Do All Students Start Equally Prepared?

Dr Zhanna Jumabayeva

Private Tutoring and Admissions to Kazakhstan’s Selective Schools

Each year, thousands of families in Kazakhstan support their children as they prepare for entrance examinations to selective secondary schools. These schools aim to identify talented and motivated students through highly competitive admissions processes. For many parents, admission to a selective school is viewed as an important step toward future educational and career success.

But behind the admission statistics lies a more important question: do all students start out equally prepared?

As a researcher focused on educational assessment and equity, I recently became interested in the increasing role of private tutoring in preparation for admission to selective schools. Based on my observations, tutoring appears to be becoming a necessity rather than an optional advantage.

When extra tuition becomes the norm

This trend is not limited to Kazakhstan. In many countries, private tutoring, also known as shadow education, has grown alongside regular schooling. Private tutoring refers to lessons provided outside mainstream schools (Jumabayeva, 2016). Families in different contexts spend significant amounts on tutoring to improve academic performance and increase their chances of success in high-stakes examinations and selective admissions.

In Kazakhstan, the growing use of private tutoring has a longer history. It became particularly visible after the introduction of the Unified National Test (UNT) in 2004. To gain admission to university and compete for state scholarships, students, including those from private and specialized schools, were required to take the UNT (OECD, 2020, p. 5). For many years, and still today, UNT scores have played a central role in university admissions and access to state-funded scholarships. As a result, students and their families have increasingly looked for ways to improve their exam performance.

A question I’ve asked myself

I saw this happen in my own life. In 2006, two years after the UNT was introduced, I was getting ready for university entrance and aiming for the Altyn Belgi (Golden Badge), an award given to top school graduates. Even though I was a good student, I took private maths lessons because I was afraid I might not get the scores I needed. I eventually received a state scholarship for a four-year bachelor’s degree. Looking back, I sometimes wonder whether my achievements reflected my own abilities alone or were partly supported by the additional opportunities my family could provide.

What I experienced was part of a broader pattern. Studies from different countries show that private tutoring can help students do better in school and in exams by providing more individualized support and additional learning time. It can also increase students’ confidence and motivation (Dang & Rogers, 2008; Berberoğlu & Tansel, 2014). At the same time, some researchers have raised concerns about its implications for educational equity. Since access to extra tutoring often depends on family resources, students from wealthier backgrounds may benefit from opportunities that are not equally available to others (Zhang & Bray, 2018).

When preparation affects fairness

Today, these concerns are increasingly relevant not only for university admissions but also for entry into selective secondary schools.

Admission to these schools is often highly competitive. Students take entrance examinations designed to identify academic potential, and the selection process aims to be fair, objective, and transparent. However, if many applicants receive specialized coaching for the test, an important question emerges: are admissions systems identifying the most talented students, or simply those who could afford additional preparation?

Another important question follows. If some students gain admission primarily through intensive coaching rather than genuine readiness, will they be able to cope with the demanding academic environment that awaits them? Informal conversations and observations suggest that some families begin preparing years before the entrance examination.

Looking beyond the test itself

These developments raise important questions for assessment researchers, policymakers, and educators alike.

If extra preparation depends largely on family income, geographic location, or parents’ knowledge of the system, can competitive admissions truly provide equal opportunities? When does tutoring support student learning, and when does it begin to undermine fairness?

When we talk about fairness, we usually focus on the test itself. However, fairness also depends on what happens before the test, including whether students have equitable access to preparation opportunities such as private tutoring.

What can we learn from other contexts?

I would be interested to hear from colleagues in other countries. Has private tutoring become an important part of selective school admissions where you work? What approaches have been effective in balancing high academic standards with fairness in education?