National Multisubject Test (NMT): A Guarantee of Quality Education or a Stress Endurance Marathon?
The NMT-2026 is accompanied by a wide spectrum of emotional responses — from tension and disappointment to relief and joy. Its outcomes will ultimately be reflected in statistical reports and aggregated numerical indicators; however, behind each figure lie individual educational trajectories and life-defining decisions that shape the future of participants.
Viktoriia Ilchenko
member of the
NGO “Progressive and Strong”
NGO “Progressive and Strong”
In response to the challenges of full-scale war, Ukraine’s university admission assessment system underwent a fundamental transformation, replacing the traditional External Independent Evaluation (ZNO) with the National Multisubject Test (NMT). This shift enabled the preservation of procedural transparency and demonstrated the effectiveness of anti-corruption reforms in the national education system. At the same time, the experience of administering the test between 2022 and 2026 shows that the NMT operates at the intersection between an objective knowledge assessment tool and a significant psycho-emotional challenge for applicants and their parents, thereby intensifying public concern and debate.
Dynamics of Registration and Outcomes: Quantitative Trends
An analysis of statistical data over a five-year period indicates a steady increase in the number of prospective applicants choosing higher education in Ukraine despite the ongoing war.
2022. In the initial stage of implementing the new format, 206.4 thousand applicants registered for the main NMT session, including approximately 25 thousand abroad. Despite wartime conditions, 214,388 participants took part in the testing process (based on total submitted applications), demonstrating strong motivation to continue education.
2023. Successful registration was confirmed for 284,729 applicants, including 23,300 abroad. The attendance rate reached 93.04%, with 261,632 participants taking part in the examination. These results reflected consistently high engagement and effective organization of the testing process.
2024. The total number of registered participants reached 287,111, including 231,118 current school graduates and 56,663 graduates of previous years. Testing was also undertaken by 19,883 participants abroad. The data demonstrates a broad geographical reach and sustained participation in the assessment system.
2025. The main session involved 283,653 participants out of 317,091 registered, resulting in a 91.35% attendance rate. The statistics highlight certain preparation-related challenges: 13.5% of participants did not pass the threshold in at least one subject, while the maximum score of 200 points was achieved by 2,414 participants, reflecting both unequal preparation levels and high academic excellence among top performers.
2026. The current year marked a record level of engagement: 368,774 applicants used the registration system, representing a 14% increase compared to the previous year. Successful registration was confirmed for 355,371 individuals, including 252,034 current school graduates and 103,337 graduates of previous years. These figures indicate continued growth in demand for participation in admission assessments and an expanding coverage of the evaluation system.
The 14% increase in applicants in 2026 compared to 2025 confirms a high level of trust in the testing system and the strong aspiration of young people to pursue higher education in Ukraine. At the same time, the expansion of the process has intensified a range of organizational and infrastructural challenges related to ensuring efficiency, accessibility, and resilience. The significant share of applicants who are graduates of previous years also raises questions — whether this reflects a desire to improve prior results or broader social dynamics within the system. Ultimately, behind every statistic lies human capital — a concept widely emphasized by demographers, statisticians, and policymakers. These are individuals striving to remain in Ukraine, forming a potential workforce reserve for post-war recovery, fiscal strengthening, and broader demographic and societal development.
An analysis of statistical data over a five-year period indicates a steady increase in the number of prospective applicants choosing higher education in Ukraine despite the ongoing war.
2022. In the initial stage of implementing the new format, 206.4 thousand applicants registered for the main NMT session, including approximately 25 thousand abroad. Despite wartime conditions, 214,388 participants took part in the testing process (based on total submitted applications), demonstrating strong motivation to continue education.
2023. Successful registration was confirmed for 284,729 applicants, including 23,300 abroad. The attendance rate reached 93.04%, with 261,632 participants taking part in the examination. These results reflected consistently high engagement and effective organization of the testing process.
