BAKU, July 19 — Despite strong overall performance in Azerbaijan’s latest university entrance exams, not a single applicant managed to achieve the perfect score of 700 points in the II and III specialty groups held on July 6, according to results published by the State Examination Center (SEC).
This outcome has sparked questions among students, parents, and educators: Are students becoming less prepared, or are there other explanations behind the absence of top scorers?
Education expert Elchin Efendi says the lack of a 700-point result does not indicate a decline in academic performance. On the contrary, he argues the results reflect a positive trend.
“In fact, the statistics show a significant increase in the number of applicants scoring over 600 points in both groups,” Efendi told local media. “The main reason no one hit the 700 mark is the difficulty of open-ended questions, where students often lose points due to errors in structuring full written responses.”
Efendi also pointed to the exam’s strict scoring system, under which four incorrect answers cancel out one correct response. “This penalty system makes it especially challenging to reach a perfect score,” he explained.
The second round of entrance exams for Groups I and IV was held on July 13, with results yet to be announced. When asked whether a perfect score might still appear in those categories, Efendi remained cautiously optimistic.
“There’s a possibility that one exceptional student might achieve the full 700 points in Groups I or IV. We expect those results to be released by the end of next week,” he said.
Last year, two students managed to earn the maximum score. This year, although perfection has proven elusive so far, the overall rise in high scorers suggests a continuing improvement in academic readiness.
