Weekly “Arguments and facts” № 25. Difficult task. Where does the education come from? 06/23/2021
What claims are made to the Unified State Exam and is it time to go back to the Soviet knowledge test
In 2001, a unified state exam was introduced in & nbsp; parts of Russia on an experimental basis. And & nbsp; all these 20 years on & nbsp; the USE debate does not calm down. And & nbsp; recently, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on & nbsp; Education and & nbsp; Science Maxim Zaitsev expressed himself very categorically: “ The review was not justified. '' So, will the Russian school return to the Soviet system of testing and assessing knowledge?
High stakes exam
So what's the fate of the Unified State Review? And & nbsp; the most that this form of knowledge test has provided & nbsp; & ndash; good or bad ?
In & nbsp; answers & nbsp; & ndash; cross, and & nbsp; knowledge & nbsp; & ndash; nothing?
Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Pyotr Tolstoy Recently spoke out for the cancellation of the Unified State Exam: “ The testing system has led to the & nbsp; the fact that the older & shy; graders 2 & ndash; 3 years are trained with & nbsp; filling in machine-readable texts, so that they put the crosses correctly, and & nbsp; subjects that should be taught are not taught. It is not true that the Unified State Exam helps talented kids in the province get into college. In order for a child to enter a university, a tutor is required. In Soviet times there was & nbsp; 4 times fewer students, and & nbsp; the quality of education was & nbsp; 4 times higher. The deputy calls for a return to the practice of written and oral exams on the type of those that existed in the Soviet school. Generally speaking, the State Duma regularly raises the question of the annulment of the USE. And & nbsp; in the early years, when this type of examination was gradually introduced across the country, prominent scientists opposed it.
However, among teachers, students, and parents, there are far fewer opponents of USE. The teacher of Russian language and & nbsp; literature of & nbsp; Mineralnye Vody Tatyana Boyko suggests to those who believe that the Unified State Exam & nbsp; & ndash; this is a guessing game, and the & nbsp; guardians train children on the & nbsp; choosing the correct answers, just open the real version of the exam (they can be found on the FIPI website, in the print collections). “ You will understand that it is impossible to train someone who does not understand the essence of the matter, & nbsp; & ndash; she says. & nbsp; & ndash; At first the exam was very flawed. Now there are no more guesses even in the test portion of & nbsp;, detailed written answers are required. & # 39; & # 39;
I agree with & nbsp; and & nbsp; the head of the department of the Center for the Development of Educational Strategy, Moscow State University. Lomonosov Constantine Ziskin : “ The nightmares that existed around the Unified State Exam 10 years ago (draining responses to the internet and total cheating, USE tourism, when kids a few months before & nbsp; The exam have been transferred to remote rural schools and others. & nbsp; & nbsp; & ndash; Ed.), have now been overcome. It's clear that when a new thing is introduced, something goes wrong. The 'childhood illnesses', which were in the & nbsp; USE, in & nbsp; including reckless tasks and & nbsp; erroneous, are more or less treated. We are learning to work with it. And & nbsp; now there is not a single documented fact that the influence of the review has been negative. It is ridiculous to say that the kids got dumber after its introduction. And how did you measure the level of stupidity? Where are the numbers, the arguments? And & nbsp; since they are not there, this is a conversation of the & nbsp; series “ in grandmothers at the & nbsp; shop. & # 39; & # 39; I agree, there are a lot of complaints about the organization of the Unified State Review. But dynamics show that these processes are improving. & # 39; & # 39; & Nbsp;
On the review & ndash; in good conscience and without the omniscient Yandex and Google. Photo: AGN Moscow
3 exams instead of 20
Nevertheless, despite the lack of evidence of the harmfulness of the exam, there are regularly those who propose back to & nbsp; soviet graduation system and entrance exams.