2024. The total number of registered participants reached 287,111, including 231,118 current school graduates and 56,663 graduates of previous years. Testing was also undertaken by 19,883 participants abroad. The data demonstrates a broad geographical reach and sustained participation in the assessment system.
2025. The main session involved 283,653 participants out of 317,091 registered, resulting in a 91.35% attendance rate. The statistics highlight certain preparation-related challenges: 13.5% of participants did not pass the threshold in at least one subject, while the maximum score of 200 points was achieved by 2,414 participants, reflecting both unequal preparation levels and high academic excellence among top performers.
2026. The current year marked a record level of engagement: 368,774 applicants used the registration system, representing a 14% increase compared to the previous year. Successful registration was confirmed for 355,371 individuals, including 252,034 current school graduates and 103,337 graduates of previous years. These figures indicate continued growth in demand for participation in admission assessments and an expanding coverage of the evaluation system.
The 14% increase in applicants in 2026 compared to 2025 confirms a high level of trust in the testing system and the strong aspiration of young people to pursue higher education in Ukraine. At the same time, the expansion of the process has intensified a range of organizational and infrastructural challenges related to ensuring efficiency, accessibility, and resilience. The significant share of applicants who are graduates of previous years also raises questions — whether this reflects a desire to improve prior results or broader social dynamics within the system. Ultimately, behind every statistic lies human capital — a concept widely emphasized by demographers, statisticians, and policymakers. These are individuals striving to remain in Ukraine, forming a potential workforce reserve for post-war recovery, fiscal strengthening, and broader demographic and societal development.
Technological Barriers and the Human Factor
The transition to a computer-based testing format places increased demands on the technical infrastructure of temporary testing centres (TTCs). The situation observed during the June 2026 sessions in Vinnytsia highlighted vulnerabilities in the Safe Exam Browser (SEB) system. As resource-intensive software, SEB — when deployed on outdated hardware (including systems manufactured around 2016) — can cause system failures, interface freezing, and malfunctioning peripheral devices, leading to loss of time for test-takers.
An additional disruptive factor is the presence of bureaucratic inertia among some testing centre staff. Despite regulatory requirements mandating backup workstations, cases have been recorded where participants’ requests regarding technical malfunctions were disregarded. This situation calls not only for localized responses (such as additional sessions following appeals), but also for systemic auditing of computer infrastructure and strengthened training of exam personnel. It is essential to recognize that each incident ultimately involves a person whose rights, time, and educational opportunity depend on on-site decision-making within the boundaries of regulations and procedures.
The transition to a computer-based testing format places increased demands on the technical infrastructure of temporary testing centres (TTCs). The situation observed during the June 2026 sessions in Vinnytsia highlighted vulnerabilities in the Safe Exam Browser (SEB) system. As resource-intensive software, SEB — when deployed on outdated hardware (including systems manufactured around 2016) — can cause system failures, interface freezing, and malfunctioning peripheral devices, leading to loss of time for test-takers.
An additional disruptive factor is the presence of bureaucratic inertia among some testing centre staff. Despite regulatory requirements mandating backup workstations, cases have been recorded where participants’ requests regarding technical malfunctions were disregarded. This situation calls not only for localized responses (such as additional sessions following appeals), but also for systemic auditing of computer infrastructure and strengthened training of exam personnel. It is essential to recognize that each incident ultimately involves a person whose rights, time, and educational opportunity depend on on-site decision-making within the boundaries of regulations and procedures.
Security Conditions and Regional Inequality
Conducting examinations under conditions of ongoing security threats creates unequal circumstances for applicants. The experience of Odesa region, where prolonged air-raid alerts extended test sessions up to 13 hours, is particularly critical. Although regulations allow candidates to suspend participation if an alert exceeds 2.5 hours and transfer to an additional session, the majority (around 90%) choose not to exercise this option due to psychological reluctance to postpone stress and concerns about reduced time for university applications.
