Ukrainian educators visit U.S. to study American testing system (03/12/06)

Ukrainian educators visit U.S. to study American testing system

by Natalia and Ihor Lysyj

AUSTIN, Texas - A group of Ukrainian educators visited the United States in January to study the American system of educational testing, both in secondary schools and at the university level. The goal is to establish a common testing program for Ukraine in order to create a meritorious system based on talent and academic preparation rather than on personal connections and the ability to pay bribes for access to education.

This group of visitors was invited to the United States under the auspices of the Department of State's International Visitor Leadership Program. The program began in Washington, with an introduction to the U.S. federal system of government. In addition, the Washington program provided the participants with an opportunity to visit educational testing centers, university boards, high schools and companies that offer preparatory courses for tests.

The program also addressed the role of professional associations to support education, the role of educational testing in fair and open admissions policies, financing of higher education and admissions processing, and administration and management of institutions of higher education.

Of special interest to the visitors was the role of and the differentiation between the functions of the government, non-government organizations (NGOs) and local communities in secondary and higher education, and the methodologies used to improve standards in educational testing.

Understanding the intricacies of American educational testing was very important to the visitors as Ukraine's current system of access to education left over from Soviet times is still run from the top down by a massive and graft-ridden bureaucracy.

The visiting educators were chosen to represent the territory of Ukraine, from Lutsk in the west to Kharkiv in the east. The group, ranging in age between 36 and 45, included Dr. Ihor Kotsan, rector of Volyn National University in Lutsk; Vadim Lunachek, rector of Kharkiv Regional Scientific and Methodological Institute for Continuous Education, who is also deputy head of the Educational Department, Kharkiv Municipal Council; Dr. Liudmyla Parashchenko, director of the Lyceum of Finance in Kyiv, who is also president of the School Directors Association; and Dr. Liliya Hranevych, director of Lviv Secondary School No. 28, who is also director of the Testing Technologies Center. Also with the group was the ever-present Tetiana Galkovska, a journalist for the newspaper Dzerkalo Tyzhnia published in Kyiv, who was covering the trip for the press.

After leaving Washington, the group headed to Jacksonville, Fla., where the educators visited local high schools to study the testing systems on the secondary school level, and enjoyed answering questions from students about Ukraine. The group was duly impressed by the beautiful design of bridges that span the rivers and waterways of the Jacksonville area. (Some of these were designed by Ukrainian American Wolodymyr Sharko.)

From Jacksonville the group traveled on January 20 to Austin, Texas, for a visit at the University of Texas, one of the largest campuses in the United States in terms of enrollment. Here the group had discussions with the faculty and admissions administrators about the intricacies of university admission in the United States.

Thanks to the International Hospitality Council of Austin, visitors met with a small group of Ukrainian Americans at the home of Ihor and Natalia Lysyj in Austin. Without the need of State Department translators, who were given a night off, lively discussion in Ukrainian took place touching on educational testing as well as current issues and problems of academic life in Ukraine. Ms. Lysyj shared with the group her personal work experience at the Educational Testing Service in Princeton, N.J., and subsequent testing experiences at the California State University system.

Chrystia Wynnyk Wilson related her experiences with SATs and other testing programs while she was a student in the New York University system, and also about her sons' testing programs in Austin secondary schools. Andrew Zwarun, professor of agriculture at Southwest Texas State University, related his personal experience with tests and learning, having gone through the American educational system.

Mr. Lysyj then turned the discussion to the status of the Ukrainian language in secondary schools and institutions of higher education. According to the visitors, progress is being made in implementing the use of the Ukrainian language in the educational system of the country.

Mr. Lunyachek, deputy head of the Educational Department of the Kharkiv Municipal Council, indicated that in the early 1990s there were only two secondary schools in Kharkiv where the language of instruction was Ukrainian. Today approximately 60 percent of the secondary schools in Kharkiv use the Ukrainian language, about 20 percent are bilingual (Ukrainian and Russian), and about 20 percent are taught in Russian. In western Ukraine almost all schools are taught in Ukrainian, according to Mr. Kotsan.

There are problems with the Ukrainization of the education system in Ukraine. While students are taught in Ukrainian in school many students speak Russian, the language of their parents, at home. There is also the matter of the proposed introduction of the Russian language as the second state language. This idea is being actively pursued by the pro-Russian political bloc in the Ukrainian Parliament.

The discussion also touched on the history of Ukrainian immigration and the preservation of language and culture in the diaspora. The guests were very much interested in the topic and genuinely surprised at the extent of the contributions that the diaspora has made toward the preservation and advancement of Ukrainian culture and language - essential elements of nationhood.

After exposure to some Texas cultural and scenic attractions, the group traveled to Princeton, N.J., for a visit at the Educational Testing Service, where the group was looking for assistance in establishing procedures for the writing, administering and scoring of testing programs for Ukraine.

The Testing Technologies Center (TTC) in Ukraine has been supported as an NGO by the Soros Foundation. However, funds from these sources are expiring, and TTC is seeking support and guidance from American and international communities. Such assistance is needed for efforts to pioneer an independent and unbiased system of testing and school admissions based on merit and talent.

| Home Page |