EIT-2011: conclusions of the public observation in Lviv region

Preparation process before EIT-2011

For already two years of the observation of the Ukrainian language and literature testing there are constant problems with the testing certificates of the participants.

The necessity of the certificate is connected with the note about the certain test passing that is required in the certificate. Without the note the admission committees won’t accept the documents for the graduation. During the previous year there were almost no objective reasons for the absence of certificate (except the inattentiveness of the graduates). In 2011 the situation changed. This year the registration process was maintained via the internet, without professional servicemen reminding that the certificate is required in the testing center. The graduate sent the papers to the regional center of the education evaluation; the same way the graduate had to receive the certificate under the postman’s signature. Later the graduate received via mailing service the invitation with dates and place of testing.

As it turned out during the observation, some graduates received only invitations without certificates. But the graduates didn’t think about the possible absence of the document. The fault of this year invitation was in its design where the words “invitation-permit for the participation in the EIT”| was considerably smaller than the additional information about the number of certificate. After receiving the certificate and the permit, the participant had to compare the basic essentials: name, surname, passport number and series (birth certificate number and series). The inattentive and unaware graduates could have thought that they got the main document for testing, i.e. the certificate, not the simple permit.

There also were other versions of its absence. 17 graduates came to the comprehensive school # 45 in Lviv and they were sure that they will be given the certificates in the testing center hence they didn’t get them by mail. Anyway, such registered graduates lost their chance to pass the testing.

To help the graduates that couldn’t participate in the evaluation, the testing staff advised to make the medical certificates about the illness that could prevent to pass the tests. The illness certified by the appropriate certificate issued by the appropriate health care institution, is the objective reason that gives the possibility to participate in the additional testing session. The CN OPORA began accepting the alarm calls with the questions from the graduates that weren’t permitted to pass the tests – the graduates asked what to do in case the doctors refuse to issue the certificate about the illness.

Firstly, the CN OPORA advised the graduates not to follow such advice and avoid “false” health certificates for the EIT, the aim of which is to provide equal access to the education, shouldn’t help the corruption in the medical field. Secondly, the testing participants who lost the chance to pass testing because of absence of the certificates should immediately address Lviv regional center for evaluation of education with the request to produce the duplicate copy. Thirdly, the graduates should have received in the postal offices the affirmation with the stamp proving that the certificate wasn’t handed to the addressee, and register for the additional session.

In LRCEQE OPORA was assured that the center will help the graduates who couldn’t come to the testing centers because of the objective reasons – they will be registered on the session for June, 27-July, 3. We can name the case when the participant followed the advice, kept all the procedures and was successfully submitted for the additional testing session.

What are main reasons for the absence of certificates?

Surely, the departments of “Ukrposhta” that couldn’t deliver the document to the addressee because of the negligence should take the responsibility for this on themselves.

Another reason for such situation, according to OPORA, is the narrow information campaign of UCEQE on the country level about the procedure of passing the graduates to the testing centers hence no TV channels and radio were involved in the campaign.

The main guilt for loss of the right to pass EIT is for the graduates and their parents who didn’t learn their rights and duties, - at least with those in the informational bulletin from the regional center of evaluation of quality of education along with the invitations.

OPORA recommends the UCEQE to pay more attention to the information constituent in the preparation for the tests – provide the periodical sharing of the information about the EIT procedures on the air of First National channel and other state and communal media.

Passing of the independent testing

Comparing with the previous years, the discipline of the participants was better in 2011. The public observers noticed less cases of leaving the room while the testing was taking place. If the participants visited the WC, the corridor or the medical point, then this lasted not more than 2-3 minutes.

There was one case in Lviv gymnasia “Prestyzh” when on the Ukrainian language and literature testing the graduate was in the toilet for a long time so that the on-duty had to knock the door for the graduate to go out. But neither the observer nor the on-duty heard the phone conversation, so the testing proceeded.

The observers also noticed the lessening of usage of the cell phones in the rooms and recreational zones. This device and its usage are the popular reasons of the protocol of testing procedure violation and the excluding of the graduate from the testing premises.

According the results of working out the protocols of finishing the testing procedure for Ukrainian language and literature (2 sessions), foreign languages and mathematics, Lviv regional center for education evaluation decided to annul 13 tests of the participants in 3 regions.

10 tests were cancelled because of using the communication tools, 2 – because of the untimely passing of the tests, 1 – because of the participants’ substitution.

To compare, last year nearly 20 tests in three regions were annulled.

One more crucial point is keeping the procedures by the testing point personnel in case of violations by the participants. For the most cases such facts were registered in the protocols even in case the cell phone rang but the graduate didn’t use it.

The participants tried less to cheat the right answers from the neighbors or to get help. There also were no cases of using the obscene words that deprive the participant the right to pass the testing.

The most severe violators of the procedures and discipline were the persons who registered just for fun, hence the process is free – not for the graduation.