Analysis of infrastructural readiness across regions reveals significant disparities. While Dnipropetrovsk, Poltava, Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv, and Sumy regions ensured 100% coverage of shelters in testing centres, enabling uninterrupted exams, the figures were significantly lower in Odesa and Lviv regions (around 30%), and only 20% in Kyiv city. This situation shifts responsibility towards local military administrations, which are tasked with ensuring adequate funding and development of safe examination environments.
Conducting examinations under conditions of ongoing security threats creates unequal circumstances for applicants. The experience of Odesa region, where prolonged air-raid alerts extended test sessions up to 13 hours, is particularly critical. Although regulations allow candidates to suspend participation if an alert exceeds 2.5 hours and transfer to an additional session, the majority (around 90%) choose not to exercise this option due to psychological reluctance to postpone stress and concerns about reduced time for university applications.
Analysis of infrastructural readiness across regions reveals significant disparities. While Dnipropetrovsk, Poltava, Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv, and Sumy regions ensured 100% coverage of shelters in testing centres, enabling uninterrupted exams, the figures were significantly lower in Odesa and Lviv regions (around 30%), and only 20% in Kyiv city. This situation shifts responsibility towards local military administrations, which are tasked with ensuring adequate funding and development of safe examination environments.
Test Content: Alignment with Curriculum or a Competition of Tutors?
The validity of test tasks remains a subject of academic debate. Cases in which experienced teachers with long professional backgrounds fail to achieve top scores due to task specificity or unconventional content (for instance, questions involving commemorative coins) suggest a shift in assessment focus. The Educational Ombudsman rightly emphasizes the risk that the NMT increasingly evaluates not only systemic competencies but also the ability to adapt to a highly specific format and withstand cognitive overload during multi-subject testing.
This creates an additional social divide, making effective preparation increasingly dependent on access to private tutoring and supplementary resources.
The validity of test tasks remains a subject of academic debate. Cases in which experienced teachers with long professional backgrounds fail to achieve top scores due to task specificity or unconventional content (for instance, questions involving commemorative coins) suggest a shift in assessment focus. The Educational Ombudsman rightly emphasizes the risk that the NMT increasingly evaluates not only systemic competencies but also the ability to adapt to a highly specific format and withstand cognitive overload during multi-subject testing.
This creates an additional social divide, making effective preparation increasingly dependent on access to private tutoring and supplementary resources.
Towards Consensus: Conclusions and Recommendations
The National Multisubject Test has fulfilled its primary historical and institutional role — preventing the return of corrupt admission practices and ensuring flexibility in wartime conditions. Any reversal to internal university examinations would represent a regression and open pathways for systemic corruption.
However, achieving a balance between assessment quality and the psychological well-being of young people requires urgent modernization in several key areas:
The National Multisubject Test has fulfilled its primary historical and institutional role — preventing the return of corrupt admission practices and ensuring flexibility in wartime conditions. Any reversal to internal university examinations would represent a regression and open pathways for systemic corruption.
However, achieving a balance between assessment quality and the psychological well-being of young people requires urgent modernization in several key areas:
- Infrastructure standardization — ensuring that all testing centres are equipped with safe shelters, stable power supply, and reliable internet connectivity, particularly in high-risk regions.
- Technological upgrading — mandatory hardware audits of TTC systems to meet the requirements of modern secure software environments (SEB).
- Academic validation of tasks — strict alignment of test content with national school curricula and elimination of overly specialized or ambiguous items, supported by adequate funding for test development institutions.
- Human-centered procedures — development of clear psychological support protocols for exam personnel in crisis situations, prioritizing student well-being alongside regulatory compliance.
Only through systemic optimization of organizational conditions and continuous improvement of test content can the NMT fully establish itself as a fair and reliable selection mechanism for higher education, minimizing the role of stress as a determining factor in admission outcomes.
12.06.2026
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