Standardized National Entrance exams for universities limit the development
of Azeri students’ higher-order thinking skills. Most people agree that the
testing system for university entrance, brought a fair, transparent assessment
and meritocracy to our education system, as, before this policy implementation,
there was a high level of corruption in the admission system to higher
education. Jacques Hallak mentions Azerbaijan’s this policy as a successful
measure of reducing fraud in entrance examinations. (Hallak, 2007,
p.7) However, it has big advantages by overcoming corruption, side effects
of standardized tests are also unavoidable. However, the new curriculum has a
constructivist approach, lessons are mostly teacher-centered and focused on
memorization, as the entrance exam tests mostly contain lower-order thinking
skills, such as memorization and calculation. As a result, we could see gaps in the skills of our students and students
of higher developed countries.
Nine years ago, in 2012 I took the entrance exam in the 3rd group which contained humanitarian subjects. I would like to bring examples from questions
on History subject that were based on rote memorization. You could see
questions about chronological order, and dates which were checking students’ memory
and knowledge of facts. Nine years passed, but again we can see the same kind
of questions only with little decorative changes with the same content and the
same approach to assessment. As you know the goal of learning history is to develop
analytical skills, to prepare future professionals such as diplomats, and politicians to analyze historical events, and to prepare new policies based on
their background knowledge. But could a person with only brilliant memorization
skills, analyze and make decisions as required by this kind of professionals?
Is it a fair skill assessment? As in History, every subject has its purpose, and
assessment of skills should be adjusted to this purpose.
Thanks to our new curriculum, we could find questions requiring analytical,
higher-order thinking skills in textbooks. Still, in reality, students spend at
least their last two years of school on the preparations for entrance exams,
rather than actively participating at school lessons, and practicing their skills
due to the tasks given in textbooks, as they know that school performance
doesn’t have a great impact on university entrance. Teachers are also
struggling, with whether to educate their students or to prepare them for entrance
exams. In the end, we could see students who lost two years on useless
skills and are not suitable for modern life requirements.
In order to reduce this skills gap, questions for entrance exams should be
evaluated by experts, and new questions should be conducted to assess
higher-order thinking skills such as comparing, analyzing, problem-solving, and
critical thinking. As a result, students will be engaged in higher-order
thinking skills while preparing for entrance exams, rather than losing their
time on rote memorization.
Also, alternative instruments should be applied rather than only using paper-based tests, by increasing the role of school performance in university admissions. For example, university admissions could cover several stages where a holistic approach will be used, including school performance and results of centralized entrance exams. Some very useful tasks and questions could be used to develop students’ higher-order thinking skills in the textbooks according to the new curriculum. If this instrument is used effectively the goal for the skill gap will be reduced. To address this issue assessments of students’ portfolios, projects, teamwork, and peer review should be fairly assessed by teachers. To reach equitable skill delivery and fair assessment at schools teachers should be highly trained, and teacher salary should depend on teachers’ skills rather than experience. It will build a meritocratic environment among teachers at schools and also affect student achievement.
But decentralization and the role of individuals could bring a great risk of corruption. Low teacher salary is a motivation for taking bribes. By raising teacher salaries and setting an accountability system that will investigate and sanction potential misbehavior in every school, the risk for corruption could be reduced. But without changes in the mindset of society, this risk always exists. Society should decide what do they want: a new generation with high skills compatible with modern life or students with high marks but not ready for the modern labour market.
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