Monitoring Student Progress in Reading
There are national examinations at Grades 9 and 11, but not in primary school. To be awarded the basic school and secondary school certificates, students must pass two compulsory national external examinations in mathematics and Russian: the State Summative Attestation for basic school (examinations are developed centrally, and results are marked and graded at the regional level), and the Unified State Examination for secondary school (examinations are developed centrally, and results are marked at the regional level and scaled centrally at the federal level). In addition to getting the basic school certificate, students have to pass two more examinations in subjects of their choice, according to their future educational plans. Tests in Russian language include text related tasks that assess different reading skills.
In addition to the national examinations, a school may set an examination on every subject at any grade of basic or secondary school. Examinations may be administered in oral or written forms, including short answer questions, essay questions, and sometimes multiple choice questions.
In recent years, the system of knowledge control has changed. The system of educational achievement assessment provides measurement of school subject and metasubject results. The “tests and exams for the bosses” paradigm was replaced by one of “control for the benefit of schools, families, and students.” The Russian Federation began implementing assessments in education as a tool to support the learning process that focuses on achieving new educational results and is demanded by schools: intra-school assessment systems together with independent assessments allow schools to evaluate their own strengths and weaknesses objectively and to make the necessary organizational and personnel decisions in time. The system of education quality evaluation serves to provide information about trends in academic achievements; ensure informed management decisions; and enable the state-public evaluation of education quality.
Currently, a regional quality assessment system is developing in all regions of the Russian Federation. This system is based on the following principles:
- Independence of assessment procedures, and reliability and validity of obtained results due to scrupulous compliance with all procedural requirements for development of assessment tools and administration of tests (e.g., obligatory presence of an independent observer)
- Uniform standards of educational results (including the compulsory component determined by federal authorities and the one determined on the regional level) specifying the content and structure of regional assessment tools
According to the State Program of Developing Education in Russia, the new complex model for the assessment of quality of education in primary school was developed from 2011 to 2013. This model included the assessment of reading abilities as a required component. Many regions (e.g., Kaliningrad oblast, Krasnoyarsk kray, Moscow, Moscow oblast, Tver, Yamalo-Nenetsky autonomy okrug) implemented assessment of reading literacy as a component of the regional monitoring system. The tests in reading for primary school (Grades 1 to 4) were developed using the PIRLS approaches in assessing the processes of reading comprehension. In several regions (Krasoyarsk kray, Moscow, etc.), the programs of in-service training of teachers of primary and secondary schools on the basis of the assessment results were implemented. The interdisciplinary programs, called Development of Reading Literacy Through the Means of All Subjects, are being created at many educational organizations.
Since 2016, for the Grade 4 students nationwide assessments have been introduced in the Russian language, mathematics, and science.
Monitoring Individual Student Progress
Innovations in assessment arising from general education reform include the introduction of a qualitative system of assessment without grades or marks in primary school, and a shift in the orientation of assessment from absolute achievement to the dynamics of student achievement throughout primary school.
Formative and summative assessments are conducted to ensure compliance of student achievement with the curriculum requirements and to diagnose students’ progress. The timing and form of assessment are chosen by the school. Sometimes the assessment results are used for teacher or school accreditation. Generally, the summative assessment takes place at the end of each school year in each school subject. Assessment formats include oral examinations; short answer, extended response, or essay questions; and multiple choice tests. Schools usually use individual tests made by teachers, locally developed tests, or tests developed centrally and published as special supplementary materials.