, participants will be completing tasks on the Ukrainian language and mathematics for 90 minutes, and after a short break, they will be working on tasks on the history of Ukraine and a foreign language for another 90 minutes. Testing of additional subjects will last 75 minutes and will be held on another day," – noted Serhii Shkarlet.
Testing will take place in June – July 2023 within the main and additional sessions. Entrants who, for valid reasons, did not pass the test during the main session will be able to take part in the additional session. Tables for converting test scores to a scale of 100-200 will be published in advance.
The NMT can be conducted in Ukraine and in some foreign countries. The decision on conducting NMT abroad and the possible list of countries will be made in the spring, taking into account the military and political situation.
Registration for participation in NMT is scheduled to be held in April 2023.
"Of course, both the results of the national multi-subject test of 2023 and the results of the NMT of 2022 or the external independent evaluation of 2020-2021 can be used for admission," – explained the Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine.
Applicants to the specialties for which a creative competition is provided will enter based on the results of the NMT and the creative competition.
Coefficients for grades in various subjects, which will be used during the formation of the competitive score, will be approved in the Admission Procedure. In 2023, it is not expected to use the average score of the document on previously obtained education as well as the rural coefficient. Industry and regional coefficients are expected to be maintained, but the regional coefficients ratios are expected to be announced in the spring.
Without NMT, it will be possible to enter on a contractual basis for a specialties that are provided with special support (53 specialties and 11 specializations), such an opportunity is also provided for entrants based on the obtained educational and professional degree of a specialized junior bachelor or educational and qualification level of a junior specialist, or an educational degree of a junior bachelor.
The Ministry of Education and Science will provide more information after introducing the bill to the Parliament and will publish a draft Procedure for admission to higher education institutions in 2023 for public discussion.
Admission to studies under the state order to higher military educational institutions, higher education institutions with specific study conditions, military educational units of higher education institutions will be conducted according to their own Admission Rules, without complying with most of the requirements of the general Admission Procedure, as in 2022.
The advantages of computer-based testing include: a significant reduction in budget costs for printing test notebooks, logistics, the possibility of testing abroad, the organization of checking answers and, most importantly, the safety of applicants.
It is believed that the transition to NMT will not require radically new approaches to the development of test tasks and, in general, will not complicate the technology of preparation for testing. A significant part of the software and equipment for computer testing was purchased at the expense of donors in 2022.
The Minister emphasized that it is possible to change the format of the entrance exams only after the adoption of the relevant Law, which is the competence of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.
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National University “Yuri Kondratyuk Poltava Polytechnic”
