ETHNIC COMPOSITION OF TERRITORIES AND THE UNIFIED STATE EXAMINATION RESULTS

Abstract

Introduction . The results of the Unified State Examination (USE) in the entities of the Russian Federation are significantly different. This is mainly due to socio-economic, demographic, national-cultural and other features of the development of the territories. Therefore, an assessment of the quality of the work of the education system in the field should be carried out taking into account the available resources and conditions of school activities. The most important factor of success on the USE is the national composition of students and the degree of proficiency in the language of instruction, at which the exam is taken in. The aim of the research presented in the publication is to find out whether the national composition of school leavers in different regions of the country influences the USE indicators in the Russian language. Methodology and research methods . In the course of studying the problem, the methodology of comprehensive research was applied, including methods of comparative and statistical analysis of data published by the Federal Testing Center, Rosstat (The Russian Federal State Statistics Service) and regional information processing centers. Results and scientific novelty . The USE-2013 statistics on compulsory school objects is processed and introduced for science research; a number of the determining factors behind the statistics are found out. For the first time, the pair correlation between the USE average scores in the Russian language and national composition of the Russian regions is considered. The statistical connection between the ethnic composition of participants and the average score turned out to be weak and unstable. The reasons are the following: poor discipline of organisers and participants of examination during the studies; coaching students to perform common actions when preparing for the examination; features of examination materials and tests tasks that poorly differentiate participants in terms of training; overestimation of points by the subject commissions when assessing the examination composition. Practical significance. The authors believe that the findings of this study will contribute to improving the methodology and technology of the Unified State Examination.