USETI Legacy Alliance – Quarter 11 DEC Report

Agency for International Development (USAID). The Agreement aims to build a sustainable strengthened Ukrainian Center for Educational Quality Assessment (UCEQA) capable of independently and transparently developing and implementing secure tests that meet international standards. This is achieved by securing a legislative basis for testing and higher education admission, institutionalizing a partnership between business, higher education, and policymakers, transforming public support for testing into a proactive contemporary public expectation, and assisting in the development of a basic, high-quality test-preparation industry driven by informed consumer demand. Throughout the third quarter of Year 3, the USETI Legacy Alliance activities focused on supporting item writing, test development, and effective item banking, monitoring of the 2012 admission campaign, conducting the Ninth USETI Alliance Partners Meeting, and addressing policy aspects of testing-based admissions. The Annual UCEQA Management Conference was held on September 11-14, where USETI Alliance, USAID, and Civic Network "OPORA" were special guests. The conference discussed 2012 results and plans for 2013 external testing. Technical assistance was delivered to expand support for item writing and test development to enhance test quality. USETI Alliance consultants worked with UCEQA Modern Foreign Languages specialists, item writers, and reviewers on item writing, analysis, and review. An interactive workshop was prepared and delivered with participation from UCEQA's Research Department, Psychometric Department, Item Bank Department, and UCEQA management. USETI Alliance consultants also worked with UCEQA on new approaches in item writer training for UCEQA content and item bank specialists. The development of recommendations for the 2013 MOESYS Conditions on Admission was a significant event. USETI Alliance conducted an ELPEG meeting on development of the recommendations for the 2013 MOESYS Conditions on HEIs Admission. The recommendations were developed by USETI Alliance and delivered to MOESYS. A Regional Round Table "Ways of Improving Student Selection by HEIs" was held on September 26, where USETI Alliance and its partners discussed ways to improve student selection to HEIs. The USETI Legacy Alliance also supported the work of the "Konkurs" admissions management system. The Konkurs system displayed lists of HEI applicants, indicating their provisional rankings, privileged categories, and firm rankings of applicants who had submitted original documents. The Ninth USETI Alliance Partners Meeting was held on September 18, where participants discussed draft educational legislation, the 2012 admission report by MOESYS, the 2009 Validity Study, and Statistics Analysis of the 2012 admissions campaign. Media monitoring revealed that 4,462 articles related to external independent testing and equal access to quality higher education in Ukraine were published during the reporting period. Admission campaign public monitoring was conducted by Civic network observers, who monitored 50 HEIs in Ukraine and reacted to complaints made by applicants and their parents about violations. OPORA also gave consultations on legal aspects of the admission campaign, helped resolve conflicts and misunderstandings, and clarified legal rationale of actions taken by members of Admission Commissions through a telephone hot line and the Internet. The development of 2013 test preparation materials is underway. USETI Alliance partner FAKT Publishing House's affiliated NGO continued to develop an online practice test system for the development of a career website (www.timo.com.ua). Information on external testing administration and conditions on HEIs admissions was updated on the website according to MOESY and UCEQA procedures. The website users can try tests online for Ukrainian Language & Literature, Math, Ukrainian History, English, Geography, Biology, Chemistry, and Physics.