Despite the fact that the discipline of the participants was much better, the organizational preparation of the graduates is still low. Despite the importance of the test and its result for the graduation, the observers from OPORA noticed the late coming of the participants, the absence of necessary documents to be permitted to enter the testing premises. Sometimes the graduates themselves created the problems – took the passport while the registration was upon the birth certificate and vice versa. Some potential students appeared on the wrong date and address when it was 15 minutes to the testing. Even in the testing room the participants wrongly divided the time and had no time to copy the answers to the “A” papers or enlarged the process, violating the procedure. Not all the graduates are aware about the usage of gel or capillary pens with black ink – it is the problem for those who graduated from school two and more years ago.

The OPORA observers registered the facts when the participants had two certificates with notes about passing the tests for different subjects in each. The graduate thought he lost the certificate, renewed it, passed the testing with the new document and later found the pervious certificate. In such cases the graduate needs to appeal to Lviv regional center for evaluation of education to regulate the case without following problems.

The exception from the rules that counterplotted this year testing was the substitution of the graduate with her mother on the mathematics testing. The violation was seen by the on-duties on passing the graduate to the testing premises. When the participant was asked to name the year of birth, she pointed 1969, then joked at the situation but didn’t resemble a 19 year-old though was much visually alike with her daughter. “The graduate” was permitted to pass testing and invited to Lviv regional center of evaluation of education to validate the personality. The real participant came to the biology test and assured the personnel that it was she who passed the mathematics and refused to go to LCEQE to validate the personality and to admit that her mother passed the tests. The head of LCEQE told that the militia was informed and passed the documents for the case. It the participant really was substituted, then the mathematics result will be cancelled. OPORA considers that this is too weak punishment for such a serious violation and both mother and daughter have to bear the administrative responsibility.

The work of testing staff

The preparation of the instructors for EIT-2011 was on much higher level than during the previous years. There were no systematic violations in the work of instructors. There were some cases of wrongly glued barcodes, not sealing the clear answer sheets and testing papers, the instructors forgot to place the auditory protocol to the secure pack. But such violations are very rare and it is easy to see them before sending the tests for checking, during the container packing.

The staff of the testing centers, the empowered for the testing premises and the delegate from UCEQE didn’t always used the same rules in the non-standard situations. Mostly the problems occurred with the passing of the participants to the testing points when they had no required documents. We remind that the required documents were the certificate, passport or the birth certificate as the document for personal identification for the registration to the testing, and the invitation-permit. If there occurred a case that fell out the testing procedures, then the responsible person had to use the List of non-standard situations occurring in the testing center during the 2011 IET and the ways of resolving, completed by the UCEQE. According to the document, the graduate could enter the testing center if he had no invitation but the passport or the birth certificate, There also were some cases when the graduate entered the point without the permit and the instructors doubted if they could pass the graduate hence they knew about the necessary three documents. Such cases were resolved to the good for the graduate.

When the participant had no certificate or the ID, s/he couldn’t participate in the testing. The OPORA observers noticed two cases (the comprehensive school # 22 in Lviv, Drohobych school # 4) when the on-duties let the participant without the certificate. But the responsible person from UCEQE detected the violation and the participant had to stop working with the tests.

The most complicated situations occurred with the ID. There were some problems with the participants registered with the passport who came with the birth certificate – they were permitted to pass hence it was easy to identify them with the photo. If the participant came with no passport or ID, the delegate of UCEQE acted up to their choice. Such graduates weren’t permitted to pass the tests. |In some cases the participants were permitted to pass the tests if they were provided with the ID before the start (11:30). The graduates not living in Lviv lost the chance hence they couldn’t provide the document.

Some responsible persons let the participants without the document or with the copy without the explanation that it was off the rules and it is not affordable to come without the document to the next tests.

There was the case with the graduate whose father-priest morally suppressed the staff and told that his daughter took part in two previous tests. If there really was such situation, then the graduate and the staff are both equally responsible for the violation, hence the staff didn’t explain that the original of the registration document is required for the tests.

There always were some cases with the emotions of the participants and moral manipulations of their parents (crying, cursing etc.). To fix the situation, the responsible person addressed the LCEQE where in the oral form he learned of he could let the persons without the document. We consider that such distant consultations and decisions should be regulated in the List of non-standard situations for the responsible persons in all the premises. The selective approach to the realization of the laws regulating EIT negatively influences the core and contents of the process of objective and unbiased evaluation of the persons graduated from the comprehensive school and wishing to enter the universities.

We advise the UCEQE to implement the following points to the technological cards of the staff for regulation of the problematic cases:

1. The on-duty places the special board with all the required documents near the entrance of the testing point.
2. At 9:30 and 10:00 the assistant of the responsible for the testing point reminds about all the required documents.
3. Add such point to the List of non-standard situations:

¹ The objective reasons for participation in additional testing session:

• participation in the international contests included to the official events of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, Ministry of culture and tourism of Ukraine, Ministry of family, youth and sports of Ukraine;
• procedural violations that negatively influenced the IET results, approved by the decision of regulation committee of LCEQE;
• illness that prevented the participation, approved by the certificate of the health care institution;
• death of the relatives;
• emergency, fire, man-triggered catastrophe in the testing day or its eve;
• other objective reasons that prevented the testing participation.