The legislative changes of 2025 pave the way for serious changes not only in the system of state final attestation (GIA) at the basic education level, but also for the entire education system as a whole. Moreover, the changes that have occurred with a lag of a year or two can affect the labor market, in that part of it that is associated with meeting the demand for working professions.
Today, the reduction (from four to two) of compulsory subjects in the Basic State Exam (OGE) is carried out under the motto of easing the exam burden on ninth graders and stimulating their admission to secondary vocational education (SPE) organizations. It must be admitted that the decision to change the model of the state final attestation (GIA) after completing the level of basic general education has a number of objective and subjective grounds.
In particular, the level of anxiety among both graduates and their parents in relation to the final assessment continues to be high. Even despite extensive awareness-raising and extensive psychological counseling. This anxiety is related to the lack of confidence in the quality of graduates’ preparation for GIA at school.
In addition, it is possible that measures to promote secondary vocational education and career prospects related to vocational education do not have the effects that the domestic labor market and the economy as a whole need.
Therefore, changes in the GIA model upon completion of studies at the basic general education level should be considered as an institutional change. It leads not only to a redrawing of the rules of interaction between levels of education, but also to a change in life scenarios of education.
The choice of the OGE model with two compulsory subjects proposed today partially removes the problem of exam anxiety about the level of preparation for elective subjects. But at the same time, he actually cuts off the graduate’s opportunity to enroll in specialized classes of secondary general education.
So far this year, these changes have affected 12 regional education systems, including: Moscow, St. Petersburg, Rostov, Tyumen, Lipetsk, Nizhny Novgorod, Saratov regions; Kuzbass; Republic of North Ossetia – Alania; Kamchatka Territory; Krasnodar Territory and Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District. But after a short time, they can be introduced everywhere.
If we look at the lists of students taking the OGE in two subjects, then each of the 12 regions has its own set. For some, it is 7.7%, as, for example, in St. Petersburg, while for others it reaches 50%, as in the Lipetsk region. The conditions offered to 9th grade graduates for continuing education in regional vocational education organizations also differ. In the same Lipetsk region, 7,700 budget places have been allocated for 6,000 graduates taking the OGE according to the simplified model, which creates the opportunity for choice. But in St. Petersburg, admission with two OGE is carried out only in some areas of vocational education. And at the same time, the threshold for OGE scores has also been lowered compared to the federal standard: for ninth graders, 6 points (not 8) out of 31 are enough for three in mathematics; for Russian, 14 (not 15) out of 37.
The primary substantive results of the analysis of the approbation of the application of the simplified OGE model are still to come – after the enrollment of graduates in the specialties and areas of vocational training. But it is already clear that the simplified model of passing the OGE will become an incentive to choose the path of vocational training and vocational education for families who are not sure of the quality of affordable schooling. The education received by their child is not able to provide the desired level of quality of preparation for the Unified State Exam. And the resource opportunities in such families are not enough to solve this problem on their own (for example, by involving tutors).
Hopefully, in addition to the initial analysis of the results of testing the simplified model, the medium- and long-term consequences will also be assessed. Preferably, because there are questions. For example, the following topic is of particular concern: how will the choice of a simplified OGE model affect the motivation of students? What will happen to the development of academic subject programs that do not pass the exam, but are significant in terms of the necessary basis for professional training and education programs? Won’t this serve as a factor drastically reducing the quality of secondary vocational education?
Or another question, the answer to which is extremely important, but cannot be obtained within the framework of analyzing the results of a single approbation of the simplified OGE model: is it so clear that those who passed two OGE subjects into working professions in a year or two? In three or four years, won’t all of us – young people, educational organizations, and employers – face the need to eliminate large-scale gaps in elementary school knowledge? And they are simply necessary for the professional and personal development of young people.
Unfortunately, these and many other questions and concerns cannot find an unambiguous and evidence-based answer here. Only time and practice will show the consequences of the steps taken.