USETI Alliance Phase II Quarterly Report Y3Q1 (January-March 2015)

Agency for International Development (USAID) under a cooperative agreement. American Councils for International Education is the Cooperating Partner and lead implementer, collaborating with USAID and 19 other founding partners. The Agreement aims to build a sustainable strengthened UCEQA system capable of independently and transparently developing and implementing secure tests that meet international standards. Throughout the reporting period (January-March 2015), USETI Legacy Alliance Phase II activities focused on supporting UCEQA with test development, psychometrics workshops, implementation of the new law on higher education, development of draft law on education, admissions, and related matters. Key events during this period include the Second Coordination Meeting of the International Partners of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, the 2015 practice external testing, and the UCEQA Web Press Conference on peculiarities of 2015 SET scoring. The 2015 practice external testing was conducted in all regions of Ukraine in March, with the aim of acquainting test takers with the procedure of standardized testing and piloting new test items for future testing sessions. The practice testing was held on March 21 for Ukrainian Language & Literature and on March 28 for English, Biology, Geography, Spanish, History of Ukraine Math, German, Russian, Physics, French, and Chemistry. The UCEQA Director gave a Web Press Conference on March 5, explaining the new approach to scoring of 2015 SET, particularly for the test in the Ukrainian language. The registration for SET ran from January 5 through February 20, with almost 290,000 persons registered, including 68,000 who finished school in previous years. The most popular subjects for registration, apart from mandatory Ukrainian Language and Literature, were Ukrainian History (158,500 persons) and Math (146,800 persons). Test takers who live on the territory temporarily occupied by pro-Russian rebels and in annexed Crimea were allowed to register in the oblast of their choosing. Technical Assistance was delivered to UCEQA to secure its capacity for item banking, test development, and test structure/content quality assurance. International consultants provided psychometric training to UCEQA Psychometric department staff, psychometric support to two-level tests in Ukrainian Language and Literature and Mathematics, and guidance to UCEQA management regarding setting standards and using cut scores within a framework of two-level test design. A workshop on "Scoring short response open-ended items in Ukrainian Language and Literature on 2015 testing" was hosted by USETI Alliance on February 12-13, with 17 participants from UCEQA and all RCEQAs taking part. A two-day seminar for MOES and SSDBE on the theoretical and technical aspects of the system of common admission to HEIs in Ukraine was conducted on February 13-14. Consultations with UCEQA senior staff members on setting pass/fail benchmarks for SET 2015 were also held. The development of the Bill (Draft Law) on Education was a key focus area during this period. On January 16, the working group on the Bill on Education met to go over the final version of the Concept of the Bill. The Bill structure and fundamentals have been approved, and participants shortlisted sixteen key issues of concern to the general public in the area of educational reform. USETI Alliance was represented by Legislative and Government Relations Specialist Volodymyr Kovtunets. The key issues for education identified by the Working Group on the Bill on Education include how the structure and duration of education will change, how equal access to education will be assured, and how university education will remain relevant to the labor market and ensure job placement of university graduates. The working group on the Bill on Education met on February 27 to discuss the Draft Bill structure, specifically particular sections.