Sergey Bochenkov, expert at Independent Education Quality Assessment Agency “Leader”, Cheboksary, Russian Federation. Email: s_bochenkov@mail.ru
Address: room 11, 10A Shkolny Lane, 428003, Cheboksary, Russian Federation.

Igor Valdman, Ped.D., Head of the Laboratory of Control and Monitoring in Education, Education Management Institute, Russian Academy of Education, Moscow, Russian Federation. Email: iavaldman@gmail.com
Address: Bld. 2, 8 Pogodinskaya St., 119121, Moscow, Russian Federation.

The authors discuss opportunities, restrictions and risks of using Unified State Exam (EGE) results associated with specific features of Russian education and EGE practices. Analysis and interpretation of EGE results should vary depending on the user group and on the goal pursued. To each group of users, we should apply a customized method of analyzing and interpreting evaluation results and a customized system of key indicators. EGE results may be used independently for either of the two purposes: to determine whether the secondary general education program has been delivered successfully or not, or to select candidates for admission to universities. Other diverse performance data should also be used when assessing teacher activities, schools and education systems. EGE results can only be a piece in the complex puzzle of teacher performance. Properly interpreted EGE results may be used in education quality management, in particular for reliable comparison of academic achievements in different regions and in schools of different types, or for change monitoring. Properly interpreted information allows to draw the right conclusions and to make reasonable managerial decisions at each stage.

The authors offer test result interpretations oriented towards teachers, schools, and education system. Work quality requirements for schools and teachers through the prism of EGE have been determined.

Matthew Hall, Ph.D., Associate Professor at the Institute of Government and Public Affairs, University of Illinois, Chicago, IN, United States. Email: mshall@uic.edu
Address: 601 S Morgan St, Chicago, IL 60607, United States.

George Farkas, Ph.D., Professor at the School of Education, University of California, Irvine, CA, United States. Email: gfarkas@uci.edu
Address: Irvine, CA 92697, United States.

The authors use panel data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY79) to estimate the effects of cognitive skills and attitudinal/behavioral traits on career wage trajectories of white, black, and Latino/a men and women in the US. Cognitive skills have been measured by the age-adjusted Armed Forces Qualification Test. Attitudinal/behavioral traits are based on self-reported self-esteem, locus of control ( the extent to which individuals believe that they can control events that affect them), educational aspirations, and educational expectations revealed through analyzing the result of a self-evaluation test.

The study finds that both cognitive and attitudinal/behavioral traits affect initial wages and wage growth, above and beyond their effects on schooling and transcript-reported high school grades. The relative size of these effects, however, varies by race/ethnicity and gender. The authors also show that black and Latino men, and black women have substantially flatter wage trajectories than white men and women.

Using wage decomposition techniques, the authors find that the lower wages of these groups are partially, but not fully, accounted for by group differences in cognitive skill and attitudinal/behavioral traits. Thus, reducing this gap will help reduce the gap in wages of different racial/ethnic groups (particularly, black and Latina women, and white women). Based on this information, the authors give practical tips for reducing racial discrimination in the labor market.

Roman Abramov, Ph.D. in Sociology, Associate Professor in the Analysis of Social Institutions Department, National Research University — Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russian Federation. Email: socioportal@yandex.ru 

The author demonstrates timeliness of the study performed by sociologists Matthew Hall and George Farkas and shows prospects for further investigation into the subject matter.

The author describes longitudinal surveys in general and the panel data analysis in particular. An insight is made into the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, which American sociologists used as a basis for their study. Perspectives of the problem are compared to some theories by Basil Bernstein, Pierre Bourdieu, and John Coleman that were not covered by Hall and Farkas.

Discussing the conclusions Hall and Farkas made on recruiting and evaluating job candidates from different racial and ethnic groups, the author refers to works of other researchers, finds parallels in some of the points, and reveals the critical distinctive features of Hall and Farkas’s theory of factors affecting career advancement. Employer expectation transformations in the US and Russia are also compared in the paper.

