Ukraine Testing Project

With a grant from the US Department of State and the US Embassy in Kyiv, Ukraine American Councils supported the implementation of standardized external University Entrance Exams in Ukraine from September 2005 through October 2006. Over 40 thousand school graduates tested in 3 subjects in the spring of 2006. All higher educational institutions of Ukraine accepted the scores of examinees in the admissions process.

American Councils’ consultants worked with the Testing Technologies Center, an independent Ukrainian NGO, and the Ukrainian Ministry of Education and Science to plan the establishment of a national center charged with testing and monitoring in education. In December of 2005 the Ukrainian Center for Educational Quality Assessment (UCEQA), was founded. With further support from American Councils’ consultants, the Ministry and UCEQA created a three year implementation plan which would phase in external university entrance exams, with 100% of all school leavers taking standardized exams by 2008.

American Councils staff and consultants assisted UCEQA staff in developing technologies necessary for successful implementation of a standardized testing system through trainings in test development and security, test administration, and scoring. We also assisted in creating exams in new subjects. Ukrainian specialists were given the opportunity to exchange ideas and gain first hand experience in these issues through study tours organized by American Councils to the United States and to Georgia. These activities laid the foundation for further developing a standardized exam system in Ukraine.

American Councils also supported a public information campaign, led by the Ministry of Education and Science and the Cabinet of Ministers in Ukraine, through television and radio advertisements, press releases and press conferences and the creation of information bulletins for test takers. Our partners also worked with UCEQA staff to re-design the center’s web-site in order to make information about standardized testing more accessible to the general public, and to include specific information for test takers and educators. We developed an FAQ that served to educate the public about external testing and served as the foundation for informational booklets and materials for the 2007 administration.