Voronezh schools to introduce behavior grades from September 2026

The regional education ministry has announced that behavior grades will be introduced in Voronezh schools, in line with national policy, starting September 1, 2026.

All students from first to eleventh grade will be assessed. Some Voronezh teachers support the new measure.

«It is important that the system is focused on support and development, not punishment. In my view, the initiative has positive potential if its goal is pedagogical, if it helps build an individual trajectory for developing a child»s social and personal skills, and becomes a tool for early problem detection and assistance—that is a step forward,« said Irina Kantimirova, an English teacher at School No. 10 in Rossosh.

Irina Arzhanova, a Russian language and literature teacher at Otradnenskaya Gymnasium, noted that the new grade will not affect academic scores and will help reduce the number of conflict situations in schools.

Currently, behavior grades are being piloted in 89 schools across seven regions of Russia: Novgorod, Tula, Yaroslavl, Leningrad Oblasts, the Luhansk People«s Republic, Chechnya, and Mordovia. Our colleagues from NGS24.RU have discussed all the pros and cons of the new student behavior assessment system in a separate article. Read more via the link.