While analyzing the practical tips given by Hall and Farkas on reducing ethnic discrimination in the labor market (reducing differences between cognitive skills and attitudinal/behavioral traits of black/Latino and white students and developing correction education and professional orientation programs), the author admits that the measures proposed are potentially very helpful though insufficient to eliminate cultural factors of stereotyped attitudes towards different ethnic and racial groups engrained in collective consciousness. A high potential of exploring the issue in Russia is mentioned.

Yana Akhapkina, Ph.D., senior researcher at the Linguistic Laboratory for Corpora Research Technologies, National Research University — Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russian Federation. Email: yana.akhapkina@gmail.com 

This is an analysis of long-term and contextual reasons for academic writing mistakes made by native speakers.
The author proves that difficulties associated with academic writing are caused not only by requirements that are higher in universities than in schools, but also by poor comprehensive reading skills. She claims that indifferent, or shallow, reading and writing in university trace their roots back to school or even pre-school years. Akhapkina determines stages of language personality development, studies the factors that influence the development of reading competencies at each of these stages, and reveals the major killers of interest in reading.
Proper development of comprehensive reading skills may be achieved, first of all, by balancing belles-lettres with scientific and educational texts, and balancing duration and frequency of active reading with those of passive listening and watching. The author discusses how comprehensive reading motivation and level of understanding depend on the text selected and on whether it is self-sufficient or not.
Markers of an academic text are identified, as they are seen by high school and university students. The most important ones are redundant terminology, complex syntax overload, and conformance to the methodical model. The author describes the major features of student reading and writing experience and reading interests.
Mechanisms of typical agrammatic features are revealed; a classification of frequency errors is given, and some methods are proposed to expand stimulus material expansion through correcting academic writing skills gradually.

Vera Kharchenko, teaching assistant in the Theoretical and Applied Sociology Department of Sociology Faculty, Federal State Budgetary Educational Institution of Higher Professional Education “Ural State Pedagogical University”, Yekaterinburg, Russian Federation, award winner in the 2012 Young Scientists Research Paper Competition. Email: verakharchenko@yandex.ru
Address: 26 Kosmonavtov Ave., Yekaterinburg, 620017, Russian Federation.

Using empirical observations, the author has explored how full-time students combining higher education with employment opt for universities, what motivates them to look for employment, and what methods they use to find a job during their period of studies. The paper also investigates into freelance as one of the work and study options.
An analysis of university selection criteria has shown that most applicants don’t have a clear vision of their future profession, required skills, abilities, and competencies.
Analyzing the motivation for combining work and study, the author has mainly focused on the positive reasons, such as desire to get an employment experience (so as to satisfy employers’ demands), intention to get a professional practice in the selected subject area (so as to take higher-paying positions in future), ambition to get employed prior to graduation (so as to minimize risks associated with job hunting).
A recent type of employee — a freelance student — is described. Freelance students learn to apply information and communication technologies required in today’s labor market, develop personal responsibility and self-education skills, and thus have a competitive edge when getting employed. However, this competitive edge would be much more powerful if their freelance occupations correlated with the studies they pursue at universities.
Further investigation into this category of students will allow to develop a reasonable youth policy in higher professional education.

Marina Sedova, Ph.D. in Economics, Professor in the State and Local Government Finances Department, Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, Moscow, Russian Federation.  Email: sedfin@mail.ru
Address: 49 Leningradsky Ave., Moscow, 125993, Russian Federation.

Prospects for student loans in the Russian Federation are assessed through analyzing the role of loans in education financing, the legal framework for student loans, and the results of a student loan governmental support experiment.

The timeliness of assessing the role student loans play in financing higher professional education is explained by the need to find the most efficient student loan tools that would allow for a better access to higher education, for an optimization of federal (or, in some cases, regional) spending on higher education, and for a coordination of education financing with demand for future professions as an education quality factor.

