A Study of Four Decades of Policy-Making and Legislation in the Field of Higher Education Entrance Examination in Iran, in terms of Problem- detection, Consequences, and Gaps

Objective: The problem of the present study was to examine the policies and rules set for the national entrance exam to universities in order to detecting the problems, consequences and the existing gaps. 
Methods: For this purpose, by reviewing and analyzing the laws and regulations imposed during the last four decades by the method of qualitative content analysis, the policies and regulations governing them (in terms of problem-solving and solutions) were extracted.
Results: Based on the findings, justice in access to higher education, development of higher education, diversity of training courses, reduction of gender restrictions (increasing women's participation), reform of input assessment methods, localized admission and Structurall reform and improvement, it was extracted as seven main policies. Policies evaluation from a problem-solving perspective shows that part of the policy is positive in line with global developments in higher education in order to provide opportunities for the expansion of higher education, women's participation and increase equality and justice in access to higher education.
Conclusion: However, the lack of a country planning landscape and the neglect of the expansion and diversity of higher education without a clear criteria can be considered as the main factors in reducing the quality and boosting the demand for higher education. Also, the policy of changing assessment methods (with the aim of improvement), due to the lack of deep understanding of the problem and scientific support and disregard for the necessary infrastructure, not only did not improve the entrance exams but also the negative consequences of reducing the quality of general education. Inflation has been followed by grades and averages in high school. Lack of any policy in the field of demand management, poor coordination between various policy makers and decision makers and lack of evaluation of the consequences of policies and laws can be considered as the most important weaknesses of policy in The higher education entrance system.