Kazakhstan working with American firm to fix troubled entrance exam system

Eurasianet, Aidana Maitekova Jun 4, 2026

Trying to make access to higher education more equitable. Kazakhstan has plans to overhaul its college admission process to make it more equitable.

The technology designed to enable the process is largely untested. For years, Kazakhstan’s Unified National Testing (UNT) exam – the high-stakes test that determines university admissions and access to state scholarships – has faced sustained criticism for encouraging rote memorization, reinforcing inequality between urban and rural schools and placing heavy psychological pressure on students. After another year of weak national results and mounting criticism from lawmakers over the “systemic problems” revealed by student performance, the government is preparing its most significant admissions reform in decades. Education officials are developing a new entrance exam developed in partnership with the US-based Educational Testing Service (ETS), the organization behind the GRE and TOEFL exams for foreign students hoping to study at American universities.

High school graduates take the Unified National Testing exam. (Photo: gov.kz)

The new Admissions Insight Test (AIT) is expected to gradually replace Kazakhstan’s UNT. According to Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Science and Higher Education, the project will be rolled out in phases over three years. Small-scale testing is expected to begin in 2027, followed by pilot implementation for applicants to branches of foreign universities operating in Kazakhstan in 2028. Authorities will then consider nationwide implementation in 2029. During the transition period, AIT and the current UNT system will operate in parallel.

The initiative emerged after a September 2025 meeting in New York between President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and ETS executives, where the two sides discussed modernizing Kazakhstan’s testing infrastructure using international standards. The new exam will be modular, Arman Zhunussov, the director of public relations at the Kazakh Ministry of Science and Higher Education, said in an interview with Eurasianet. One section will continue to assess subject-specific knowledge tied to students’ intended fields of study. The second component will evaluate “21st-century” skills such as critical thinking, communication, project-based reasoning, and digital literacy.

The reform reflects mounting concerns among education officials that the current UNT model has become increasingly disconnected from both labor market demands and the actual quality of school education. The existing exam format – largely unchanged for years – consists of 120 questions across five subjects and remains heavily tied to memorization and standardized content recall.

The debate intensified earlier this year after lawmakers publicly criticized the latest UNT results as indicative of an educational crisis. According to data cited in parliament, more than 210,000 applicants participated in UNT-2025, but one in four students failed to reach the minimum required score. Authorities also recorded 711 testing violations that led to annulled results. Parliamentary deputy Magerram Magerramov has argued that weak school preparation is fueling dependence on private tutors and commercial test-preparation centers, placing growing financial pressure on families – especially those from low-income or large households.

The criticism touches on a politically sensitive issue in Kazakhstan: the widening educational divide between elite urban schools and underfunded rural ones. In online discussions among students preparing for the UNT, many describe relying on expensive tutoring programs, leaked test banks, or specialized schools focused entirely on exam preparation. Rural schools suffer from a shortage of teaching staff, inadequate teaching materials, and shortages of technical resources. While internet access has been extended to every location, the connection quality and speed can be lacking in many areas. According to ETS representatives, the AIT will also incorporate artificial intelligence and advanced analytics into the exam’s development and evaluation systems. The Kazakh ministry has not directly addressed how AI systems will be used, instead emphasizing that all proposed reforms would undergo scientific review and consultation with domestic and international experts.

Zhunussov, the ministry spokesman, when asked whether AI could be used to identify academic potential beyond raw scores or compensate for structural inequalities in educational access, indicated that officials were focused on implementation of the AIT: “Equal preparation opportunities and fair testing conditions will be ensured through the phased introduction of the new AIT format and its alignment with the school curriculum,” he said. The project’s cost has also drawn public attention: the new testing system with ETS would cost roughly $3 million. Whether the investment will meaningfully improve educational outcomes without broader reforms to secondary education remains an open question. This ambition reflects Kazakhstan’s broader attempt to reposition its higher education system to meet international standards, transferable skills, and technological modernization.

Aidana Maitekova is a graduate student at the Harriman Institute at Columbia University whose research focuses on cultural, societal, and political developments across Central Asia.