The author suggests that, since higher professional education is regarded as a public good in Russia, student loans should be considered an additional and not the main source of higher education financing. If public-funded university places are cut, reallocation of budget funds from direct financing of higher education to governmental support of student loans granted by commercial banks to students and applicants will allow for a better access to higher professional education with much less federal and regional spending.

As opportunities of student loans are hardly used in Russia today, recommendations have been given for their efficient implementation.

Anna Danilina, research student at Griboedov Institute of International Law and Economics, Moscow, Russian Federation. Email: aadanilina@mail.ru Address: 21 Entuziastov Hwy., Moscow, 111024, Russian Federation.

Analyzing functions, genres, and topics of modern school newspapers, the author classifies them as corporate print media by investigating into the basic principles of their production, functioning, and distribution, and into the techniques of media-audience interaction.

As school and corporate print media are compared, similar features are found first of all in their format, limited circulation, and target on internal audience. Based on a survey conducted among school newspaper editors, the key functions of student media have been identified, the critical one being serving as a means of educational interaction with students. A comparative analysis of questionnaire data and corporate print media market research results has revealed similarities in functionality of corporate and student newspapers.

Analysis of school media financing sources has revealed that most student newspapers are sponsored directly or indirectly by school administrators or editors, which is similar to financing of corporate print media. Another common point is that student newspapers also find technological and staff resources within the school.

The corporate nature of school newspapers is also confirmed through the study of their content, which always has something to do with school life. PR and advertizing texts designed to stimulate internal school life also prove that student media belong to the category of corporate print media. The final point is that school phenomena and processes are hardly ever criticized in school newspapers.

Implementing distribution and audience capturing strategies, just as corporate print media do, student newspapers become a means of creating, supporting, and promoting internal school culture.

Based on the data obtained by the Center for Institutional Studies, National Research University — Higher School of Economics, and by the Center for Statistics and Monitoring of Education, Institute for Statistical Studies and Economics of Knowledge, National Research University — Higher School of Economics

Lyudmila Ugolnova , Deputy Head of Data Management Department at the Center for Institutional Studies, National Research University — Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russian Federation. Email: lugolnova@hse.ru 

Nikolay Shugal, Deputy Director of the Center for Statistics and Monitoring of Education, Institute for Statistical Studies and Economics of Knowledge, National Research University — Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russian Federation. Email: nschugal@hse.ru 

Statistical analysis data and results of surveys conducted among educators and education executives are used to examine effectiveness of the existing job contracts in education. Information is given on the level and dynamics of educator salaries in educational institutions of various types as compared to the average inter-industry wage.

The paper studies labor strategies and expectations of educators at different levels of the educational system. The study identifies the most widespread educator part-time jobs and the gap between the real income and the income required for educators to focus on their primary activity. Through analyzing educators’ evaluation of their salaries in comparison to those of their counterparts, it has been shown that transferring to another educational institution will not increase educators’ incomes. As educators evaluate their salaries in comparison to those in other industries, it becomes clear that the existing job contracts in education do not make educators competitive in the labor market. However, very few educators are willing to make a career change.

The study describes how executives of professional educational institutions assess professional level of teachers, reveals recruiting and incentive payment criteria, and determines amounts of incentive payments and of the most common benefits.

The existing educator salaries are stated to be insufficient for education executives to expect absolute commitment and efficiency from educators and for students to expect high quality of education services.
___________________________________________________
[1] Translator’s note (TN):In Russian labor law, an effective contract is a job contract based on efficiency and performance of an employee rather than on hours worked.

Michael Barber, Professor, Chief Adviser to the Secretary of State for Education on School Standards (1997–2001), chief education advisor at Pearson, leading Pearson’s worldwide programme of research into education policy and the impact of its products and services on learner outcomes, London, UK. Email: krdonnelly@pearson.com
Address: Institute for Public Policy Research, 4th Floor, 14 Buckingham Street, London WC2N 6DF, UK.

