In accordance with the new law "On Higher Education" and the need to provide additional guarantees of equal access to higher education for all applicants, new elements were introduced in the technology of external independent evaluation in 2015.
The information was stated in the explanatory letters of the Ukrainian National Academy of Sciences and Arts, received by the principals of Ukrainian schools, lyceums, gymnasiums and collegiums.
As noted by the authorized body, among the innovations in the external examination procedure are the introduction of two-level certification works for two academic subjects, determination of external examination results according to a new methodology, limitation of the validity period of the external examination certificate to one year, conducting a state final certification of the Ukrainian language for all graduates in the form of an external independent assessment .
Also, a significant addition to the process of preparing the external examination in 2015 are the levels of difficulty in mathematics, Ukrainian language and literature, namely: basic and advanced. Applicants will indicate the chosen level of difficulty when registering for participation in an external independent assessment.
The "Threshold score", which in previous years was set at the level of 124 points, also underwent important changes. Now this indicator will be determined by a group of experts, which will include pedagogical workers who have experience teaching in educational institutions of various types, teachers of higher educational institutions of all accreditation levels, scientists from all regions of Ukraine.
The limitation of the validity period of the ZNO certificate is determined by several important factors, firstly, it is not correct to compare the results of the ZNO of entrants of different years, because the assessment on a scale of 100 - 200 points is a rating, which indicates the place of the entrant's result among the results of other entrants who took the test in a certain subject , and secondly, in 2015, a new system for determining the results of secondary school examinations will be introduced.