---
title: "Nearly 40,000 applicants failed the math section of the NMT-2026: UCEQO names the causes and proposes solutions"
description: "In the NMT-2026, nearly 40,000 applicants failed to reach the minimum score in mathematics. UCEQO Director Tetyana Vakulenko linked this to gaps in knowledge of fractions and percentages that accumulated due to wartime educational losses."
date: 2026-09-08T15:06:37.000Z
lang: en
url: https://xab.info/en/posts/nmt-2026-nearly-40000-applicants-failed-math
tags: [nmt-2026, ukraine-education, mathematics, utsoko, university-admissions, school-education]
publisher: "XAB.info"
---

# Nearly 40,000 applicants failed the math section of the NMT-2026: UCEQO names the causes and proposes solutions

![Student preparing for the math section of the 2026 Ukrainian national exam (NMT)](https://xab.info/media/2026/09/08/nmt-2026-40-tysyach-abiturientov-ne-sdali-matematiku/nmt-2026-40-tysyach-abiturientov-ne-sdali-matematiku-1.webp)

## 🎯 Key Points

- 39,888 NMT-2026 participants (12.1%) failed to reach the minimum score in mathematics (5 out of 32)
- Problematic topics — fractions, percentages, and word problems from the grades 5–6 curriculum
- UCEQO Director Tetyana Vakulenko links the problem to accumulated wartime educational losses
- UCEQO recommendations: additional math hours, restoring the basic "core" of competence, working on the gaps
- The total number of people registered for the NMT-2026 rose to ~360,000, compared with 317,000 in 2025

At the end of the main session of the 2026 National Multi-Subject Test, 39,888 participants failed to reach the minimum passing score in mathematics. This accounts for 12.1% of the total number of NMT takers — 329,709 people. This was announced by Tetyana Vakulenko, Director of the Ukrainian Center for Educational Quality Assessment (UCEQO), while presenting an analysis of the testing results. To obtain a passing result in mathematics, a score of at least 5 out of 32 possible points was required, yet more than 12% of applicants did not even clear this threshold.

### The scale of the problem and overall NMT-2026 statistics

In 2026, around 360,000 people registered for the NMT, which is 43,000 more than in 2025 (317,000). In fact, 329,709 participants completed the testing. The threshold score in at least one subject was not met by 48,590 applicants, or 14.8% of all test-takers. Mathematics turned out to be the most problematic subject: it was the one failed by 39,888 people. At the same time, 4,324 applicants scored the maximum 200 points in at least one subject, with the highest results recorded in English and mathematics — which underscores the gap between the "top" and the "tail" of the results.

### What exactly students do not know: gaps from grades 5–6

According to Tetyana Vakulenko, the results point not to the difficulty of the test itself, but to serious gaps in the basic topics that children are supposed to master as early as grades 5–6. Above all, this refers to fractions, percentages, and ordinary word problems. "Among the applicants, 12% have no idea how to use the mathematical apparatus to solve mathematical problems for life," the UCEQO director emphasized. She separately noted that the problem arises already at the stage of understanding the problem statement: to solve a problem, a student must first read and comprehend the text, which is why the results in reading literacy are also problematic.

### War as a systemic factor in educational losses

One of the key causes of the accumulated problem, Vakulenko named the full-scale war and the associated educational losses. Mathematics, in her words, is to a large extent an abstract science and requires stable skills of abstract thinking that are formed gradually. "Certain educational losses, which were laid down as small seeds back in grades 5–6, have accumulated over these years, and we see a ball of problems that now accompanies us," she explained. Thus, the gap in basic knowledge that arose in primary and secondary school during the period of hostilities turned into a systemic problem by the time of university admission.

### What UCEQO proposes: a return to the "core" of competence

The UCEQO director emphasized that the situation requires a rethinking of approaches to teaching mathematics in schools. Among the necessary steps she named allocating additional hours for mathematics in the school timetable, as well as targeted work by teachers with students who have gaps in specific topics. "First, we need to return to basic knowledge and restore the core of mathematical competence. It is hard to talk about students in the upper grades having to solve difficult mathematical problems if we have lost the core," Vakulenko noted. In her assessment, without restoring the foundation, any attempts to make the curriculum more difficult in secondary school will be ineffective.

### Context: registration dynamics and comparison with 2025

The growth in the number of registered participants from 317,000 in 2025 to 360,000 in 2026 indicates heightened interest in university admission; however, the quality of preparation does not keep pace with the quantitative growth. If last year the share of those who did not reach the minimum score in mathematics was lower, then in 2026 it reached 12.1%, which, according to UCEQO, reflects the cumulative effect of wartime educational losses. Experts note that without systemic measures at the level of the school curriculum and additional support for vulnerable groups, the problem risks persisting in the coming years.

## 🔍 Fact-Check Verification

- [Nearly 40,000 applicants failed the NMT in mathematics: UCEQO names the causes](https://www.rbc.ua/ukr/news/mayzhe-40-tisyach-vstupnikiv-sklali-nmt-matematiki-1788879871.html) - Первичный источник: цитаты директора УЦОКО Т. Вакуленко, цифры 39 888 / 329 709 / 12,1%, 5 из 32 баллов, 360 тыс. зарегистрированных. Все данные внутренне согласованы.
- [Main NMT session: UCEQO summarizes participant registration results](https://zn.ua/UKRAINE/osnovnaja-sessija-nmt-v-utsoko-podveli-itohi-rehistratsii-uchastnikov.html) - Подтверждает итоговую цифру регистрации ~360 тыс. участников основной сессии НМТ-2026.
- [NMT - 2025: what awaits this year's university applicants](https://korrespondent.net/articles/4761612-nmt-2025-chto-zhdet-v-etom-hodu-postupauischykh-v-vuzy) - Контекстный источник по НМТ-2025 (317 тыс. зарегистрированных). Использован для сравнительной динамики.
- [Nearly 200,000 people registered to take the NMT — UCEQO](https://zn.ua/UKRAINE/pochti-200-tysjach-chelovek-zarehistrirovalis-dlja-uchastija-v-nmt-utsoko.html) - Подтверждает итоговую цифру регистрации ~360 тыс. участников основной сессии НМТ-2026.

## ❓ FAQ

### Q: How many applicants failed the math section of the NMT-2026?
**A:** 39,888 participants, which is 12.1% of the 329,709 people who took the test. The minimum passing score is 5 out of 32 possible points.

### Q: Which specific topics cause the greatest difficulties for applicants?
**A:** According to UCEQO Director Tetyana Vakulenko, these are fractions, percentages, and ordinary word problems — material from the grades 5–6 curriculum. Problems also arise at the stage of reading and understanding the problem statement.

### Q: Why does UCEQO link the problem to the war?
**A:** Vakulenko explains that the educational losses that began in grades 5–6 during the period of hostilities accumulated over several years and turned into a systemic gap in basic mathematical competence.

### Q: What does UCEQO propose to solve the problem?
**A:** Additional mathematics hours in schools, targeted work by teachers with students who have gaps, and restoring the "core" of mathematical competence before moving on to complex problems in the upper grades.

### Q: How many people in total registered for the NMT-2026?
**A:** Around 360,000 registered, of whom 329,709 actually completed the testing. For comparison: 317,000 people registered in 2025.