Katelyn Donnelly, executive director at Pearson where she leads the Affordable Learning Fund, London, UK. Email: krdonnelly@pearson.com
Address: Institute for Public Policy Research, 4th Floor, 14 Buckingham Street, London WC2N 6DF, UK.

Saad Rizvi, Ph.D. in Economics and International Relations, Pearson’s executive director of efficacy, London, UK. Email: krdonnelly@pearson.com
Address: Institute for Public Policy Research, 4th Floor, 14 Buckingham Street, London WC2N 6DF, UK.

Prospects for higher education are discussed in the context of technologies and globalization sweeping over the world and affecting many of the world economy sectors. The report describes opportunities that will appear ahead of universities if they go for radical transformations in their key institutions, and analyzes the risks that may arise if such transformations lose to the challenges of the 21st century.

The model of a traditional 21st century university and its functions are characterized. The authors examine the factors that can radically change the paradigm of a traditional university and points out that universities need to revise their existing business models and education patterns. Marketization of education has turned students into consumers dictating their own terms and has brought about a number of alternatives to universities for talented students. Therefore, universities need to define clearly what they can offer, differentiate themselves from competitors, and identify their target audience among potential student groups.

The authors believe that universities of the future should rearrange functions performed by the existing universities. He also explains why the model of the future is more efficient than the existing one.

It is supposed that the promising prospects proposed for higher education by the 21st century can only be reached if all players of the HE system, from students to the government, support the radical transformation initiative to tackle the challenges they are facing. The study defines the essential questions that all players should answer if they want a productive transformation in higher education.

Sergey Filonovich, Ph.D. in Mathematical Physics, Professor, Dean of the Graduate School of Economics, National Research University — Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russian Federation. Email: sfilon@dol.ru Address: 4 Maly Gnezdnikovsky Lane, Moscow, 125009, Russian Federation.

Lev Lyubimov, Ph.D. in Economics, Professor in the Subdepartment of Macroeconomic Analysis, Deputy Director of Research and Development at National Research University — Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russian Federation. Email: llubimov@hse.ru Address: 20 Myasnitskaya St., Moscow, 101000, Russian Federation.

Tatyana Klyachko, Ph.D. in Economics, Director of the Center for Lifelong Learning Economics, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, Moscow, Russian Federation. Email: Tklyachko@hse.ru Address: Bld. 1, 82 Vernadskogo Ave., Moscow, 119571, Russian Federation.

Viktor Bolotov, Ped.D., Vice President of the Russian Academy of Education, Director of Research and Development of the Center for Education Quality Monitoring, National Research University — Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russian Federation. Email: vikbolotov@yandex.ru Address: 20 Myasnitskaya St., Moscow, 101000, Russian Federation.

Isak Frumin, Ped.D., Professor, Director of Research and Development at the Education Institute, National Research University —Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russian Federation. Email: ifroumin@hse.ru Address: 20 Myasnitskaya St., Moscow, 101000, Russian Federation.

Andrey Volkov, Eng.D., Rector of Skolkovo — Moscow School of Management, Skolkovo, Russian Federation. Email: Andrei_Volkov@skolkovo.ru Address: 100 Novaya St., Skolkovo rural locality, Odintsovsky District, Moscow Oblast, 143025, Russian Federation.

Albert Gilmutdinov, Ph.D. in Mathematical Physics, Rector of Tupolev Kazan State Technical University, Kazan, Russian Federation. Email: Albert.Gilmutdinov@kstu-kai.ru Address: 10 K. Marksa St., Kazan, 420111, Republic of Tatarstan, Russian Federation.

Pedro Teixeira, Director of the Center of Research on Higher Education Policy, Associate Professor in the Department of Economics, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal. Email: pedrotx@fep.up.pt Address: Praça Gomes Teixeira, 4099-002 Porto, Portugal.

