20 YEARS OF UNIFIED NATIONAL TESTING

Today the National Testing Center is holding an international scientific and practical conference “20 years of UNT: transformation of education through testing”.

The conference is attended by the leadership of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education and the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan, heads and representatives of leading world companies in the field of testing - “Educational Testing Service”, ETS (USA), “AQA” (UK), National Foundation For Educational Research (NFER) (UK), Dutchtestologis (Netherlands), the center “TÖMER” (Turkey), Vantage Labs (USA), representatives of the Eurasian Association of Education Quality Assessment, representatives of state examination centers of Russia, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan, and Tajikistan

Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan Sayasat Nurbek, emphasizing the importance of the conference, noted that this is a unique project aimed at discussing creative ideas, predicting the future, as well as sharing best practices and knowledge. 

«UNT is an important part of the educational process. Today we face the task not only to maintain the achieved results, but also to strive for new heights. We live in the era of new approaches to knowledge assessment and dynamic development of technologies, so it is important to meet the requirements of the time and be ready for the challenges», - the minister said.

In his speech, Bolatbek Abdrasilov, Director of the National Testing Center, spoke about landmark achievements and important projects over the 20 years of the UNT history.

"Introduced in 2004, testing fundamentally changed the approach to assessing the knowledge of secondary school graduates and became the main mechanism for entering higher education institutions in the country. The UNT is a key element of Kazakhstan's educational system, which epitomizes significant changes and reforms in approaches to knowledge assessment and student selection. Over two decades, the UNT has transformed into a complex and multifaceted system based on modern technologies and scientific approaches, and has become an integral part of Kazakhstan's educational system”, - Bolatbek Serikbayevich noted. 

Within the framework of the event, the ex-heads of the center, who managed the center since its foundation, were awarded jubilee badges. In addition, during the event, memorandums were signed with representatives of examination centers from the United States, Russia, Turkey, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, which are aimed at supporting and developing mutual cooperation in the field of education assessment and development.

The conference is designed to bring together international experts in the field of educational assessment to share their experiences and achievements. The focus is on improving the quality of education, introduction of artificial intelligence and new technologies in educational assessment.

During the breakout sessions of the conference, leading domestic and foreign experts presented their cases and shared their unique experience with the participants of the event.

The conference will continue on October 31 with two important round tables. The first round table with participation of foreign experts will discuss modern challenges and opportunities in the field of education quality assessment, and at the second round table representatives of universities offering training programs for specialists in the field of pedagogical measurement will discuss modern challenges and prospects of training specialists in the field of testology.

National Testing Center of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan