Centralized testing is a form of entrance examinations organized on the basis of pedagogical tests, standardized procedures for conducting test control, processing, analyzing and presenting results, used to conduct a competition for admission to institutions that provide higher, secondary vocational and vocational education in Belarus and Russia ...

Based on the test results, participants receive certificates of the established form indicating the number of points scored. In Russia, the points are then transferred by the university admissions committee to the grading scale. The transfer takes into account the average score scored by all test participants entering the given university. In Belarus, the overall score is formed on the basis of summing up the scores obtained during testing (the maximum score for the test is 100 points) in all subjects passed, and the average score of the certificate, multiplied by ten (in Belarus, a ten-point knowledge assessment system is used). Russia's lag behind the world level in testing is quite significant, but in recent years attempts have been made to create a certain culture of testing. The first step in this direction on the part of the federal educational administration was the opening in 1990 of a laboratory for centralized testing of young students at the Moscow State Pedagogical University (MPGU).

Centralized testing in Russia has been carried out since 1995 on a commercial basis. Persons with a general secondary education and students of graduation classes of general education schools are allowed to participate in the centralized testing. Nevertheless, anyone can potentially participate.

Testing is carried out once a year according to the approved schedule. Testing is usually done in April, which is why it is often referred to as the April testing. The difference in formats is shown in the table. In addition, the USE actually developed from testing.

In 2006, more than 200 thousand people submitted their certificates to the admissions offices of universities, and over 73 thousand people entered universities through centralized testing.

Table 1 Comparison of the DH system and the Unified State Exam in Russia

The testing center carries out:

organization and financing of the development of tests for centralized testing, their approbation and examination;

• 2.keeping a bank of test items
• 3. methodological and organizational guidance of testing the regions of Russia;
• 4. automated processing of test results;
• 5. maintaining a bank of statistical analysis of test results.

The essence of centralized testing is that on the same day, in different cities of Russia, school graduates are tested in each discipline according to tests that are formed from a single bank of test items. Such testing is offered to schoolchildren as an additional paid educational service (independent, objective assessment of knowledge), the use of which is purely voluntary.

To develop a testing system in Russia on the basis of the existing potential of the Testing Center, it is necessary:

• 1. finalize and approve the concept of centralized testing;
• 2. to develop and approve a unified scale of educational achievements;
• 3. to develop and implement regulatory departmental acts indicating legal support for each stage of the development of centralized testing;
• 4. to form organizational and legal conditions that create a stable motivational complex for the use of objective information about the level of knowledge of students for all categories of users: from students themselves and their parents to heads of educational institutions (schools, universities) and to heads of regional and federal educational authorities;
• 5. to introduce the results of centralized testing into the state education reporting system and the education quality assessment system;
• 6. to allocate funds from the budgets of regional and federal educational authorities for partial compensation of the costs of the Testing Center for the preparation of information on educational statistics.

Thus, centralized testing in Russia is a form of entrance examinations, organized on the basis of pedagogical tests, standardized procedures for conducting test control, processing, analyzing and presenting results, used to conduct a competition for admission to institutions that provide higher, secondary vocational and professional technical education.

Centralized testing (CT) starts in Belarus on June 12 and runs until July 2. The applicants will be the first to pass the test in the Belarusian language, the last - in the world history.

Like any other exam, the CT has its own rules and prohibitions. What an applicant needs to know before going to write a test - in a special Sputnik memo.

What time do you have to come?

The centralized testing itself begins at 11:00, however, you must arrive at the point of holding in advance, by all means - before 10:30. If you hesitate and enter the room after opening the envelope with tasks, you will not be allowed to take the exam.

Of course, it is very important not to confuse the buildings of the university in which you pass the CT - it is better to double-check on the websites of the universities. For example, such an opportunity was provided at BSU.

How to fill out the VU form?

When filling out the VU answer form, remember: the computer will read them, and you cannot explain to him whether you have mixed something up or made a mistake.

It is important that you enter the answers only in special fields: by letter (number) per one cell. You do not need to fill in empty cells. Everything should be recorded in the same way as in the sample at the top of the form - in printed signs.