“ But then let's at least decide where we'll go back, & nbsp; & ndash; continues K. Ziskin. & nbsp; & ndash; Are we going back to the late 1980s, the late 1960s? Or maybe in the 19th century gymnasium? By the word & nbsp; there were a lot of positive things in & nbsp; latest. And & nbsp; would always be nice to explain why you have to go back. When I have finished my studies in & nbsp; 1989 I first had to pass 7 & ndash; 8 exams at & nbsp; at school, and & nbsp; then 3 & ndash; 4 others in & nbsp; university. To & nbsp; while, if a candidate in a & nbsp; particular university did not pass the competition, so he could not transfer his exams from one university to another, and & nbsp; had to start over again. My father, who graduated from the 444th Moscow School of Mathematics in & nbsp; 1965 (one of the best, to put it mildly), managed to pass 16 entrance exams over the summer, not counting the school ones . By & nbsp; four in & nbsp; several universities & nbsp; & ndash; Baumanku, Phystech (in two different faculties), Moscow State University Mechanical and Mathematics Evening and & nbsp; t. e. Now the school's graduates pass 3 & ndash; 4 exams (if you wish, you can also & nbsp; more), the results of which can be submitted to a & nbsp; competition for & nbsp; admission in & nbsp; five universities, and & nbsp; in each & nbsp; & ndash; for & nbsp; several specialties (at least two, maximum ten & nbsp; & ndash; depends on the university).
All the developed countries of the world & nbsp; & ndash; United States, Great Britain and & nbsp; many others & ndash; have an analogue of the exam. And & nbsp; when in our country this initiative was introduced 20 years ago by the then Deputy Minister of Education Viktor Bolotov (now & nbsp; & ndash; Scientific Director of the Center for Monitoring the Quality of Education, National Research University Higher School of Economics), he and & nbsp; his associates were guided by this model. Of course, everywhere there are historical features of the final attestation of schoolchildren. But in general and & nbsp; in general, this is a global trend. & Nbsp;
The main thing is to put the crosses correctly. Photo: AGN Moscow
Delicate flaws
The main thing & nbsp; & ndash; The Unified State Exam sometimes reduced the degree of corruption when entering universities. Yes, you can hire a tutor to coach your child to the Unified State Exam. But it will not be able to influence the result of the exam & nbsp; & nbsp; & ndash; paint on the scores, suggest the correct answer to the & nbsp; entrance exams, as was the case before, when the same tutors were seated at the & nbsp; university admissions office & nbsp; helped register the right children. And the results of graduation exams were often biased. If the teacher loves the student, this is a situation. Otherwise & nbsp; & ndash; another. And & nbsp; the notes on & nbsp; these reviews could not be rechecked or challenged. And & nbsp; Now if, say, a graduate thinks they've been given less points on USE than they deserve, you can go for it. to appeal and & nbsp; trying to get justice.
Of course, there is now also a corruption mechanism to enter universities via the Olympics. There is also a nifty system with targeted recruitment, when under the guidance of regional authorities, health institutions, education, large companies, applicants can enter university through a separate competition with & nbsp; Lower usage scores. One way or another, the workarounds have been trampled on, but they are fewer and there are fewer workarounds. enjoy it & nbsp; & ndash; more difficult.
Konstantin Ziskin is convinced that the scores & nbsp; USE should not be used to judge & nbsp; children's knowledge level.
“ I don't understand why some people think that if a student is preparing for exams in & nbsp; physics, chemistry, mathematics, Russian language, etc. etc., then suddenly he will know these topics better, & nbsp; & ndash; he asks himself. & nbsp; & ndash; We are told: here, they say, children learn the exam and & nbsp; while they don't know anything. And & nbsp; who checked it out? If a child wants to learn something, he will learn it that way, without exam. And & nbsp; if you don't want to, or, for example, you have a bad teacher in & nbsp; in school, then the exams won't help you. USE, entrance exams & nbsp; & ndash; this is a competitive process. They do not draw any line under & nbsp; what knowledge the child received in 11 years at & nbsp; school. There are many competitions, for example a singing competition. The man got ready, came, sang. Did not work & nbsp; & ndash; went to & nbsp; next year. And & nbsp; depends a lot on the competition under & nbsp; the name of the exam. It's not for nothing that it's called the high stakes review. Complain about & nbsp; the subject of what was better before, rather of & nbsp; area of psychological problems. It is hardly possible to enter the same river twice. You have to move forward, and & nbsp; not back. And & nbsp; to separate the review as an idea and & nbsp; how successfully it has been implemented. & Nbsp;
Pass the Unified State Exam in Russian language. Photo: AGN Moscow
To remember
In & nbsp; this meaning, the question “ how can you improve the exam? & # 39; & # 39; seems much more constructive.
