Kazakhstan changes primary school assessment rules from September 28

September 18, 2026 at 02:16 PM2 min

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Kazakhstan's acting education minister issued an order on September 16, 2026, amending standard rules for assessing student performance in primary, secondary, technical and vocational education. The changes introduce a new chapter on ongoing assessment for primary schools, including formative, interim and final evaluation. The order takes effect on September 28 and applies retroactively to legal relations arising from September 1, 2026.

Key Facts

The order was issued by the acting Minister of Education on September 16, 2026.
The new rules take effect on September 28 and apply retroactively to legal relations arising from September 1, 2026.
In grade 1, students' academic achievements are not assessed.
For formative assessment, each student is assessed in each subject in at least 30% of lessons during a quarter.
Maximum scores for interim assessment are 12 in grade 2, 14 in grade 3, and 16 in grade 4.

New Assessment Framework

The order adds a new chapter titled 'Procedure for ongoing assessment of students in educational organizations implementing general education curricula of primary education'. Ongoing assessment in primary schools includes formative, interim and final assessment in all academic subjects. Formative assessment is conducted at every lesson, interim assessment after completing a certain volume of material (section or sections), and final assessment at the end of each quarter and the academic year. In grade 1, students' academic achievements are not assessed.

Formative Assessment Rules

Formative assessment, including homework assessment, is conducted to monitor achievement of learning objectives by students in grades 2-4 and to further differentiate work in the lesson. It is carried out through written and oral feedback from the teacher to students. During formative assessment in a lesson, the teacher independently determines the number of students, forms, methods and techniques of assessment while observing principles of academic integrity. Each student is assessed in each subject in at least 30% of lessons conducted during a quarter. Formative assessment results do not require printing and storage in paper form; they are recorded in an electronic (or paper) journal as scores.

Scoring and Interim Assessment

Formative assessment is carried out on a scale from 1 to 10 points. The score for a lesson is determined by summing the results of the student's homework and tasks during the lesson. Scores are entered into the electronic (or paper) journal no later than the end of the current day. When entering scores in the electronic journal, the teacher may add comments. Interim assessment is conducted to determine and record the level of mastery of the content of the educational material upon completion of studying a section (or sections) and is carried out by completing tasks of an appropriate form depending on the subject.