The Basic State Exam (; OGE) is the final exam for basic general education courses in Russia. It serves to assess the knowledge acquired by students over 9 years of schooling and is also used for admission to secondary vocational education institutions (colleges and technical schools). It is one of the three forms of the State Final Attestation (GIA). The Unified State Exam is taken two years later by students graduating from high school, while a separate exam is held for students with disabilities.
Procedure The procedure for conducting the OGE is determined by the "Procedure for Conducting the State Final Attestation for Educational Programs of Basic General Education". The key provisions of this document are:
The OGE consists of four exams – Russian language, mathematics, and two elective subjects. Students who have no academic debts and have completed the curriculum are allowed to take the OGE. To be admitted to the OGE, students must pass the final interview in the Russian language, which is held on the second Wednesday of February and on additional designated days. In 2021, elective OGE exams were canceled and replaced by a nationwide assessment in the OGE format for one elective subject, conducted within the students' schools. This assessment did not affect the issuance of certificates or final grades. The OGE in Russian language and mathematics remained in their original formats.
In 2020, the exam was not conducted due to the epidemiological situation in the country. Final grades were based on students' annual academic performance.
In 2022, the exams resumed in their pre-COVID format, with more complex tasks compared to previous years. This decision was made due to the decline in COVID-19 cases in 2022.
Format The format of the exam is related to the USE. Maximum scores for each subject (as of 2025)
Russian language – 37 points. Mathematics (19 in algebra and 12 in geometry) – 31 points. Physics – 39 points. Chemistry (work with a real experiment) – 38 points. Biology – 47 points. Geography – 31 points. Social Studies – 37 points. History – 37 points. Literature – 42 points. Information and communications technologies – 21 points. Foreign languages (English, German, French, Spanish) – 68 points. Native Language – 5 points.
The State Final Attestation (GIA) for 9th-grade graduates is assessed at the regional level. Upon successful completion of the exams, students are awarded certificates of basic general education.
In the 2018/19 academic year, ninth-grade students were required to take a total of four final exams: two compulsory subjects (Russian language and mathematics) and two elective subjects chosen from an approved list.
In 2018, a pilot program for the oral part of the Russian language exam, officially called the "Final Oral Interview in Russian Language", was introduced. Passing this oral exam, along with having no annual grades below "satisfactory," is a prerequisite for admission to the main OGE.
+ Conversion Scale for Primary Exam Scores to the Five-Point Grading Scale (as of 2025) Subject Maximum score Grade "2" Grade "3" Grade "4" Grade "5" Recommended score for specialized classes Russian language 37 0–14 15–25 26-32 (at least 6 points for literacy based on criteria GK1–GK4; if less, grade "3") 33-37 (at least 9 points for literacy based on criteria GK1–GK4; if less, grade "4") 28 Mathematics 31 0–7 or 0–21 (with 0–1 points in geometry) 8–14 (at least 2 points in geometry) 15–21 (at least 2 points in geometry) 22–31 Natural Sciences: 18 (at least 6 in geometry)Economics: 18 (at least 5 in geometry)Physics-Mathematics: 19 (at least 7 in geometry) Physics 39 0–10 11–22 23–34 35–39 31 Chemistry 38 0–9 10–20 21–30 31–38 27 Biology 47 0–12 13–25 26–37 38–47 34 Geography 31 0–11 12–18 19–25 26–31 23 Social studies 37 0–13 14–23 24–31 32–37 29 History 37 0–10 11–20 21–29 30–37 26 Literature 42 0–15 16–25 26–34 35–42 32 Informatics 21 0–4 5–10 11–15 16–21 14 Foreign languages (English, German, French, Spanish) 68 0–28 29–45 46–57 58–68 55 Mathematics As of 2024 the mathematics exam is divided into two modules: an algebra module and an geometry module. The minimum required score to obtain a certificate is 8 points. Students must score at least 6 points in the Algebra module and at least 2 points in the Geometry module.
For example, if a student correctly solves 7 tasks from the algebra module but only one from the geometry module, the final certification will not be granted.
The exam consists of two parts:
Part 1 includes tasks where students need to provide a single answer. Part 2 requires detailed, open-ended responses.
The total duration of the exam is 235 minutes.
Physics Part 1 of the physics exam includes multiple-choice questions with one correct answer, short-answer tasks, and matching exercises where students must align concepts with corresponding texts. One of the text-based tasks is part of Part 2. In Part 2, students solve problems, conduct a laboratory experiment, and complete a qualitative task that requires a detailed response. The exam duration is 180 minutes.
Geography As of 2024, the geography exam consists of 30 questions, including 27 multiple-choice tasks and three extended-response tasks (questions 12, 28, and 29). The exam duration is 150 minutes.
Chemistry The chemistry exam is divided into three parts:
Part 1 includes 19 multiple-choice questions. Part 2 features two calculation tasks using chemical formulas; one task for constructing a reaction chain and composing an ionic (short) equation, and one redox reaction (OVR) task. Part 3 consists of a science experiment; the student must select reagents, write reaction equations, perform the experiment and then write down the results.
