Russia's ninth graders to face mandatory oral history exams by 2028
Russia is introducing a new mandatory oral history exam for ninth-grade students, shifting the focus from social studies towards history in university admissions. The change will take effect in the 2027–2028 academic year. Schools will hold the exam between January and April as part of the state final assessment. The move aligns with broader reforms in university admissions, where history is becoming a more prominent requirement for humanities and social sciences programmes. Starting next year, ninth graders will face an oral history test in the form of an interview, assessing not just factual knowledge but also students' ability to think critically and reason through historical topics. It will serve as a prerequisite for their final state assessment. At the same time, universities are adjusting their entry requirements. Since March 1, the Unified State Exam (USE) in history has become mandatory for applicants to social sciences and humanities courses, previously allowing institutions to choose between the USE in social studies or history for these fields. Now, some programmes will demand both exams. The oral exam's introduction aims to shift focus away from social studies and towards history in university admissions. Over time, history is expected to replace social studies as the key subject for entry into these academic areas. No public reactions or expert opinions on the new oral exam have been reported so far. The oral history exam will become a fixed part of the curriculum for ninth graders by 2027–2028, with universities relying more on history results when selecting students for humanities and social sciences degrees. The changes reflect a broader push to prioritise history in secondary and higher education.
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