Unified State Exam
The Unified State Exam (Russian: Единый государственный экзамен, ЕГЭ, Yedinyy gosudarstvennyy ekzamen, YeGE) is a series of mandatory, centralized examinations conducted across the Russian Federation in secondary educational institutions, such as schools, lyceums, and gymnasiums.
Prior to 2013 it also served as an entrance examination for secondary vocational education institutions (sredniye spetsial’nyye uchebnyye zavedeniya, or SSUZy).
Students are allowed to retake the USE in subsequent years if necessary, providing them with additional opportunities to improve their scores and qualifications.
The list of schools and classes to take part in the USE in 2001–2008 was determined by local public education authorities in the regions of Russia.
Depending on the subject, tasks can include mathematical exercises, essays or questions requiring argumentative responses.
While the initial grading may differ between subjects, a standardized 100-point scale is used for both graduation and university application purposes.
A proof of valid reasons, such as illness or other circumstances, is required for eligibility in special testing periods.
The series and number of the identification document (such as a passport or birth certificate) are recorded in designated boxes at the top of the sheet.
After completing the response, any remaining empty space on the page should be filled in neatly to prevent tampering.
The conversion scale from primary to test scores depends on a statistical analysis of the USE results for all exam participants and is calculated using a specialized computer program.
However, due to privacy concerns, Rosobrnadzor no longer allows publishing personal results on public platforms.
There are two main types of appeals for the Unified State Exam (USE):[23] The USE is the primary method for university admissions in Russia.
It became especially heated in 2008 when all regions joined the USE system, and most high school graduates began taking the exam.
[25] The main reason is that students often receive lower scores on the USE compared to the grades they were given in school or in traditional examination formats.
On May 15, 2009, the Supreme Court of Russia upheld the legality of the Unified State Exam (USE) as a form of state final certification for secondary education and dismissed a lawsuit seeking to annul the corresponding order of the Ministry of Education and Science of Russia.
[38] The lawsuit was filed by a group of parents of schoolchildren who opposed the use of standardized test formats in the exam.
[39] On April 21, 2009, the Supreme Court of Russia ruled that it is legally justified to prohibit the USE (for non-language subjects) from being conducted in languages other than Russian.
[42] In the spring of 2010, 70 teachers in the Rostov region were arrested for taking the USE on behalf of students in exchange for a 40,000-ruble bribe.
Due to the time zone difference, students in the European part of Russia were able to access this information before their exams.
As a result, Rosobrnadzor (the Federal Service for Supervision in Education and Science) filed a lawsuit against Dmitry Gushchin.
On April 9, 2014, Minister of Education Dmitry Livanov announced that starting in 2015, there were plans to reintroduce oral exams for humanities subjects.