The registration area must be completed in the same language in which the registration application was submitted. The signature at the bottom of the sheet should not go beyond the special frame.

Remember also that you cannot shade your wrong answers or cover up with something - the form indicates a cancellation method in such a case.

You will be told in more detail about the nuances of filling out the forms at the point of the VU right before the test, where the organizers can also answer questions.

How to behave in the audience?

You can't walk around the audience, shout questions to the organizers across the hall - you'd better raise your hand and they will come up to you. If you need to go to the toilet, then you can only go there with one of the organizers, in order to deprive you of the opportunity to cheat.

Can parents come to support?

Entry to VU locations on test days is open only to those registered for the test. Your relatives or friends can only escort you to the entrance to the building, you cannot go further.

The capital of Belarus welcomes guests with streets and courtyards of almost sterile cleanliness, neatly trimmed lawns with flower beds and a complete absence of migrant migrant workers. The paradox of such a combination, inexplicable from the point of view of a Muscovite, prompts people to seek clarification from the local residents, but the questions only surprise them. “It has always been this way,” they answer.

National Academy of Sciences of Belarus. At first, like the Russian Academy of Sciences, which seemed to be a cast of the USSR Academy of Sciences, today it is something different.

Minister of Education of the Republic of Belarus S. A. Maskevich at a meeting with Russian journalists.

Minsk is a safe city. Children move here unaccompanied by adults, lovers of night walks practically do not risk being the object of criminal aggression. This is also unusual, but you quickly get used to good things, and very soon the feeling that you are abroad, in another country, disappears almost completely.

Two states - Russia and Belarus - have always been extremely close and remain so to this day. Culture, language, mentality of citizens, their way of life and everyday habits, down to the smallest detail. And also the problems that had to be solved after the collapse of the USSR. How successfully they were solved here can be judged at least by the fact that the average life expectancy of Belarusians exceeds the Russian one by seven years, and the infant mortality rate is more than two times lower.

A press tour for Russian journalists, organized by the Embassy of the Republic of Belarus with the support of the National Academy of Sciences and the Ministry of Education of Belarus, was devoted to one of the most important problems - the current state of education and science in the republic. After a series of domestic scandals related to the latest USE, the national shame of the conveyor stamping of fake dissertations, it was extremely interesting to find out what is happening in this area in Belarus today.

Similar but different

There are 56 higher educational institutions in the republic, including 9 non-state ones - academies, universities and institutes in Minsk and other large cities; one university for about 170 thousand people of the republic's population. For comparison: in Russia there is one university for 120 thousand. Since the end of the Soviet period, their number in Belarus has doubled (in the Russian Federation - three times). The ratio of the number of students to the population in our country is approximately the same: in the 9.5 million Belarus - 450 thousand, in the 143 million Russia - 7.5 million. But the paths that Russian and Belarusian young men and women have to travel to find themselves numbered among the noble student class differ quite significantly.

To begin with, the Constitution of Belarus guarantees its citizens not a general secondary, as in Russia, but a basic 9-year education, which begins at the age of six. Further, after passing the exams, the graduate can choose several ways to further acquire knowledge: to enter a college, lyceum, gymnasium, vocational school (there are more than 400 of them in the republic), where, together with a completed secondary education, get the specialty of a qualified worker or a mid-level specialist or continue your studies at school until the end of the 11th grade.

Very similar to the old Soviet school with 8 and 10 years of study. And they kept it in the republic in order to facilitate the orientation of young people to receive vocational and technical education, the system of which not only was not destroyed, which, after realizing the scale of the loss, the Russian authorities do not cease to regret bitterly, but diligently preserved and developed. And about a third of schoolchildren actually enter secondary specialized educational institutions after the 9th grade. If, of course, they successfully pass the entrance exams or are interviewed.

Eleven-year students are focused on entering a university. Although those who wish can enter after it - already without exams - in the chosen college. And about 30% of graduates do so. Of course, the road to the university is not booked for those who graduated from colleges. In any case, the republic maintains a stable balance of "fifty-fifty" among those who have received secondary vocational and higher education.

