OGE

Overview

The OGE (Basic State Exam, Основной государственный экзамен) is Russia's standardised exam for grade 9, the end of general basic education. It is run under the same federal oversight as the EGE: Rosobrnadzor supervises the exam, and FIPI, the Federal Institute of Pedagogical Measurements, sets the content specifications for every subject. Passing the OGE earns the certificate of basic general education (аттестат об основном общем образовании) and decides whether a student moves into grade 10 of general school or into a vocational college (SPO) instead. The OGE is shorter and covers less material than the EGE, the related exam that grade 11 students sit two years later; a grade 9 student who continues into grade 10-11 will sit the EGE at the end of that cycle, but the two exams, their subject lists and their scoring scales are separate.

Who can apply

Current grade 9 students completing a general basic education programme sit the OGE as part of their final year; their school submits the application on their behalf, naming the subjects and exam format chosen. Students who cannot sit the standard OGE format for a documented medical or other reason can instead sit the GVE (state final exam), an alternative format with adapted conditions. External candidates who completed grade 9 through family education or another non-standard route register through their regional education authority.

Exam pattern

Every candidate sits four subjects: two compulsory, and two electives chosen to match whichever grade 10 profile class or vocational programme they plan to apply to next.

Each subject is scored on its own raw-point scale, then converted to a grade on Russia's 5-point scale (2 to 5). FIPI publishes the specification, demonstration version and codifier for each subject every academic year, setting out exactly what is tested and in what format; the papers are shorter and narrower in scope than the equivalent EGE papers for the same subject.

Marking and results

Raw points in each subject convert to a grade from 2 (unsatisfactory) to 5 (excellent). For 2026, Rosobrnadzor's confirmed conversion scales for the two compulsory subjects are:

For Mathematics, scoring fewer than 2 points on the geometry questions caps the grade at 2 (unsatisfactory), even if the combined algebra-and-geometry total would otherwise reach a higher band. Each elective subject has its own published conversion scale and point total.

To receive the certificate of basic general education, a student needs a passing grade (3 or higher) in all four subjects taken. A student who scores an unsatisfactory grade (2) in no more than two of the four subjects can resit just those subjects, first on a reserve day within the main exam period and then, if still unsuccessful, in the supplementary period in September; a student who fails three or more subjects can only resit in the September supplementary period. A grade of 3 cannot be resat to try for a higher grade; resits are only for an unsatisfactory result.

Important dates

For 2026, Rosobrnadzor's confirmed calendar sets an early exam period from 21 April to 18 May 2026, for candidates with an approved reason to sit ahead of schedule; the main exam period from 2 June to 6 July 2026, which includes reserve days for resits; and a supplementary period from 3 to 25 September 2026 for candidates who still need to resit after the main period. In the main period, Mathematics is scheduled for 2 June, Computer science and foreign languages for 6 June, Russian language for 9 June, and the remaining elective subjects are spread across 5, 16 and 19 June. All exams start at 10:00 local time. Schools collect each student's application, naming the chosen electives, by 1 March 2026; a late application is only accepted with a documented reason, and no later than two weeks before the student's first exam.

How to apply

Current grade 9 students submit their subject choices and exam format through their school, using the application form provided by their homeroom teacher or exam coordinator, before the 1 March deadline. The application fixes which two elective subjects the student is assigned to sit, so the choice should match the admission requirements of the grade 10 profile class or vocational programme the student plans to apply to afterward. Students sitting the alternative GVE format apply through the same school process, supported by the documentation their exemption requires.

After the exam

Passing all four subjects at grade 3 or above earns the certificate of basic general education, which is required to continue in school or enter vocational education at all. Students who want to continue into grade 10 apply to a specific profile class (humanities, physics and mathematics, natural sciences, and others); schools that oversubscribe a profile class rank applicants by their OGE grades in the subjects relevant to that profile, alongside their grade 9 school marks, and set their own minimum average grade for admission. Students who do not continue into grade 10, or who choose not to, apply instead to a secondary vocational education institution (SPO: a college or technical school), which typically admits on the average grade across the certificate rather than on OGE results specifically, and offers a 2-4 year programme toward a trade qualification or further study.

Preparation tips

• Decide on elective subjects early, based on the grade 10 profile class or vocational programme the student is aiming for, since the application fixes the choice and changing it later is difficult.

• Work through FIPI's official specification, codifier and demonstration version for each chosen subject: they set out exactly what is tested and in what format, and are updated every academic year.

• For Mathematics, practise geometry questions specifically, since a very low geometry score caps the overall grade regardless of the algebra result.

• Track the school's application deadline and the published exam calendar closely, since a missed deadline or exam date is only excused with documented proof of a valid reason.

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