For two consecutive years (2023-2024 and 2024-2025), the 9th grade final examination essay in literature and history was tested in an integrated format in Tavush. It is planned to replace oral exams in literature and Armenian history in all basic schools of the republic with a single integrated essay this academic year.

Many opinions have been expressed on the issue. The teachers were mainly against the introduction of the essay: they believe that children are not yet ready to take an exam in that format, while educational authorities assure that the results of the pilot exams in Tavush were satisfactory, and there would be no setback, since the essay is a format that meets the requirements of the new Standards of General Education.

Last year the “Media for Education” NGO studied samples of examination essays from Tavush (more than 60 essays) and identified the problems that emerged. This year, the NGO has studied  96 essays as well (5 classes from 3 schools in two urban and one rural settlements).

Below is a systematic analysis of the works.

Rating

The evaluation of the examination essay was carried out on a 20-point scale: the evaluation scale consists of two sections: content and structure.

The content evaluation (14 points) includes:

Knowledge of the material: 6 points,

Demonstration of the concept of intersection: 2 points,

Justification of position: 2 points,

Creativity: 2 points

The structure evaluation (8 points) includes:

Beginning, main part and summary: 6 point,

Logical sequence of sentences: 2 points

Proportionality issue

As it is known, in the new grading system adopted by the new SSGE (State Standard of General Education), there is no insufficient mark; the student transfers to the next grade or graduates from school, even if the exam paper is worth 1 point.

It is obvious to the naked eye that the grades are dominated by 8 points (25%), and only 1 student received a grade from 1 to 7.  A question as to how it is possible to write an essay of exclusively 8 points, but not 7 or 6 arises… The answer, of course, is obvious: in the previous grading system, 8 points were considered the threshold for a satisfactory result, while 1-7 points were considered an unsatisfactory grade, after which the student had to take a re-examination.

This “memory,” a remnant of the old system, has apparently led to the situation, where, without breaking the so-called tradition, securing the coveted 8 points “at any cost,” regardless of whether the work meets the requirements set in the assessment components or not. And this exactly explains the large number of works that received a score of 8 points.

The works absolutely do not meet the standard essay requirements, and mostly consist of simple copying of the assigned material.