EXTERNAL INDEPENDENT ASSESSMENT IN HISTORY: DOES DIAGNOSTICS OF LEARNING OUTCOMES HAVE PLACE? (ON THE EXAMPLE OF ONE TOPIC)

Abstract

The authors used a comparative analysis of the school history textbooks for 10th grade and tasks of external independent assessment 2018–2022 on the topic «Ukrainian Revolution of 1917–1921». As a result, authors reached the following conclusions:

1. The existing textbooks have a similar structure of the material and devote between 12% and 20% of the textbook to the study of the Ukrainian Revolution. At the same time, there are reasons to doubt the ability of school history course to ensure successful passion of the external independent assessment. It took place because the educational material is not sufficient for successful testing. Our research has shown that it is not enough to take a school history course and use school textbooks to prepare for the history test. For example, in 2018–2022 an average 50% assessment tasks from topic «Ukrainian Revolution of 1917–1921» needed additional education for at least some of the entrants.

2. Those who have had the opportunity to receive additional education have a good chance of passing the external independent testing in history. In 2018–2022 assessment on one topic had only 50% of the tasks that can be successfully solved as a result of formal education. Thus, the need for additional education is quite obvious. Therefore, the success in the external independent assessment in history depends not so much on the quality of education at school as on the financial ability of parents to provide additional education. There is also a «lucky year» factor: for example, in 2019, entrants were lucky, because there was only one task on the topic and all textbooks ensured its successful solving. Instead, success in external assessment in history in 2018, 2020, 2021 and 2022 (for the example of one topic) depended on the choice of textbooks or opportunities to receive additional education. 3. Obviously, a school history course cannot create equal conditions for successful passing of external independent assessment. However, Art. 47 of the Law of Ukraine «On Education» provides that external independent assessment should evaluate the learning outcomes. Thus, the problem requires further clarification of what the discrepancy is: 1) or the school course does not provide the necessary learning outcomes; 2) or external independent assessment requires more learning outcomes than the school course should provide. If we take into account that a history textbook receives a stamp of the Ministry of Education and Science only if it provides learning outcomes, it turns out that external independent assessment requires a greater number of results. 4. There are doubts about ensuring equal access to higher education by external independent assessment. The Art. 47 of the Law of Ukraine «On Education» requires to evaluate the learning outcomes, but it is not so. Because a comparative analysis of the school history course and tasks of the main session of the external independent assessment in 2018–2022 on the example of one topic «Ukrainian Revolution of 1917–1921» showed that 50% of tasks cannot be solved at least part of the students.

5. The procedure for giving the stamps to educational literature requires improvement, as there are cases when textbooks provoke false answers.