“ 20 years & nbsp; & ndash; It's a long enough time to figure out how to conjure any business, & nbsp; & ndash; states the director of the Institute for Educational Development of the Graduate School of Economics of the National Research University Irina Abankina. & nbsp; & ndash; Now it is already clear which side the USE needs to turn to in order to modernize it. Today's Unified State Exam focuses exclusively on subject knowledge. It is necessary to give graduates the opportunity to take exams not only in school subjects. Let's say they can demonstrate computer or financial knowledge, for example, in the form of their own development, a project that builds on knowledge of multiple topics. And & nbsp; no longer take separately company & timid; knowledge or physics, biology. So far, the exam does not take into account the competence of the 'four K's'. & nbsp; & ndash; critical thinking, creativity, communication skills and & nbsp; collaboration (collaboration). And & nbsp; is just a person's ability to make decisions, compare options and nbsp; justify these decisions.
The second fundamental point & nbsp; & ndash; to give graduates the opportunity to take the exam repeatedly on & nbsp; throughout the 11th grade in & nbsp; independent centers. They can be organized and & nbsp; on the basis of schools. The person feels prepared, & nbsp; & ndash; then he can go and & nbsp; hand over. If something didn't work & ndash; prepare again and resume. And & nbsp; then choose the best results for & nbsp; admission to & nbsp; university. Now the review & ndash; like the last time in life. Everyone walks in formation in & nbsp; one day and & nbsp; write. As a result, the stress level is such that many score much lower than on & nbsp; who really know the subject. The results are largely determined by the randomness & nbsp; & ndash; I felt bad that day, worried, the sun was shining in the window, suffocation, heat and & nbsp; t. It is necessary to transfer the examination from a stressful procedure to an ordinary and measured procedure. At & nbsp;, we like to say that the review & nbsp; & ndash; This is a high stakes exam. You don't need those high stakes. Give guys the chance to try, try, fix the result. We are not playing for relegation. You don't have to go through the playoffs all the time. There is a need to replace the exam with transparent digital technologies and & nbsp; understandable. & # 39; & # 39; & Nbsp;
'Distant' Do learners start from knowledge?
Russian pupils of the ninth grade of & nbsp; this year failed at the EMB in & nbsp; mathematics. “ Fail '' number
for the review increased sharply in & nbsp; compared to & nbsp; 2019 & nbsp; g. Is this reflected in the & nbsp; academic performance and & nbsp; the depth of knowledge of distance learning, or isn't that the only reason?
Instead of courses & nbsp; & ndash; cabins
The failure of the & nbsp; exam in & nbsp; mathematics is reported by many areas. Thus, in & nbsp; Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug in & nbsp; this year the number of 'unsuccessful' on the first attempt to switch the OGE to & nbsp; mathematics passed to & nbsp; 25%, and & nbsp; in some schools in the district & nbsp; & ndash; up to & nbsp; 50%. By & nbsp; for example, in & nbsp; Surgut, the review of & nbsp; math failed 1700 & nbsp; people. Fortunately, the results of the recovery were much better. Some educators are inclined to blame the & nbsp; geometry included in the exam for & nbsp; poor grades. Others think it was the effect of the distance.
“ Written homework, lessons not learned … In person you always see the student's eyes and & nbsp; are ready to come & nbsp; help, and & nbsp; from a distance, the attitude towards & nbsp; the study of the child himself and of & nbsp; his parents, understanding that here and & nbsp; ; now the future is decided And & nbsp; not everyone has such an understanding, & nbsp; & ndash; complains a math teacher from & nbsp; Khanty-Mansiysk Irina Kurkovskaya .
In remote areas of the Kaliningrad region. the remote is considered a bad dream. The teachers literally had to spend the night at the & nbsp; work to prepare the homework written for & nbsp; each class. Twice a week, school bus drivers delivered packages with 'homework'. in & nbsp; villages where there is no internet. & nbsp;
“ Everyone was as sophisticated as they can get, & nbsp; & ndash; told in spring 2020 & nbsp; g. journalists from 'AiF' Irina Uprivanova of & nbsp; Filippovka. & nbsp; & ndash; I & nbsp; works at & nbsp; Pravdinsk, where there is internet. I took notebooks with & nbsp; lessons with & nbsp;, taken photos and & nbsp; sent them to the teacher for & nbsp; check. The other parents had to storm the bus stop, where they brought packages with chores from school.
In the village of Soldatovo, in the Pravdinsky district, the children went to “ catch the Internet '' at the edge of the field, fortunately, not far from the Polish border. In warm weather, under the oaks, they set up a hut, immediately did their homework.
