Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1 -Bu-Ali Sina University
2 curriculum study(M.A), Department of educational sciences, Faculty of Humanities, Bu-Ali Sina university, Hamedan, Iran.
Abstract
This study aimed to investigate newly implemented admission criteria for the Iranian University Entrance Exam. The research employing a descriptive-survey methodology. The statistical population consisted of all female 12th-grade students in Hamadan during the 2023-2024 academic year (N=2,154),. Using stratified random sampling, a sample size of 326 participants was selected. Data collection was conducted through a researcher-made questionnaire. To analyze the data, descriptive statistics, the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test for normality, one-sample t-tests, and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were utilized. Results indicated that, from the students’ perspective, administering the national university entrance examination in two sessions leads to reduced psychological pressure, an opportunity for remediation, easier retrieval of information, gaining an overall perspective, and greater family satisfaction. Changes in course weighting coefficients lead to reduced attention to less important subjects, no change in the nature of weighting coefficients, greater focus on more important subjects, adjustment of coefficients in proportion to subject importance, and an imbalance in coefficient changes. Removing the general subjects results in greater concentration on specialized subjects, reduced knowledge related to general subjects, time savings, a reduction in preparatory classes for general subjects, and less fatigue during the entrance examination session. Eliminating subgroups leads to greater complexity in field-of-study selection, ambiguity regarding freedom of choice in selecting a major, more deliberation in making a fair choice, increased study of more subjects, and greater focus on specialized subjects. The 40–60% influence of academic records leads to a conflict between the study style for the entrance examination and the study style for final exams, increased importance of final examinations, unfairness in academic records given disparities in school facilities, and increased stress for students and families over a period extending from one year to three years. It was also found that the final examinations were not standardized.
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