Irina Abankina, Ph.D. in Economics, Professor, Director of the Education Development Institute, National Research University — Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russian Federation. Email: abankinaI@hse.ru Address: 20 Myasnitskaya St., Moscow, 101000, Russian Federation.

The commentaries discuss the trends in higher education transformation caused by globalization and information progress and revealed by the report authors. Opinions on the global university education crisis issues raised by Barber and others are rather diverse and include both sympathetic summaries of the key authors’ ideas and opposing some disputable points and related arguments.

Factors identified by American researchers are analyzed in the context of affecting the modification of the university paradigm in Russian education. Apart from challenges posing external threats for the higher education system as an economic sector, there is one internal challenge specific of Russia. Higher education is largely simulated in Russia, as inefficient universities create accessible state-funded places but do not provide quality education services.

The authors find something that American researchers did not cover in their report but what is of great importance for Russian education — that is the need to perform a deep and radical transformation of the secondary education system in order to provide opportunities for high performance of universities.

Models of universities of the future suggested in the report are explored to see if they can be applied to the Russian educational system. It is concluded that American researchers have definitely made a big achievement by specifying the set of issues to be resolved in order to open broad prospects for higher education.

Kirill Maslinsky, research fellow at the Sociology of Education and Science Laboratory, National Research University — Higher School of Economics — St. Petersburg, Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation. Email: kirill@altlinux.org 

Content and structural organization of the reviewed book is described. The reviewer determines and comments on the key issues covered in the book, such as: choosing a language of education, teaching languages in school, discursive practices widely used in schools, role of language socialization and language stereotypes in academic achievements of students. Bringing these subject matters together is explained by a strong intention to involve sociolinguistic methods and theories as much as possible into understanding school language processes. Attention is drawn to the fact that the book is a crossroads of some major subject matters that have been isolated from each other in sociolinguistics and have been studied by isolated teams of researchers who almost never appealed to each other in their studies. Thus, a comprehensive sociolinguistic view of the school is provided. An analysis is made of how the authors of the book develop a problem field dubbed as “school sociolinguistics”. Research in this area has great prospects, as collected comparison materials and analytical findings demonstrate how many school education issues should be seen through the language glass and how little attention is paid to them in Russian educational surveys.

In each chapter, the book provides an overview of general conceptual framework, known results, and numerous examples of language situations in different societies. Survey results are never transferred from one culture to another in this book. Maslinsky finds it appropriate and reasonable to apply sociolinguistic tools developed in Western studies to school education and to the modern Russian school.

Aleksandr Auzan, Ph.D. in Economics, Professor, Incumbent Dean of Economic Faculty at Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russian Federation, member of the Presidential Economic Council.  Email: auzan@mail.econ.msu.ru
Address: 1 Leninskiye Gory St., Moscow, 119991, Russian Federation.                                     

Historical traditions of understanding the university mission are traced. Particular emphasis is placed on the neoclassical university model created by Humboldt, which is explored in the context of some paradoxes observed by Ortega y Gasset and related to university functions. The author comes to a conclusion that universities do not produce exclusively the private good of capitalized knowledge that can be sold, as Smith believed. Neither do they produce exclusively the socially important good in the form of skills of future specialists in order to provide a required set of professions, as it was in the educational system established by Napoleon. Universities also provide a universal public good of creating and promoting culture.

Auzan examines social effects and social risks of higher education associated with universities producing middle class population. From his point of view, it is no use shutting down weak universities that do not produce highly-skilled professionals, as they perform an important social function. Alternative solutions are proposed to reduce social risks of higher education, including solutions involving a hierarchical expansion of educational system. The country wins from developing middle class population, which brings certain stability. At the same time, it is underlined that the best possible rate and vector of development can only be provided by the educational sector producing a competitive human capital.

The author takes Lomonosov Moscow State University as a model of a successful university and proposes a program for its efficient development in compliance with the theory described in his paper.