Tag: georgia

Annual Meeting with Exam Center Administrators and Coordinators

On Monday, the 26th the National Assessment and Examinations Center hosted exam center coordinators and administrators to discuss the final updates regarding exams 2023. The meeting was co-chaired by the Director of the NAEC Dr. Sophia Gorgodze and the Deputy Minister of Education and Science of Georgia Gela Geladze.

24 administrators and the same number of coordinators attended the annual working meeting. The heads of the various divisions shared the latest improvements and modifications of the examination process.

Annual meetings are usually held a week before the examination period to ensure the exam center representatives are fully equipped with relevant information and operate the exam centers efficiently, so that all applicants have a fair and standardized testing experience.

The exams 2023 will begin on July the 3rd and conclude on the 26th of July. Examination centers will be operating in Tbilisi, Batumi, Zugdidi, Kutaisi, Poti, Akhaltsikhe, Gori, Ozurgeti, Rustavi, Telavi Khulo and Ambrolauri.

Exams Schedule 2023

On Thursday, the 15th Dr. Sophia Gorgodze, the director of the National Assessment and Examinations Center held a briefing regarding the 2023 exam schedule.

Unified National Exams will start on July 3 with the Georgian language and conclude on July 26.

Detailed information about times and dates as well as the address of an exam center will be indicated on the exam card. The examinees will be able to print the cards from their accounts after June 20.

More than 75,000 applicants registered for Exams 2023.

  • A record number of examinees registered for the Unified National Exams – more than 45,000 entrants;
  • Student Grant Competition – more than 3,000;
  • Common Master’s Exam – more than 10,000;
  • Teacher’s Subject Competency Exam – more than 16,000;
  • Special Teacher Exam – about 2,500.

24 examination centers will be operating during this year’s exams throughout Georgia. Exam centers will be available in Tbilisi, Batumi, Zugdidi, Kutaisi, Poti, Akhaltsikhe, Gori, Ozurgeti, Rustavi, Telavi and Khulo. This year, for the first time, the examination center will be opened in Ambrolauri.

Exam schedule in Georgian can be found here.

The National Assessment and Examinations Center wishes success to all the applicants!

TIMSS 2023

On Friday, the 9th Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study 2023 was completed in Georgia. 10 000 fourth and eighth grade students from 166 public and private schools took part in the research.

Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study is conducted in more than 70 countries worldwide. It is organized by International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA). This year TIMSS marked the eighth cycle of the assessment since the inauguration of the study in 1995. Providing over 20 years of trend data, TIMSS has been a valuable tool for monitoring international trends in mathematics and science achievement at the fourth and eighth grades. Georgia has been participating in TIMSS from 2007 and the NAEC has been conducting the study ever since.

Like the previous TIMSS assessments, TIMSS 2023 will collect detailed information about curriculum and curriculum implementation, instructional practices, and school resources.

Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study 2023 was conducted in a fully electronic format. Like in other developed countries, for the first time in Georgia, students were tested using the online administration method. Together with the students, their parents, teachers and school principals participated in the research.

TIMSS achievement data are accompanied by a rich array of contextual questionnaire data about how countries around the world deliver and improve learning in mathematics and science. Trend results across study cycles permit countries to monitor the effectiveness of their educational systems in a global context.

In order to ensure highly efficient administration of the survey, the National Assessment and Examinations Center conducted nationwide trainings for survey proctors and administrators. 242 representatives of 166 schools participated in the trainings.

It is important that in the current cycle the participation rate of students, teachers, principals and parents were particularly high in Georgia. The research was conducted across the country in full compliance with international recommendations and standards. The research process was monitored and evaluated by international quality control monitors.

The results of the study will be available in 2024.

PIRLS 2021 International Results in Reading

On Tuesday, the 16th the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) published the results of PIRLS 2021 (Progress in International Reading Literacy Study).

In 2021, the number of countries participating in the study increased to 57. A total of 346,992 students worldwide took part in the international study. 5,637 students from 190 schools participated in PIRLS 2021 from Georgia.

The PIRLS 2021 study was conducted under different circumstances compared to previous cycles due to the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. A large number of students were switched to distance learning mode, therefore, the number of students in the classrooms of the schools selected for testing was less than the acceptable percentage of the reliability of the study. This is why, according to the decision of the IEA, in 14 countries (United States of America, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Ireland, Qatar, Latvia, Lithuania, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Northern Ireland, Croatia, Georgia), students wrote the test in the fall instead of the spring of 2021, and in 6 countries the test was conducted one year later. Therefore, a new stream of fourth-graders took part in the test in these countries.

Considering the mentioned circumstances, the IEA highly recommended not to compare the results of the countries that wrote the test in the fall with the results of the countries that completed the test in the spring.

