The impact of changes in the Unified State Exam in Mathematics on the prospects of higher education

Abstract

The aim of the article is to analyse a number of short answer questions at the unified state examination (higher level) in. The article explores the possibility of solving these tasks by certain categories of pupils who have chosen mathematics examination of higher level. The following research methods were applied – statistical processing of the results of the Unified State Examination (USE), including the so-called ‟unsuccessful” graduates, dynamic analysis of interdependence between test failure rate and various task types. By "unsuccessful" graduates, the authors mean those examinees who, having scored enough to obtain a certificate of secondary general education, nevertheless did not overcome the threshold of set by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation for admission to subordinate higher educational institutions. The obtained data allows to conclude that lowering the above-mentioned score threshold is impractical, since relaxation in the requirements will open the gate to applicants unable to attain any academic achievement. Even in case of successful course completion graduates will not have sufficient competency to work, for example, in important areas of economy, in the field of high technology and, moreover, in the field of education, where any gaps in mathematical training is fraught with negative consequences. At the same time, there is a huge personnel shortage, especially in the periphery, where teachers’ salary is several times lower than in the capital's schools. The current situation leads to increased staff turnover in the field of teacher education and a catastrophic reduction in Mathematics teachers able to teach this discipline in secondary schools at an advanced level. The article also emphasises the need to change the scale of conversion of primary USE scores into test scores based on the actual results of the 2022 exam in order to eliminate the competitive advantage of graduates of the previous two years, since the results of the USE are valid for three years.