The introductory campaign – 2023 surprises already at the start. The results, published three days later than promised, unpleasantly surprised many: for one or two mistakes, schoolchildren lost 15-20 points. Outraged 11th-graders, together with their parents, cut off the telephones of the Republican Institute for Knowledge Control (RIKZ) all day long. And some, as a reader wrote to us, even came to the building and demanded a meeting with the director. In the editorial account, dozens of people expressed dissatisfaction with the situation. We talked with alumni, alumni and their parents about how a sudden change in RIKZ calculations will affect university admissions.
The names of the heroes have been changed for security reasons, the data is in the editorial office.
“We are brazenly taking a huge number of points”
The results of the CE were unexpected for many in comparison with the rehearsal tests that they passed as preparation for a new type of test. He talks about it and Olga. The girl is from Vitebsk, she wrote the last stage of the rehearsal test with 85 points (there were 3 partially correct and 2 incorrect answers).
Today I found out that the results have arrived. I looked – everything is correct, only two partially correct questions. And then the picture began to crumble. Because for 78 primary points out of 80, they used to give 95 test points, and now – 86, she explains. “To say that I am not happy with the results is an understatement. I am glad that I wrote the test well, but I am shocked because of the scores. My classmates too. It turns out that it is impossible to score 97 or 99 points: one partially correct question in Part A, which used to take a point or two, is now worth 8 points. That is, you either write on 100, or immediately on 92 with a minimum error.
The girl tried to call the RIKZ hotline, but could not: there were too many people. Due to conflicting information today (some people were told that they would recalculate, others that they would not, RIKZ itself also could not decide for a long time whether to double-check the results), Olga no longer believes that everything can change.
“Practice shows that the authorities do not admit their mistakes,” she says. — Points this year are expected to fall. But I don’t want to enter Belarus, which means that for me the adventures of the RIKZ change a lot. It is also outrageous that such changes were introduced not at the last RT, but only after the exam. All we can do is send an official email and sign the petition. As a result, for many, a year or more of preparation goes down the drain, because RIKZ wanted to experiment.
Minsker Angelina I was preparing for the Belarusian language test all year long and expected a result above 90 (she wrote the third stage of the RT with 85 points).
– This morning I received an SMS with the result: 78 points. I immediately had a fit of hysteria, she recalls. I burst into tears and called my mother and grandmother. Their reaction was calm: they both reassured me and said that this is not the end, ahead of the second CE and CT. But personally, I’m not sure of anything.
Classmates and friends of Angelina got similar results. The girl says that for half of the class, the primary score coincided with the test, although this had not happened before.
– Everyone cried, was indignant, called the RIKZ. At first, we were told that an error had occurred and the recalculation was already underway, but after a couple of hours, an official statement appeared that all the calculated points were correct,” says the graduate. “Then we completely fell into despair. I wanted to enter the budget at the Moscow State Linguistic University at the Faculty of Translation, but now I doubt that I will even get to the paid one. If only to go to the teacher. Very disappointing. So many plans, so many hopes, all year on your nerves, but as a result you get this. Everyone is now sure that since they rated the first CE in this way, one should not count on good results in the next exam and the CT.
eleventh grader Paul from Pinsk is also dissatisfied with the results, although he reacts to the situation less emotionally. The result of the student is 74 points.
“If you look at the table for converting the primary score into the test one, which was used at all stages of the Republic of Tatarstan 2022-2023, I should have had 87. I won’t say that this is critical for me, but there is a certain resentment,” he argues. “Now I don’t know at all what the passing score will be this year for my specialty. The fact is that holders of a diploma at the Republican Olympiad can enter without exams in those specialties for which the subject of the Olympiad is a profile one. I have geography. And taking into account the fact that there are 17 diplomas at the Olympiad, and 18 state-funded places for the specialty where I want to enter, it is generally unknown how many places will remain and what the competition will be like.