During the testing period, the average age of students in Georgia was 5 months higher than the average age of students in most countries. A similar situation existed in 13 other countries, where, due to the age difference, it was difficult to compare with the previous cycles. PIRLS data indicated a substantial deterioration in achievement in the vast majority of participating countries.

It should be noted that Georgia is not in the list of countries where the average literacy score has decreased.

Along with the evaluation of the student’s achievements in literacy, the task of the research is to study the impact of school, teacher and family factors on the student’s literacy achievements and the formation of literacy skills. The impact of these factors on student achievement, the main findings and results of the research will be presented later in the form of a national research report.

At this stage, some general findings can be introduced:

  • Out of the 57 countries included in the study, only in 6 countries are boys able to have similar achievements in literacy as girls. In the remaining 51 countries, including Georgia, girls have better literacy achievements than boys. In none of the countries included in the study do boys have an advantage over girls. In Georgia, the difference between the achievements of students by gender is statistically significant and is maintained throughout the entire research cycle;
  • According to recent studies, a comparative analysis of urban and rural schools in Georgia shows the advantage of urban schools in the literacy achievement of students, although the 2021 study shows a reduction in the gap between rural and urban schools due to the improvement of rural school achievement. Improvements in rural school student outcomes were also seen in the 2019 Math and Science Achievement Scores (TIMSS 2019);
  • In the 2021 study, a statistically significant difference between the achievement of students in private and public schools remained. Private school students do better on literacy tasks.

PIRLS (Progress in International Reading Literacy Study) is an international literacy study of fourth-grade students conducted by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) since 2001.

Georgia participated in the last four cycles (2006, 2011, 2016 and 2021). The research group of the National Assessment and Examinations Center is leading the PIRLS in Georgia. The research aims to evaluate the reading skills of 9-10-year-old (fourth-grade) students and determine the impact of such contextual factors as the learning environment, parental involvement, school management, teacher qualifications, information and communication technologies, etc., on the student’s learning process.

PIRLS focuses on the reading goals and comprehension processes of fiction and informational texts. Half of the PIRLS assessment focuses on acquiring literary expertise, and the other half focuses on acquiring and using information.

More on PIRLS 2021 can be explored in English at the link.

“Assessment for Development” Pilot Testing

On Friday, the 5th intensive pilot testing was successfully completed within the framework of the project “Assessment for Development”. Four days of testing started on the 2nd of May. Each day, up to 14,000 students from 770 public schools were involved in each session.

4th and 6th graders were tested in mathematics, as well as in Georgian language and literature. Pilot testing aimed to test the functionality and the test format of the e-assessment platform.

Dr. Sophia Gorgodze, director of the National Assessment and Examinations Center visited the public school No 122 and observed the testing process on the spot. No errors were detected during the testing, the system proved to be fully functioning smoothly with 14 000 simultaneous entries.

Dr. Sophia Gorgodze, director of the National Assessment and Examinations Center

The National Assessment and Examinations Center started working on the project “Assessment for Development” back in 2019. Since then, a number of pilots have been conducted in order to refine the electronic platform and the testing format, as well as adapt it to the needs of the school as much as possible.

The project “Assessment for Development” aims to assess the achievements of fourth and sixth graders in Georgian and mathematics. The testing is conducted entirely by electronic software: students complete the tasks electronically, and the results are also available electronically.

In the future, the project will give the school the opportunity to observe the trends in teaching and learning both at the individual class level and at the school level in general. In addition, the results will help students and parents gain information about students’ strengths and weaknesses. It should be noted that the obtained points are not reflected in the student’s annual assessment.

CERTUS – English Language Proficiency Testing

On Wednesday, the 19th the representatives of the public and private universities of Georgia got together at NAEC to discuss the partnership within the framework of the project “CERTUS”.

The National Assessment and Examinations Center’s assessment platform “CERTUS” is a great way to test English language  proficiency  and obtain  a certificate in a flash. 

During the presentation the author of the project, the Head of Foreign Languages Subject Group Rusudan Tkemaladze spoke about the contents of the test. According to Ms. Tkemaladze the test evaluates examinee’s level of grammatical structures, vocabulary, as well as reading, listening, speaking and writing skills.

The level of language proficiency is determined in accordance with the levels set by the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages – C1 (high) , B2 (above average), B1 (medium), A2 (below average), A1 (elementary).

The test consists of four parts: 

1. Reading and use of English; 

2. Listening; 

3. Speaking; 

4. Writing. 

The examinee can take the test fully or partially. The parts of the test can be passed in any sequence. 

“CERTUS” is a computer based test. Therefore, the results of reading comprehension and use of English will be revealed upon completion.  However, the results of the speaking  and listening parts will be  known within 10 working days.

The CERTUS language proficiency certificate is recognized by the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports of Georgia, as well as accredited private and public higher education institutions. 

The registration for the very first “CERTUS” exam is now open.

Unified National Examinations 2023 Statistics of Optional Subjects

More than 45,000 entrants registered for the Unified National Exams 2023.