Unified State Exam or CT?

“I admired the courage of our Russian colleagues who went on to introduce the USE, realizing that there would be many costs and difficulties,” Belarusian Education Minister Sergei Aleksandrovich Maskevich said quite sincerely at a meeting with journalists.

Nobody argued that the previous procedure for entering universities after the collapse of the USSR should be reformed. The Soviet education system, which for a long time was considered one of the best in the world, could not exist in the conditions of total corruption that hit Russian educational institutions and the bureaucratic structures that govern education. For many years, money became the main means of obtaining high scores in certificates and entrance exams, and the result was a catastrophic drop in the level of training of specialists graduated from universities. It was assumed that the unified state examination would become a kind of lifesaver. Moreover, such a procedure has been working perfectly for many decades in developed (and even not so) countries of the world, without causing any complaints.

But our USE did not become a salvation. Moreover, in its current state, this innovation is close to a complete compromise in the eyes of both the teaching staff and schoolchildren and their parents. Courage in the absence of a bit of wisdom did not help. There are many reasons. There is a difference in time zones, and the personal interest of officials from education and local administrations in the high results of "their" region, and the imperfection of the work of observers, and so on, and so on ...

This is all true. However, the main reason remained the same: corruption, which has engulfed all spheres of life of our state, because in a sick organism it is neither theoretically nor practically impossible to heal one single organ.

In Belarus, they introduced not the USE, but centralized testing - the CT.

“We saw,” said S. A. Maskevich, “that if we introduce a testing system as the only form of knowledge assessment - both for graduating from school and for entering a university, then we immediately orient young people toward training them to take tests, and not toward mastering sciences. Therefore, we decided to separate these two stages both in terms of time and meaning, for which they introduced centralized testing ”.

At first glance, this is the same as the exam. On closer inspection, it is something completely different.

Firstly, only those who intend to enroll in universities undergo CT. Because, finishing the 11th grade, all schoolchildren, as in the USSR, take exams to obtain a certificate of secondary education. Secondly, DH is carried out not at the place of residence, but in cities where universities, in fact, are located. Thirdly, the test results are checked not by favorite school teachers, but by teachers invited from a wide variety of educational institutions and selected by a method close to random. Fourthly, the testing is overseen by such a number of representatives of regulatory organizations - from the Ministry of Internal Affairs to the State Control Committee of Belarus - that any attempts to bypass the rules are suppressed already at the design stage. Violators are immediately expelled - for this, for example, it is enough just to try to bring a mobile phone or any other item with you to the exam, except documents and a gel pen. Students of the Belarusian State University - yesterday's applicants, with whom I had a chance to talk, unanimously say that it is almost impossible to write off or correct test results.

No exceptions, such as “early surrenders for health reasons,” which have become popular in Russia this year, are not allowed here. Our interlocutors - students, teachers, officials - could not recall a single incident with a corruption background during the DH.

And finally, the fifth. The test results are evaluated in points. However, not by the number of completed tasks, but based on the general level of the test taker, taking into account the degree of complexity of each problem solved. The difficulty of the task (weighting factor) is determined statistically. It depends on the number of test participants who performed it correctly. The fewer applicants have coped with a specific task, the higher the coefficient of its complexity, the more points are awarded to those who successfully completed it. That is, the score is a rating one. To it are added the points derived from the school's annual grades of the applicant and the grades obtained at the final exams. The final figure becomes final. With it, the applicant "tries on" the universities that determine the passing score in the current year. It can change daily depending on the number of applicants, which the university announces on its website or admissions boards. The applicant, whose result is higher than the declared passing pass, is automatically enrolled in the first course of the budgetary (free) set. True, those who intend to become a journalist, artist, or choose another creative profession, are also waiting for an interview at the university.

Anyone who did not score enough points, but is determined to graduate from the chosen university, can enroll on a paid basis. However, not everyone. If the total result is below the minimum level set by the Ministry of Education, no amount of money will help and students will not threaten a diploma seeker. He will not be accepted to any university. Teaching completely lazy and semi-literate and no pleasure, and there is no point. They will still fly out after the first session.