Schoolchildren are also indignant at the fact that RIKZ announced a change in calculation methods only today. Because of this, many were simply not ready for the results, Pavel is sure.
Everyone is in shock. It is now most insulting and sad for me to observe those who were directly upset by the results and who are experiencing it very difficult. Therefore, an unambiguous dislike to RIKZ,” he says. – It was worth warning about the changes in advance, and ideally, conduct at least one stage of the RT this academic year with this point transfer system.
Another one of our readers Irina from the Vitebsk region notes: the assignments for the CE seemed simple, only two of them raised questions (it was these questions that the girl had that turned out to be partially correct).
– I wrote the rehearsal CE at 92, I expected about the same result. Imagine my surprise when, with two partially correct tasks and an initial score of 78 out of 80, I saw the final 86! she is outraged. I didn’t even believe it at first. Then came the stage of anger: they say, were you completely stunned there? Of course, I expected a recalculation from RIKZ. How can one mistake be worth 14 points? And now it seems to have reached the goal, there will be a dozen in a year (they put 10 in the certificate if you score more than 82 points), but it hits pride very hard. These are not my points. They just stole them from me.
Irina’s parents took the results of the CE without much indignation: 10 will go to the certificate, and the girl expects to enter the university with the help of a university Olympiad diploma.
“But if it wasn’t for him, I and they would have a tantrum,” she is sure. – Not only did they give you less than you deserved, but there are many more hundred points than before. And it is difficult to compete with them, because the points go like this: 100, 92, 86, 82. Eight points is a lot. And fourteen – even more so.
When I first saw the results, it was even funny, the graduate recalls. But he explains this by shock and disbelief that the numbers will really be like that.
– But the surprise passed and was replaced by anger: they brazenly take away a huge number of points from us. Someone is changing the goal from BSU to pedagogical, someone is already humming “Hello, the sky is in the clouds,” she describes the mood among applicants. – My classmate is hysterical: she is a gold medalist, she has an average grade point of 9.8, all her RT and tests are above 90 points. Well, she could not write to 78!
Outraged by the results and the mother of the eleventh grader Tatiana from Lyakhovichi. Her son took the Russian rehearsal test three times, and all three results were above 70. But today’s result raised many questions.
– He got 52, an annual score of 9 points. But it’s hard to believe that the child has become dramatically dumber by more than 20 points, she argues. — And it is absolutely unrealistic that RIKZ admits an erroneous calculation or a system failure.
The woman’s son planned to enter BNTU. His mood is depressed, Tatyana herself is indignant and upset. And judging by the parental chat, she adds, everyone has similar moods.
– Minus 20 points, of course, do not add confidence. But this is only one of the four components. It’s scary to imagine what will happen in mathematics,” says the reader. – No trust in scoring, just complete impotence. It is obvious that some kind of failure has occurred, but they will not admit it for anything.
How points are calculated and what is the problem this year
For each correctly or partially correctly completed task, the graduate is awarded 1 or 2 primary points (depending on the type of task). Then the sum of the applicant’s primary scores is converted into a test score. This is done using a special formula that the RIKZ does not publish.
In 2022, the primary and test scores of the CT in the Russian and Belarusian languages were correlated in such a way that the current applicants were guided by. Judging by their words, the scores were calculated in the same way at the rehearsal CE.
There is no official table for 2023 yet, but, as specified by the Ministry of Education, the counting system for this year was as follows. Up to 75 points, the primary score corresponds to the test score. That is, if you score 63 primary points, then the same number will be indicated in the certificate. But if the initial result is higher, then a coefficient will be added during the transfer. Because of this, the value of the error increases for those who solved the test well. And for one or two wrong answers, you can get 70-80 points.
As readers told us, a version is spreading among the applicants that the RIKZ chose such a calculation system, since the tests have become easier.
– Due to this, apparently, they decided to underestimate the results of all the others. It’s very insulting, and no justice, ”Angelina commented on this option.