“ During the time of the retreat, the children fell behind. Judging by & nbsp; my schoolgirls & ndash; one in & nbsp; 5th, another in & nbsp; 8th grade, & nbsp; & ndash; said the village chief Alexandre Selin . & nbsp; & ndash; A & nbsp; Kaliningrad, the system hung, what about & nbsp; us! At first, the children were happy & nbsp; & ndash; no need to study. And & nbsp; when classes have resumed and & nbsp; started to catch up, the joy soon subsided. History, biology can still be read and & nbsp; understood, but & nbsp; with algebra the german language will not work. There are a lot of loopholes, the old ones cling to the new. One can only sympathize with those who are now passing the exams. & # 39; & # 39;
Did you forget how to study?
“ Alas, the problem of school inequality & nbsp; & ndash; staff and & nbsp; digital & nbsp; & ndash; registered, & nbsp; & ndash; declares the principal of the Moscow school number & nbsp; 109, Honored Professor of the Russian Federation Evgeny Yamburg. & nbsp; & ndash; When the children of the villages of & nbsp; are forced to run to mobile towers to get tasks, & nbsp; & ndash; this is idiocy. The digital divide must be closed immediately. This decision has already been made. It is clear that in some schools the toilets are still in the yard. But the internet is more important now. & # 39; & # 39; & Nbsp;
However, according to the teacher's opinion, based on the results of the OGE it is not necessary to judge all schools and all students with stroke. “ It all depends on & nbsp; how the work was organized at the & nbsp; school during the pandemic, & nbsp; & ndash; continues E. & nbsp; Yamburg. & nbsp; & ndash; For example, my graduates from last year did better on their exams and received more medals than usual. There are such children & nbsp; & ndash; relatively speaking, “ quiet people '', introverts. When, during distance education, they worked in & nbsp; cats with the & nbsp; teachers who trained them, they were able to open up. They didn't hesitate to sound dumber than everyone else. And & nbsp; began to move from & nbsp; three to & nbsp; five & raquo ;.
So it is not worth blaming the fact that the students relaxed from a distance, only the children themselves. It all depends on the professionalism and desire of the teacher. The easiest way is to send tasks over the internet and check them. Past experience & nbsp; & ndash; this is a lesson for everyone. After all, the same & nbsp; & ndash; a great opportunity to conduct further education classes in remote areas, where there aren't as many teachers as in big cities. Or teach a lesson if the teacher is sick. By the way, in the capital, at the onset of the pandemic, the Moscow electronic school portal was already working, where tens of thousands of course scripts, electronic textbooks were collected, virtual laboratories were collected. been organized and & nbsp; t. & Nbsp; d. Therefore, we managed to pull ourselves out of a difficult situation with the least amount of casualties. & Nbsp; & nbsp;
The director of the Ecole du Futur proposes to refrain from sharp and unambiguous assessments in & nbsp; the village of Bolshoye Isakovo, Kaliningrad region. Alexei Golubitsky … “ The pandemic and & nbsp; forced distance, uneven timing of the organization of the educational process in & nbsp; during the year could not but affect the & nbsp; academic results of our students, & nbsp; & ndash; the expert considers. & nbsp; & ndash; Yes, highly motivated high school students performed even better than expected by both & nbsp; us and & nbsp ;. For example, the results of current use in & nbsp; literature and & nbsp; chemistry say a lot about it. The average score in these subjects is higher than in recent years. In contrast, the students who were & nbsp; and who were therefore poorly motivated encountered even more difficulties. And & nbsp; drives & nbsp; some school children have become worse than before pandemic. & Nbsp;
In addition & nbsp; that it is impossible not to take into account the psychological state of children and & nbsp; parents, distracted by constant changes and & nbsp; restrictions. “ The level of anxiety and aggression that all participants in the educational process experience & nbsp; & ndash; and & nbsp; teachers, and & nbsp; parents, and & nbsp; especially schoolchildren, & nbsp; & ndash; Alexey Golubitsky notes. & nbsp; & ndash; I really hope that next summer will allow everyone to relax, calm down, regain their strength & nbsp; & ndash; and & nbsp; and & nbsp; with renewed vigor and hopefully face-to-face to start the & nbsp; next academic year in order to fill the gaps that & nbsp; some unmotivated students may have.
How to improve the exam?