I am not idealizing the situation. Corruption exists in any state, we can only talk about its level and the reaction of the authorities to the reasons for the existence of this evil. And here, on Belarusian soil, too - alas! - take bribes. They took, for example, when performing tests by correspondence students. But after several criminal cases, when the problem became obvious, the tests for correspondence students were simply canceled. Now they are obliged to present their knowledge exclusively in person.

Difficult path to science

The Republic of Belarus has not yet become a participant in the Bologna process, although the authorities have such intentions. But the reorganization of the higher education system had to take place. It happened. Now there are also two levels of education here - bachelor's and master's degrees. A bachelor's degree is awarded after four years of study in the humanities and five in the natural and technical specialties. They become a master in another year.

At the same time, the master's degree can be of two types: professionally oriented and academic. The first carries out in-depth training of a specialist for further work in production. The second prepares scientific personnel for subsequent admission to graduate school. Therefore, the academic provides for the mandatory delivery of the candidate minimum. A student in a professionally oriented can do this at will.

Citizens of Belarus, upon completing their magistracy, are legally required to work a year for distribution (except for those who entered graduate school). Someone does not like it, but someone - on the contrary. Platniks, for example, are often asked to include them in the list of those distributed. A master's degree makes it possible to obtain the position of a junior research assistant without prior work experience, which is otherwise required.

Further postgraduate studies await the future scientist. Only masters with a passed candidate minimum are accepted there, and upon successful completion they are awarded the scientific qualification “researcher”. The researcher gets the right to participate in competitions for the position of a senior researcher. Well, then everything is as usual: defense of a Ph.D. thesis, work in a scientific field, doctoral studies and doctoral defense.

Belarusian scientists perceive news from Russia about scandals with fake dissertations with polite bewilderment, which probably hides more vivid feelings. How can a dissertation be fake if the “anti-plagiarism” system, which is obligatory for all dissertations, has been operating in the republic for a long time; up to 10% of works are rejected even at the level of expert councils of scientific institutions, because members of an expert council that approved plagiarism or hack-work seriously risk their reputation and career. Theses are approved (and by no means always) by the Higher Attestation Commission, which is directly subordinate to the President of the Republic, Alexander Lukashenko, who by his order has long ago forbidden officials to seek scientific laurels. As for the defense of a doctoral dissertation, this is always an event for the republic. The one who defended it, of course, is well known in scientific circles and cannot be a random person.

It is impossible to tell about what the science of the Republic of Belarus is today within the framework of one article. Yes, like the Russian one, it has experienced and is experiencing considerable difficulties associated with the lack of funds for research, and with the outflow of personnel (by the way, including to Russia), and with the decline in the prestige of the title of scientist due to not too high salaries. All this is there. But the work of scientists in a small country - in comparison with Russia - is well known to the world scientific community, scientific life in the republic did not freeze even in the most difficult periods, since the authorities clearly understood: a state without science has no future.

Within the framework of the Union State of the Russian Federation - the Republic of Belarus, cooperation between Russian and Belarusian scientists is successfully developing, joint research programs in the fields of computer technology and space technology are being created and implemented. The general educational space is expanding - more and more students from Russia study at universities in Belarus, and vice versa. And so I want to believe that the achievement of the main goal - the rapprochement of our states and peoples - will not be hindered by the echoes of economic shocks or the momentary interests of politicians.

Because this goal is noble and beautiful.

Centralized testing is often confused with a unified state exam. And this is not surprising - they have a lot in common.

The idea of ​​conducting a Centralized Testing (CT) came about ten years ago. Testing was conceived as an alternative to the traditional entrance examinations. In fact, this is the first attempt to introduce a universal scheme into the Russian educational system, which makes it possible to enter several universities at the same time with the same points.

The Unified State Exam (USE) was developed by the specialists of the Federal Testing Center later. The methods and developments of the central heating system were taken as a basis.

If the idea of ​​the Unified State Exam develops and is "tested" at the state level (the state exam - the brainchild of the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation - will become mandatory for all high school graduates in 2009), then participation in centralized testing is voluntary for both applicants and universities.

Each university reserves the right to choose whether to equate the points scored on the CT with the results of the entrance exam or not. The administration of the university can impose its own restrictions: to accept the results of centralized testing only in certain subjects or to credit points after you have passed an interview, etc.

Who is responsible for what

Testing is carried out by universities and schools - partners of the Federal Testing Center (FCT). The results are checked at the Center. "Permitting document" for testing is an agreement that the educational institution concludes with the FTsT. This document must be dated the current year and signed on the one hand by the director of the Center, and on the other by the rector of a particular university. At the same time, the Center is responsible for the quality of tests, verification and information security of the material, and the university provides a platform for testing and monitors the correct course of the exam.

Not just a piece of paper

Each student who has passed the centralized testing receives a certificate. It indicates the number of points scored and correctly completed tasks; rating among other participants of the CT. This gives the applicant an opportunity to assess their strengths even before the start of the entrance examinations.

All certificates have the same format, regardless of where the testing was carried out.

How much does the DH cost

The Federal Testing Center exists as an independent self-supporting structure. Although it is supervised by the Federal Service for Supervision in Education and Science, it does not directly depend on government agencies and, accordingly, is not financed by them. Therefore, participation in the centralized testing for applicants is paid. The center annually determines the approximate cost of one exam. In 2006, it ranged from 150 to 450 rubles. The final amount is set by the university that conducts the testing.

There are three types of centralized testing:
the final- for graduates of 9th grade
the final- for 11-graders
testing of applicants(The results are taken into account by the universities during the entrance exams).
The last two differ in complexity and do not replace each other.

Border is locked tight

Centralized testing is carried out simultaneously in all regions - from the Kaliningrad region to Kamchatka. This is one of the guarantees of its "transparency". One day is allotted for the exam in each subject - if, for example, on April 14, the Russian language is tested in Moscow, then we can say with absolute certainty that on the same day testing in this subject will be held in Yekaterinburg, Magadan, Astrakhan, etc. ... In order not to be able to write off or manipulate the results, various measures are taken to ensure information security.

Announcements constantly appear on the Internet, the authors of which offer "ready-made answers of the DH for the current year with a 100% guarantee." We have repeatedly purchased such "guaranteed answers" through third parties, and have never come across anything even close to real options. On our official website rustest.ru, we constantly publish a black list of firms that offer a similar "product". In fact, it is extremely difficult to juggle the answers, it is extremely difficult to calculate the correct options in advance. Firstly, the databases of questions (tests) and keys to them are stored in different places and combined through special re-coding already directly during the test. Secondly, all options are formed according to the principle of spontaneity: until the last moment, we ourselves do not know which option will go where. In addition, tests are delivered to the site in special sealed packages - "secure pack". We very scrupulously monitor the observance of the necessary rules at all stages of testing. We carefully monitor the statistics of the DH results. If, when processing tests, it turns out that the answers from one audience are the same, then the results are questioned. In this case, retesting may be ordered. It is free of charge for participants. The certificate is issued on the basis of a reliable result.

MGIMO, Sliver, Baumansky ...

Centralized testing and the unified state examination are a test method of testing knowledge. Centralized testing, unlike the USE, includes only two blocks of questions of different difficulty levels. There are three such blocks in a single state exam. At the same time, many experts assess the questions of centralized testing as more complex in comparison with the tasks of the exam.

Every year the Unified State Exam takes more and more stable positions, and the number of universities participating in centralized testing is decreasing. At the same time, centralized testing gives a good chance to enroll in many Russian universities. For example, in 2005, about 500 Russian universities took part in centralized testing, of which 33 were Moscow. In total, 85,250 applicants were enrolled according to the CT certificates, of which 364 - to the Moscow State University of Railways, 1186 - to the Moscow State Technical University named after V.I. N.E. Bauman, three - to the Moscow State Institute of International Relations and one - even to the Higher Theater School (Institute) named after V.I. M.S. Shchepkin.

The test results are annually processed by the State Statistics Committee of Russia. All information about the number of participants, the percentage of applicants enrolled in universities based on testing results can be viewed on the FCT website.

