The Key Drivers of the Unified National Test in Kazakhstan: A Critical Analysis of its Impact on School Leavers

Abstract

This study is aimed to identify the key drivers of the Unified National Test in Kazakhstan and to determine its impact on school leavers. The main key drivers of implementing the new assessment policy include the following: saving students’ time, receiving school certificate and combating corruption. The paper also considers whether the Unified National Test is a successful assessment policy. This investigation indicates that there are both advantages and disadvantages in implementing the Unified National Test. For example, with the introduction of new system of assessment, there have been many changes in students’ lives. However, some of these changes are considered as hopeless as they caused social problems like suicide. There were also different issues appeared since the introduction of the Unified National Test including private tutoring, the importance of core subjects, which led to a narrowing of a school curriculum, the hidden curriculum titled Course preparation for the Unified National Test and quality gap in education among various population groups. The results of this study show that the structure in the Unified National Test is overall good, but it can be improved for the better.