People's Professor of Russia, professor at the State Pedagogical University. Herzen, professor of Grigory Perelman and & nbsp; Stanislav Smirnov (Fields Prize winner) Sergei Rukshin:
& ndash; When the Unified State Review was introduced, one of the main ones was the slogan of justice. It was believed that such an exam would provide the opportunity to assess the knowledge of all children in Russia under a single procedure. However, for over 20 years it has not become a reliable and understandable mechanism for final certification in schools and admission to university of graduates from provinces. Why? First, the exam tasks differ significantly from the school curriculum, and & nbsp; means that the ability to complete them correctly depends on & nbsp; a number of circumstances. In many regions, up to & nbsp; 70 & ndash; 80% of students who showed high results did not prepare in a & nbsp; school, but according to an individual program. Therefore, the Unified State Exam still relies on the & nbsp; financial well-being of the family, reserves in the area, ready to provide qualified teachers for & nbsp; preparing specifically for the Unified State Exam.
Second, the Unified State Exam almost completely reformatted school education. Today, school, especially in the 12th grade classes, has ceased to be a tool for knowledge transfer. This is due to the fact that in the & nbsp; high school, many usually go to & nbsp; home schooling: why waste energy on & nbsp; “ extra & # 39; & # 39;, as it is believed, materials when you need them only get ready for & nbsp; three or four 'necessary'. As a result, young people do not receive an education within the school. & Nbsp;
The Unified State Examination had a disastrous influence on admission to universities. Due to the fact that now you can apply directly to & nbsp; five universities for & nbsp; several specialties, to & nbsp; VOENMEH, for example, not those who dreamed of building rockets and & nbsp; const & shy; build motor jets, but & nbsp; those with enough points … I know firsthand that universities and institutes suffer tremendously from the loss of oriented children.
What to do? It is necessary to separate exam from school and school from exam. Today the school issues a certificate for & nbsp; examination results, which is conducted by an external organization & nbsp; & ndash; Rosobrnadzor. Why do we trust teachers to teach our kids for 11 years, but don't give them the right to take an exam so they are responsible for knowing the students with their reputation? I believe state certification in all core disciplines should be done by the school itself. A & nbsp; final exams, written and & nbsp; oral, & nbsp; & ndash; pass with & nbsp; taking into account the exact requirements approved by the ministry. The exam should only remain a pass for admission to the university. Such a proposal resonated in & nbsp; 2014 to & nbsp; Congress of the All-Russian Popular Front in & nbsp; Penza, where President Putin was also present. On several occasions the bill has been submitted to the State Duma. Now & nbsp; & ndash; the next step in the discussion. I hope & nbsp; we will have enough strength and & nbsp; sagacity to make the right decision.
At the same time, the average USE score upon admission into the & nbsp; pedagogical universities & nbsp; & ndash; 68 and & nbsp; does not reach the & nbsp; average Russian, who is 69. What can these teachers teach children if they themselves need to be taught? >
– The main problem is not a high or low passing mark for those who want to master this craft, but it is that the teachers in the schools are very overwhelmed. They operate at & nbsp; on average at & nbsp; 1.4 & nbsp; rate. And & nbsp; is often & nbsp; more. They don't have the time or the energy to improve their skills. Not formally a place to sit on and nbsp; course and & nbsp; get crusts, but & nbsp; really engage in self-education, every day think about & nbsp; new tasks for & nbsp; children, new approaches to & nbsp; learning. This is the main reason why teachers don't increase their qualifications and over time they lose them. And & nbsp; due to fatigue, exhaustion, they are unable to work effectively. & Nbsp;
We recently analyzed the state of universities. And & nbsp; educational really fell into the category & nbsp; rather weak. For many years in our country there was a negative selection: when the weaker guys could not enter strong universities, they went to pedagogy. And & nbsp; weak specialists have left these universities. Yes, in recent years, USE scores in good pedagogical universities are increasing, and & nbsp; in general, the demand of & nbsp; areas such as education and pedagogy among students is increasing. But before & nbsp; the situation is still not very good. And & nbsp; when such not very strong teachers come to l & nbsp; school, then either they drop out quickly or they have to meet again the level required by very busy and hard working senior colleagues. It is no coincidence that in our follow-up 23% of teachers who have worked in schools for a long time said that young people should not come to school.
But that doesn't mean everything is going so badly with us at school. You just need to understand calmly, scrupulously & nbsp; what is happening, without blaming parents, students or teachers.