The main sections of the monitoring carried out by the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation of the modern system of general and vocational education are described, as well as new goals for the development of the education system taking into account the national project “Education”. Methodological principles for monitoring the eff ectiveness of the national project “Education” have been identifi ed and justifi ed, and requirements for diagnostic methods have been formulated. The procedure and rules of carrying out diagnostic procedures, types of test questionnaires are considered. Theoretic-methodological approaches to testing, rules of design and formulation of tests are discussed. Examples of test types are given. Possible modernized diagnostic techniques for monitoring the education system is proposed.