Starting next year, certain changes are envisaged for the foreign language subject in the graduation exam.
According to news reported by Modern.az, citing the State Examination Center, it was stated at a seminar regarding the discussion of the examination model to be used for foreign language subjects during the final attestation of students at the full (11-year) secondary education level starting from 2027 that, as a continuation of the phased approach, in the graduation exam for the full (11-year) secondary education level in 2027, the foreign language proficiency of those students is envisaged to be assessed based on a model requiring one text for listening comprehension and 4 closed-ended test items based on the text, two reading texts for reading comprehension and 4 closed-ended test items for each text, 13 closed-ended test items for measuring lexical-grammatical knowledge, and the assessment of writing skills will be based on a model requiring writing a paragraph of at least 100 words based on a given topic or question.
It was noted that the main goal of the new approach is to measure students' language skills in a more realistic, functional, and communicative context. The writing task is aimed at measuring participants' structured writing skills and highlights students' ability to express their thoughts in a logical sequence. You can familiarize yourself with the proposed new examination model sample here.
It should be noted that, in accordance with this examination model, pilot exams were conducted in some schools in the cities of Baku and Sumgayit in 2025 by the State Examination Center with the support of the Ministry of Science and Education (MSE).
For your information, we would like to state that the assessment model for foreign language subjects in graduation exams is being updated in stages, and the public is informed in advance. In this regard, for the first time in 2025, students in the 9th-grade graduation exam completed a task in the writing section to write a story based on pictures. The aforementioned task allows for the assessment of students' language knowledge, as well as their ability to construct text, develop ideas, and think creatively.
It should be recalled that task samples and educational materials corresponding to this examination model have already been widely presented in foreign language textbooks approved and used by the Ministry of Science and Education. Furthermore, various task samples corresponding to the examination model to be implemented will also be provided in the "Assessment Tasks" book published by the SEC for different grades, as well as in test collections.
