Little time is left until the 11th-grade graduation exams. The exams are held in two zones and on different dates. However, every year, applicants claim that the exam questions presented in the first zone are easier, while those in the second zone are relatively more difficult. The existence of these differences leads to the formation of dissatisfaction and a sense of injustice among applicants.
So, is there really any difference in the difficulty level of exam questions between zones? How realistic are these claims?
We spoke with Khazri Muradov, winner of the "Young Teacher of the Year" competition in 2023, a tutor, and owner of a preparatory course, regarding the topic for AzEdu.az.
He noted that the difference is not in the questions, but in the situation:
"This question is raised almost every year and is a sensitive topic for society. It must be said openly that because the exams are divided into zones, students tend to think that the questions are either more difficult or easier between zones. However, this issue is more related to psychological factors.
As they say: the battle looks easy from the outside. After the first zone takes the exam, students from the other zone look at those questions and think, “it was very easy, if I had gotten them, I would have answered all of them.” However, when their own zone takes the exam, the same student now thinks, “our questions were more difficult.” In reality, the difference is not in the questions, but in the situation".
Answering questions outside, in a warm place, and on a soft mattress, of course, seems more comfortable:
"You are not assigned a time, there is no supervisor, you are not thinking about the time allocation for three subjects. But the situation in the exam hall is completely different: psychological pressure, time constraints (for example, showing results in 3 subjects within 3 hours), the fate of years of hard work, the thought of "how will I answer to teachers and parents?" - when all these come together, not only do the questions become heavier, but one's state of mind also becomes heavier.
It is precisely because of this psychological burden that the student feels their exam was more difficult compared to the other zone. However, looking at the long-standing exam experience of DİM, we see that the principle of equal opportunity is always maintained. The difficulty level of the questions is balanced with statistical analyses, and the results are compared with overall indicators.
The most interesting thing is that when many people look at those questions again a year later, they say: "Actually, it wasn't that difficult." This once again shows that the issue is more related to the psychological state at the moment of the exam than to the question itself.
In conclusion, we can say that creating a systematic difference in difficulty between zones is not realistic. These claims are mostly subjective impressions created by exam stress".
