Assessment News – National Assessment and Examinations Center

Report 2023

For the National Assessment and Examinations Center each new year brings forth new challenges.

In the past years, particularly during the COVID 19 outbreak, the NAEC team faced significant challenges, yet the pandemic also provided a unique opportunity to build resilience. Remarkably, 2023 marked a record number of university applicants.

More than 45,000 applicants registered for the Unified National Exams in 2023. In total, for all summer exams, NAEC had to serve more than 75,000 examinees. Creating a comfortable environment for everyone, assigning examinees to the exam centers without prolonging the exams period, delivering results efficiently in the shortest time possible, obviously was not easy; however, like in previous years, the Center managed to cope with these tasks successfully.

Sophia Gorgodze
Director of the National Assessment and
Examinations Center

Photo Credit: Giorgi Ebanoidze

This year’s exam experience also shows that the number of applicants for whom age is no longer an obstacle has increased – higher education can be obtained at any age, if there is a desire for it. In this regard many inspirational stories were brought to our attention. We have watched mothers breastfeeding their babies during short exam breaks, women with children and grandchildren testing their skills in new directions. Such facts bring us joy and admiration, also hope that more and more people will be drawn to self-development and lifelong learning within the upcoming years.

In the 2023 report, we will introduce you to the most memorable exam stories. You will also receive detailed information about the activities that the Center has carried out in various directions throughout the year.

Report 2023 Download

Student Grant Competition 2023

Grant competition 2023 started on Wednesday, the 12th. More than 3,000 students who endeavor to obtain or improve educational funding joined the examination process. The Grant Competition has been held since 2007 and is a unique opportunity for students to get or increase merit based state grants.

All undergraduate students of accredited higher educational institutions, who have either not received a grant at all, or have only partial funding, have the right to participate in the competition. If the student is unable to improve the funding, he/she retains the previously obtained grant and remains entitled to re-register for the student grant competition each subsequent year (the grant does not finance additional semesters).

The National Assessment and Examinations Center has developed a test format specifically for this exam, and each year, test items are tailored for students to assess their general academic skills. Conducting the grant competition in the form of a centralized exam creates equal conditions for students of different universities and increases the motivation to study harder.

A foreign language exam for entrants was also held on the 12th of July. The next exam will be in biology on July 14.

Azerbaijani delegation visited the NAEC to Discuss Ongoing Cooperation and Future Partnership Prospects

Dr. Sophia Gorgodze, Director of the National Assessment and Examinations Center hosted Vali Hussein, Head of the Strategy Department of the State Examination Center of the Republic of Azerbaijan, and Elnur Abbasov, Head of Law, Civil Service Policy and State Strategy Division.

For the third year in a row, the National Assessment and Examinations Center has been assisting the SEC to develop Georgian language and literature exam materials for schools in the Republic of Azerbaijan for the 9th and 11th grade students. For its part, the State Examinations Center of the Republic of Azerbaijan together with the NAEC’s experts has developed an item bank for Teachers’ Professional Examination in Azerbaijani language and literature. The following exam will be conducted by the NAEC for the first time this year.

The meeting also touched upon the existing challenges in the field of assessment and future plans. The National Assessment and Examinations Center plans to further enhance cooperation with its Azerbaijani counterparts in the near future.

Partnership with Armenia

A Memorandum of Understanding was signed by the First Deputy Minister of Education and Science of Georgia Ekaterine Dgebuadze and the Deputy Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport of the Republic of Armenia Artur Martirosyan with the objective of promoting cooperation in language assessment instruments in Armenian and Georgian languages.

The First Deputy Minister of Education and Science of Georgia **Ekaterine Dgebuadze** and the Deputy Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport of the Republic of Armenia **Artur Martirosyan**

The parties endeavor to exchange experience on improving the system of training and assessment of teachers of the two countries, therefore the MoU highlights the future partnership prospects for the National Assessment and Examinations Center and the Assessment and Testing Center, acting under the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport of the Republic of Armenia.

*Kakha Jamburia, Deputy Direqtor of the National Assessment and Examinations Center*

The Assessment and Testing Center will provide assistance to the NAEC for the development of an item bank consisting of 100 tasks for Teachers’ Professional Qualifying Examination for Armenian language and literature teachers working in Georgian schools. The National Assessment and Examinations Center will contribute to the development of the current assessment services and practices in Armenia.

This mutually beneficial collaboration is expected to bring positive and long-lasting effects on both organizations and result in the development, transfer and implementation of innovative practices at organizational, local, regional or national levels.

The Safety Measures During the 2021 Examinations

The 2021 examination process will be conducted in full compliance with the healthcare guidelines set by the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labor, Health and Social Affairs of Georgia.

Sophia Gorgodze, the Head of the National Assessment and Examinations Center together with Nunu Mitskevich, Deputy Minister of Education and Science, and Paata Imnadze, Deputy Director of the National Center for Disease Control and Public Health shared the latest updates in terms of safety measures during the exams.

In 2021, the Covid-19 infected examinees will have an opportunity to take exams 14 days after recovery. Additional sessions will be conducted once per subject before the end of examination period. The list of examinees will be developed according to the information provided by the National Center for Disease Control and Public Health.
Sophia Gorgodze

Similarly, to the last year:

examinees and invigilators will be allowed in only 50% of the area of each examination sector.

Each desk will be equipped with a transparent protective shield / barrier from the front;

The distance between the tables will be at least 2 meters, and the distance between the tables arranged in a row – 1 meter.

Wearing a face mask will be mandatory throughout the examination process. The air conditioners will be switched on at temperatures above 30 ° C.

Special spaces will be arranged for applicants with a high temperature this year.

Examinees are highly recommended to follow the healthcare guidelines set by the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labor, Health and Social Affairs:

Keep social distance as much as possible during the registration and examination process;

Frequently use hand sanitizers provided by the Center.

Examinees should have an ID Card as well as an Examination Card;

Applicants are free to carry their own water in a plastic bottle, an additional face mask and a pen (gel black pen 0.5-0.7 mm, with a ball tip).

No other personal item will be allowed to minimize the risk of transmitting / spreading the disease from the items.

The National Assessment and Examinations Center wishes good luck to all of the examinees and once again kindly asks to follow the safety regulations during the 2021 exams.