A cloudless future

The unified state examination will eventually supplant centralized testing as a form of admission to universities, but he is not threatened with sudden death.

Olga Reshetnikova, Deputy Director of FCT:

We are not afraid to disappear with the widespread introduction of the USE. Centralized testing is a well-oiled training mechanism and a way to self-test knowledge. This is an independent assessment that shows the objective level of knowledge of students, regardless of the likes or dislikes of teachers. In order to successfully pass the exam, it is better to practice in advance - when answering test questions, not only knowledge is important, but also the ability to competently fill out the form itself, to properly allocate time.

Food for thought

Before deciding to participate in centralized testing, it is worth weighing the pros and cons. Try to answer the following questions:

• Does the selected university operate according to the DH scheme? The best option is to enroll in several universities that are ready to accept a certificate or its duplicate
• Does the university conduct testing on its own or consider the results obtained outside of its walls? (in the first case, there will be more trust in the VU certificate)
• are you willing to pay?
• will you be able to show a sufficiently high "finishing" result in mid-April?
• and, finally, will you be able, having sent a certificate to a university, calmly wait for the passing score to be announced, without harassing yourself with the thought "but today I would definitely write better"?

Centralized testing makes it possible
For the entrant
Get an independent assessment of your level of training. Testing takes place in mid-April. A low score is not a reason for frustration: there is still time to catch up and close knowledge gaps.
Assess your chances of admission in advance. A good helper in this is the rating scale.
Don't waste your nerves during the summer entrance examinations. The list of universities that accept the certificate of centralized testing is large. It is enough to send it to different universities that accept the results and wait for a response.
Submit the DH certificate to several universities at the same time.
Practice filling in test materials (albeit for money).
To the university
The FCT partners who arrange testing at their base win the most. Part of the money for conducting centralized testing is allocated to the university, educational institutions are able to select the best applicants. For universities participating in centralized testing, such a process is absolutely "transparent": applicants perform test tasks directly within the walls of the future Alma Mater, under the supervision of teachers. The administration of the university completely controls the process - this is another significant difference between centralized testing and the Unified State Exam. University teachers are not always inclined to trust the results of the unified state examination, referring to the fact that somewhere on the periphery school teachers can help in the correct execution of assignments.

Prepared a detailed analysis of one test option offered by on centralized testing in physics in Belarus in 2007 and 2008... We are sure that this material will be of interest not only to Belarusian visitors.

Tests in the subjects of the school curriculum, including physics (there are no tests in astronomy), prepared by RIKZ() and are used for testing future applicants on the subjects of entrance examinations in the Republic of Belarus. Answers to tests are centrally checked by RIKZ, after which it is issued certificate indicating the amount of points received(from 0 to 100), which the applicant then submits to the admissions office of the university.

The physics test is assigned 180 minutes(3 astronomical hours). Permitted to use calculators that perform only the simplest calculations (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, calculation of percentages).

2007 year

To conduct centralized testing (CT) in Belarus in 2007, it was prepared 10 equivalent test options... Each option offers 30 tasks:

• 1st group of tasks (A1 - A23)- 23 physics problems open type choose only one correct.
• 2nd group of tasks (B1 - B7)- 7 physics problems closed type: it is required to solve the problem and write down the received answer

Quoted from the book " Physics: a collection of tests"(Rep. Institute of Knowledge Control of the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Belarus. - Minsk: Aversev, 2007. - 94 p.).

2008 year

In 2008, the structure of the test changed somewhat, although the total number of problems remained the same ( 30 tasks):

• 1st group of tasks (A1 - A18)- 18 physics problems open type: for each problem, 5 answer options are offered, of which you need choose only one correct.
• 2nd group of tasks (B1 - B12)- 12 physics problems closed type: it is required to solve the problem and write down the received answer into the form, having previously rounded it according to the rounding rules.

Quoted from the book " Centralized testing. Physics: a collection of tests"/ Rep. Institute of Knowledge Control of the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Belarus. - Minsk: Aversev, 2008. - 94 p.