?
Эволюция системы оценивания поведения учащихся в учебных заведениях России с начала XVIII до 90-х гг. XX века
This article provides a historical and pedagogical analysis of the evolution of the pupil behavior assessment system in Russian educational institutions from the early 18th century to the 1990s. The relevance of the study is confirmed by the Russian Ministry of Education's plans to reintroduce behavioral assessments to schools. Specifically, the assessment system is being piloted in several regions of the Russian Federation starting in the 2025/2026 academic year. Also, in January 2026, it was announced that this practice would be implemented in all Russian schools for grades 1 through 11, effective September 1 in 2026 year.
A historical-genetic method was used to study the evolution of the pupil behavior assessment system, identify the stages of its development, and document trends. Diachronic analysis was also employed to identify the developmental patterns of the phenomenon under study over time. Furthermore, the historical-systemic method was used to examine the relationship between behavioral assessments and the sociocultural context. During the summing-up phase, a comparative method was used to compare pupil assessment practices across different historical eras.
Drawing on a wide range of sources and literature, the authors traced the transformation of assessment practices: from informal moral instructions in the pre-Petrine period and the first attempts to formalize criteria in the 18th century, through the introduction of scoring systems (E. F. Bradke, 1830s) and the development of pedagogical approaches (N. I. Pirogov, M. N. Katkov) in the 19th century, to the radical experiments of the Soviet period. Particular attention is given to key turning points: the abolition of the scoring system in 1918, attempts to find alternatives in the 1920s, and the restoration of formalized assessment in the 1930s and 1940s. and the final abolition of behavioral assessments in 1989.
The article concluded that the system's development has a cyclical nature (formalization – abolition – reinstatement), which, according to the authors, lies in the search for a certain balance between control, education, and the ongoing course toward humanizing education, adopted in Russia more than 30 years ago. Historical experience demonstrates that an effective behavioral assessment system should avoid a purely punitive function, serving as a diagnostic tool and a basis for dialogue between all participants in the educational process.