Nearly One Million Register for Konkour in New Format 

More than 970,000 signed up for this year’s new system of the university entrance exam known as Konkour to compete for seats in the country’s top universities. 
The website for the National Organization of Educational Testing opened on Sunday from 8 am to 5 pm for those who had failed to enroll for the test during the main registration period, IRNA reported. 
“Eventually, roughly 979,000 signed up for the test,” head of the organization’s public relations, Alireza Karimian, said on Monday.     
For the first time in Konkour’s history, sweeping changes have been made to the critical exam for a fairer evaluation of a student’s educational capabilities that can determine their future universities and career. 
Starting 2023, the formerly annual test will be held twice a year, once in winter and once in summer, as per the order of the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution. 
Karimian explained, “The first round of Konkour will take place on January 19-20. Registration period for the second test is from April 4 to 10.”
The second test is scheduled to be held on July 5-6. 
Parents and students had for decades called for changes to Konkour to turn it into a less stressful event. 

Other Changes 

The second major shift in policies was the omission of general courses from the university entrance exam that can help students focus on and study a few courses such as math and science for the main test. 
Grades in a student’s record for subjects such as literature and Arabic language will have an impact on their final ranking but they will not be included in Konkour. 
The third major shift comes in the form of the test results’ validation period. 
A student’s score in Konkour will be valid for two years and pupils can postpone registering for university without having to take the test once again. 
Over the next few years, student records during their final school year will progressively play a more important role in their final Konkour results. 
Scores achieved in the 12th year of a student’s education will have a 40% effect on their Konkour ranking in 2023. 
In the year 2024, the same grades will have a 50% impact. In 2025, grades from the 11th and 12th years of a pupil’s education will determine 60% of their ranking and the year after that, grades from the 10th, 11th and 12th school years will have a 60% effect on Konkour results.