  • About 22,200 entrants chose history;
  • Mathematics – more than 15,700 applicants;
  • Biology – more than 3,600 applicants;
  • Chemistry – more than 2,600 applicants;
  • Geography – more than 2,200 applicants;
  • Physics – up to 700 applicants;
  • Literature – up to 1,300 entrants;
  • Civic education – more than 2,000 entrants;
  • More than 300 entrants chose fine and applied arts.

Registration for the 2023 exams concluded on April 3, however applicants had the opportunity to make changes to the list of subjects to be taken or to change the language of the exam until April 13 at 18:00.

The participants in the unified national exams will be able to make changes in the list of educational programs until the day after the publication of the appeal results. The specific number will be published in August.

Exams 2023 – Registration is Open

Online registration for the Unified National Examinations, Unified Masters Exam and Student Grant Competition started today at 10:00 AM. Eligible applicants should register at online.naec.ge until the 3rd of April 18:00 PM.

The Unified National Examinations are centralized, high-stakes and computer based. The whole process is standardized, every procedure including test development, administration, marking and appellation is in compliance with established regulations and applicants are in equal conditions. By means of valid, fair, and reliable educational assessment the NAEC contributes to the improvement of the quality of education in Georgia.

On Wednesday, the 1st the director of the National Assessment and Examinations Center sat down with media to discuss the registration procedures.

Dr. Sophia Gorgodze encouraged the entrants to pay attention to the registration regulations and deadlines highlighted at the NAEC’s annual “Guideline for Entrants”.

The document includes a list of educational programs, frequently asked questions, news and all the important topics related to the upcoming examination process.

Further information regarding the procedures, fees and other relevant issues are available at www.naec.ge

“Putting PIRLS to Use in Classrooms Across the Globe” – Presentation

On Wednesday, the 25th, the presentation of an e-book was held at NAEC. The book “Putting PIRLS to Use in Classrooms Across the Globe” was prepared based on the materials of the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA).

IEA is an international cooperative of national research institutions, governmental research agencies, scholars, and analysts working to research, understand, and improve education worldwide. PIRLS, the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study, is one of the core studies of IEA. PIRLS provides internationally comparative data on how well children read and offers educators and policymakers key insights for improving learning and teaching. NAEC has been conducting PIRLS since 2006.

Dr. Gorgodze, along with her colleagues, and the IEA representatives Andrea Netten, Paulína Koršňáková and Laura Cheeseman presented important insights from the book. Primary level teachers attended the presentation which was followed by engaging discussions in two parallel sessions.


In the book, which is dedicated to reading strategies, the example of five countries, including Georgia (Bolnisi Municipality Vill Darbazi Public School & Public School # 2 in Akhalkaki), is given. The book includes the best practices from schools internationally and we are pleased that two schools from Georgia and their practices are among them.

This new resource will help teachers put the latest scientific approaches to reading comprehension into practice. The book is the first in the IEA series which aims to highlight and translate practical information derived from the association’s studies, using the data in a suitable way to give back to teachers.

The book “Putting PIRLS to Use in Classrooms Across the Globe” is available in Georgian.

NAEC is 20 years old! Anniversary conference

On Tuesday, November 22, National Assessment and Examinations Center held a conference dedicated to the 20th anniversary of it’s establishment.

The conference was opened by the Minister of Education and Science of Georgia, Mikheil Chkhenkeli. Long time partners, the representatives of various state agencies, local and international organizations and individuals working in the field of education got together to recall NAEC’s history and hear about the future plans.

The organization, which made a significant contribution to the creation of a fair, transparent assessment system based on meritocratic principles, was founded in Georgia in 2002.

Initially the Center conducted examinations only for university entrants. However, due to hard work and devotion of the team the area of ​​activity expanded soon afterwards.

Currently, NAEC conducts various types of exams, administers international educational research and consults local and foreign partner organizations on assessment and large scale, high stakes examinations.

The Center’s employees, most of whom have been working in the organization since its establishment, recalled the path taken by National Assessment and Examinations Center, the first exam process and the difficulties that accompanied the introduction of the new exam model.


At the conference, the Center also presented a project “Assessment for Development”. The goal of the project is to measure students’ achievements towards the national curriculum and track their progress.

It is worth mentioning that the item development, as well as registration, test delivery and marking is fully electronic. The results are aimed to help students and parents track the progress made during the learning process and get information about the weaknesses and strengths.


The second part of the conference was dedicated to themed discussions and presentations on the following topics:

  • “Assessment for Development”: implementation challenges and results;
  • Challenges related to scientific (STEM) careers and professional choices of 15-year-old students;
  • TIMSS 2019 – analysis of student responses according to content and cognitive areas;
  • Differences and achievement gaps between the students at the primary level in Georgia.

The event concluded with a summary of the discussions.