No more mazes: the USE of 2026 will be a reflection of the school curriculum
An important educational transformation has begun in Russia: starting in 2026, the content of the Unified State Exam (USE) will strictly correspond to the school curriculum. This is exactly what Rosobrnadzor promised — that graduates would demonstrate the knowledge they have accumulated over all their years at school. However, this statement is followed by a complex debate among experts about the essence of the reform, its practical impact on the education system and the tutoring market. The extent to which this step is real and decisive for all participants in the process is described in the Izvestia article.
A new facet of conformity: exam and school curriculum
The main change in the Unified State Exam-2026 will be that the content of exam assignments will fully correspond to the school curriculum, which will help graduates demonstrate the knowledge gained during the entire period of study, Rosobrnadzor confirmed to Izvestia. For each assignment, specific program points and classes where the material was studied will now be indicated, which will make the test more transparent and understandable. Normative dictionaries will be added to the Russian language as an official source, which will allow students to appeal grades based on them.
The number of file formats used in the computer science exam program will be reduced as part of the transition to Russian and open source software products. The wording of the assignments and the assessment system were adjusted based on the results of the analysis of the exams held this summer. Draft demonstration versions have already been published for ninth graders, and for 11th grade graduates, the discussion will last until the end of September 2025.
The main message of the certification reform is that the Unified State Exam should test the knowledge gained in the classroom, not outside the curriculum. This seemingly obvious requirement turns out to be very difficult to implement. A representative of the Federal Institute of Pedagogical Measurements (FIPI) told Izvestia that at the moment there are no topics in the content of the exams that are not provided for in the school curriculum. It checks the development of major cross-cutting topics that will be in demand when studying in a specialized specialty at a university.
The FIPI also highlights the fundamental role of the teacher and the specific classroom.
— When discussing the issues of compliance of exam materials with the school curriculum, it is fundamental to what extent a particular teacher in his class follows the established curriculum and to what extent students are ready and able to perceive the educational material provided by the program, — said the interlocutor of Izvestia.
Emphasizing the systematic approach, Elena Pripova, director of the Institute for Child Development, Health and Adaptation (under the Ministry of Education), points out that the Unified State Exam is a form of final control of the entire structured amount of knowledge acquired.
— The content of education and the assessment of academic results are interrelated processes. In addition, a single line of textbooks is being created. This process is logical and systematic," she summarizes.
Nevertheless, teachers still see only a partial reflection of the reform in the demos — it is not always possible to catch all the significant changes.
Analyzing demos on history and social studies, Associate Professor of the Department of Pedagogy and Pedagogical Comparative Studies at the Institute of Social Sciences (Ural State Pedagogical University) Tatiana Dorokhova points out the existing differences.
— Traditionally, the demos on history and social studies really corresponded to the school curriculum, but the various versions of the Unified State Exam turned out to be much more complicated than the demo version and could correspond to the university curriculum, — the expert comments.
At the same time, the fate of new topics that have not yet been reflected, such as regional history, is still unclear. This suggests that the actual content of the exam will still change, according to the experts interviewed.
The tutoring market: coup or the status quo
Many hoped that more transparent communication with the program would reduce the demand for paid training. But experts doubt such an optimistic scenario. There are still systemic reasons that make tutoring in demand.
— The paid training market will remain because parents strive to provide their children with advantageous advantages and additional educational capital, — says Zoya Proshkova, senior researcher at the Sociological Institute of the National Research Research Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
She reveals the underlying reasons for the sustainability of this market.
— The demand for tutoring and private courses is determined not only by the school curriculum and exam format, but also by other factors. Thus, the school cannot provide an individual approach to each student. Unlike tutors and courses, she rarely uses online learning and does not save students' time," Zoya Proshkova believes.
A similar opinion is expressed by Tatiana Dorokhova.
— In my opinion, the paid training market will still remain. But this is due to a whole range of factors — in addition to the complexity of exams, the shortage of teachers in schools and the different levels of their preparedness. Perhaps the expansion of opportunities for self—study through the development of information resources will reduce the need for tutoring, but so far it is insignificant," she comments.
Thus, according to the experts interviewed by Izvestia, adapting assignments to the program by itself will not solve the problem of retraining for complex requirements and unlimited growth of private lessons.
The objectivity of the results: a tool for developing or averaging abilities
Will the new Unified State Exam truthfully reflect the knowledge of schoolchildren over the years, or will it only average the results? This is a question that worries many. Some experts see the Unified State Exam in the context of a broad social system.
— Averaging is not worth being afraid of, — says Tatiana Dorokhova. — We socialize not only at school. The Unified State Exam is just one of the many (and far from the main) factors of socialization. Developing public organizations and competitive (including Olympiad) movements provide an opportunity for children with a wide variety of abilities to stand out.
In turn, Honored Teacher of the Russian Federation, author of manuals and textbooks Alexander Shevkin recalls the purposes for which the unified state exam was introduced.
— The Unified State Exam is not a final school exam at all, it is combined with a competitive exam for admission to universities in the country. The task of the Unified State Exam is to select units and hundreds of graduates who meet the requirements of strong universities, but all students are sent through this exam, even those who are not going to enter a university," he points out.
Shevkin emphasizes the need to free the school exam from the function of an entrance exam. Then, in his opinion, the content and methods of solving problems that were studied at school will be checked, as it was before the introduction of the Unified State Exam.
On the other hand, Zoya Proshkova sees opportunities for strong students to realize their abilities through the Unified State Exam.
— Strong students will stand out in the new environment due to better assimilation of educational material throughout the school. In addition, academically successful students will show their results in a portfolio and receive additional points (the reform plans to strengthen the role of individual achievements). Finally, the best students can participate in school Olympiads of various levels, which will ensure admission to the university without entrance tests," she notes.
Despite the possible averaging and reduction of some results, according to experts, the overall picture will become more objective, and competition will continue.
The prospects: what challenges await
The agreement that the systemic nature of the reform is a step forward is clearly emphasized in the statements of educators and researchers. However, it remains an important question of how realistic it is to expect significant changes while maintaining the existing role of the Unified State Exam.
Irina Plyasova, a psychologist, teacher and specialist at Moscow City Pedagogical University (MGPU), emphasizes in this regard that the country needs specialists who are ready to work and join public life immediately after graduation.
— To achieve this, it is necessary to clearly understand what competencies, values and skills need to be developed in the new generation, and how exactly this can be achieved. It is important to determine not only the final result, but also the mechanisms of upbringing, development and professional self—determination, the expert believes.
However, there is a systemic problem in the modern approach, she notes: schools and families often isolate children from society, and therefore, in her opinion, the Unified State Exam only captures what the education system itself often does not create.
Experts conclude that the qualitative updating of the unified state exam is associated with a broad modernization of the educational process and assessment approaches, and not only with a revision of the content of assignments.
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