THE SCHOOL HISTORY COURSE AND EXTERNAL INDEPENDENT ASSESSMENT: IS THERE EQUAL ACCESS TO HIGHER EDUCATION? (THE EXAMPLE OF ONE TOPIC)

Abstract

The article devotes a qualitative and quantitative analysis of external inde pendent assessment tasks, history textbooks, history curricula and external in dependent assessment history programs as example of one school curriculum topic: “Ukrainian lands in the 20s - 90s of the 18th century”. The conducted research shows that a third of Ukrainian citizens have reasonable doubts that external independent evaluation ensures equal access to higher education. In order to successfully pass the external independent assessment in history, it is not enough to complete the school history course and prepare for the external independent assessment using school textbooks. Textbooks cannot serve as a full-fledged means of preparation for the external examination, since not all of them contain the educational material necessary to answer the tasks of the external examination. The authors raise questions about equal access to higher education, because taking a school history course does not allow schoolchildren to successfully pass external independent assessment. The au thors raise the problem of reviewing and rethinking the role and function of external evaluation.
Thus, the current situation indicates that there is a problem: 1) either the learning outcomes in the educational program and external independent assessment program are understood differently, i.e. the learning outcomes of the external independent assessment program are broader than the edu cational program; 2) or the external evaluation measures what is easier to measure, and not what should be measured. For example, it is easier to check whether a student recognizes an architectural monument than his ability to think historically (see our publications for more details); 3) or the textbooks do not correspond to the educational programs; 4) or the external examina tion program does not correspond to the curriculum or the State Standard; 5) or the State Standard, the curriculum and the external examination program live a separate life; 6) or a combination of some previously listed factors; 7) or all together.
No matter how it was, the hostages of this inconsistency are school graduates who cannot be helped by taking a school history course and studying school textbooks in obtaining equal access to higher education.