The exam duration is 180 minutes.
Russian language The Russian language exam includes multiple-choice questions, full-answer tasks, an essay, and a summary. The exam lasts 235 minutes. Students listen to the summary text from an audio recording provided on a disk attached to the exam materials. Since 2018, a separate oral Russian language exam has also been conducted, with a duration of 15 minutes.
Informatics The informatics exam consists of two parts:
Part 1 contains 10 short-answer questions. Part 2 includes five tasks performed using a computer disconnected from the Internet. In two of these tasks, students can choose between different task types (13.1 or 13.2, and 15.1 or 15.2).
In 2022, the entire exam was conducted on computers in Moscow and the Moscow region. Since 2023, some other regions have also introduced the fully computerized version of the exam, known as KOGE. The exam duration is 150 minutes.
Social studies As of 2019, the social studies exam consists of two parts:
Part 1 includes 25 tasks. Questions 1–20 require selecting one correct answer from four options. Question 21 requires comparing two social objects or phenomena (indicating two similarities and two differences). Question 22 is a matching task. Questions 23 and 24 test the ability to work with statistical materials (diagrams or tables). Question 25 assesses the ability to distinguish evaluative judgments from factual statements. Part 2 (tasks 26–32) assesses text analysis skills and the ability to find and apply information from a given text.
The exam duration is 180 minutes, and the use of any additional materials is not allowed.
Literature The literature exam consists of two parts:
Part 1 includes four tasks:
Tasks 1 and 2 are based on a fragment of a literary work (epic, lyrical-epic, or dramatic). In Task 1, students are given two questions but need to answer only one. For Task 2, students select another fragment from the same work and answer one of the two provided questions. Task 3 involves analyzing a poem, with two questions provided, from which students choose one to answer. Task 4 requires comparing the poem from Task 3 with another poem and answering a question based on this comparison.
For all tasks, detailed responses are required, focusing on text analysis without distorting the author's intent or making logical, factual, or language errors. The recommended response length is 3–5 sentences for the first three tasks and 5–8 sentences for the fourth. The maximum score is 6 points for Tasks 1–3 and 8 points for Task 4.
Part 2 requires writing an essay on a literary topic:
Students choose one topic from five options. The recommended essay length is at least 200 words, but if the essay is under 150 words, it receives 0 points. The essay should fully address the topic, include text-based arguments, avoid factual and logical errors, maintain the author's perspective, and use literary terms appropriately. The maximum score for the essay (Task 5) is 13 points.
Additionally, the exam assesses language proficiency, with up to 6 points awarded for grammar and style.
Throughout the exam, students are allowed to use complete texts of literary works and collections of poetry. The exam duration is 235 minutes.
Paper forms The Basic State Exam (OGE) utilizes several standardized answer sheets to record students' responses:
Answer Sheet No. 1: Used for recording short-answer responses. Students fill in designated fields corresponding to specific tasks. Different versions exist depending on the subject, such as mathematics, Russian language, social studies, biology, history, literature, and chemistry. Answer Sheet No. 2: Designed for detailed, extended responses. It consists of lined pages where students write comprehensive answers to open-ended questions. Additional Answer Sheet No. 2: Provided when students require extra space beyond Answer Sheet No. 2. This sheet follows the same format as the original but is clearly marked as additional.
Structure and Filling Instructions All answer sheets must be completed using a black gel or felt-tip pen, and it is strictly prohibited to make any notes or markings on the form's margins. Additionally, you must write carefully so as to not have your answers be counted as incorrect.
Answer Sheet No. 1 At the top of Answer Sheet No. 1, students are required to fill out the following information:
Region Code, Educational Institution Code, Class (number and letter), Exam Center Code, and Classroom Number. Subject Code, Subject Name, and Exam Date (in the DD-MM-YY format). The student must also sign within a designated rectangular box.
Students must write their Last Name, First Name, and Patronymic in uppercase block letters, placing one letter per square box. Additionally, the series and number of the identification document (such as a passport or birth certificate) are recorded in designated boxes at the top of the sheet.
When filling in responses on Answer Sheet No. 1, students must adhere to a strict character format, displayed at the top of the sheet.
Task numbers are pre-printed, with a series of boxes aligned horizontally to the right of each number. Each letter, digit, or symbol (including commas, periods, hyphens, etc.) must be written in a separate box. Writing multiple symbols in one box is not allowed.
Correction of Mistakes If a student makes a mistake in the section labeled "Results of Tasks with Short Answers," they must not cross out the incorrect response. In cases where an answer is illegible, incorrect, contains multiple symbols in one box, or a box is left empty, the student should leave the original response unchanged. Instead, they should record the correct answer in the section titled "Correction of Mistaken Answers for Tasks with Short Answers."
In this section:
Task numbers are not pre-printed. Students should write the task number in the first two boxes, followed by a hyphen, and then the correct answer in the boxes that follow.
Answer Sheet No. 1 is scanned and graded by a computer. Failure to follow the specified format may result in misinterpretation of symbols, leading to the answer being marked as incorrect.