Recently, various discussions have been held in society regarding graduation exams. After it was noted that the graduation exam held on March 9 was difficult, according to the claims of the applicants, different proposals are being put forward regarding the organization of the exams.
Among these proposals is the idea of holding graduation exams twice, at different times. Another proposal is to organize the exam only once, at the same time for all applicants.
Commenting on the topic to AzEdu.az, Alihuseyn Yaqubov, winner of the "Young Teacher of the Year" competition, stated that although specialists try to prepare questions at the same level, certain problems still arise:
“I believe that all exams should be held simultaneously for students. Because there are cases where exams are divided into zones and held at different times, and students take exams at different times. Naturally, this cannot be done with the same questions. Holding exams at different times, however, brings forth a major problem, which is the issue of question difficulty.
No matter how much specialists try to prepare questions at the same level, certain problems still arise. Even if there isn't a problem, people often turn it into a topic of discussion, claiming that the exam in the first zone was more difficult, while the exam in the second zone was easier, or vice versa. In other words, this type of discussion is opened up.
In fact, it would be more appropriate for all exams to be held simultaneously and organized based on the same questions. Of course, no matter how much we try to establish this fairly, certain questions arise in people's psychology, and inevitably, thoughts emerge about how fair it is to hold the same type of exam at different times and with different questions.
We have seen many examples of this years ago. For instance, let's take two students of the same level. Suppose both have the potential to score 70 out of 100 points. One of them takes a relatively difficult exam and scores 70 points. The other takes a relatively easy exam and scores 75 points.
In such a case, organizing the exam in this manner means infringing upon the rights of other students. Therefore, these issues must be thoroughly investigated, and the relevant institution should consider this matter. Because as long as these exams continue in this form, questions and dissatisfactions will also continue to increase.”
However, Aynur Akhundova, winner of the "Young Teacher of the Year" competition, stated that when examining the exam variants, it appears that in some cases, even the distribution of topics between zones differs:
“Currently, graduation exams are held on different days and with various variants across two zones. However, in many cases, both students and teachers believe that the exam held in the second zone is more difficult. This issue is frequently discussed after the exam, leading to certain dissatisfactions among students.
The main aspect of the problem is that, in the end, students from both zones are admitted to the same universities, and even the same faculties. However, they have answered questions from different variants and sometimes with varying levels of difficulty. This raises questions about the fairness of the results.
Regarding this topic, the State Examination Center often states that questions are prepared in a balanced manner. However, when examining the exam variants, it appears that in some cases, even the distribution of topics between zones differs. While covering all topics is a positive aspect, this situation may not create complete equality in terms of difficulty level.
My proposal is that graduation exams should be held on the same day. The variants should be organized not merely by changing the order of questions, but with questions that cover all topics yet are prepared with different content.
This approach would both minimize the risk of cheating and eliminate dissatisfactions arising from differences in difficulty between zones. As a result, a more fair and transparent examination environment would be created for all applicants.”
