The pressure is not in the number of exams.

The Ministry of Education and Training is seeking opinions from schools and the Department of Education and Training on the plan to enroll students in grade 10 according to the 2018 general education program. According to the plan proposed by the Ministry of Education and Training, the 10th grade entrance exam will be held from 2025 with 3 subjects: Math, Literature and a 3rd subject randomly drawn by the Department of Education and Training from the remaining subjects of the secondary school program. The 3rd subject must be announced by the Department of Education and Training at the end of March every year.

This information has received public attention and many opinions have been expressed. Besides the opinion of testing 3 fixed subjects: Math, Literature, English, there are other opinions.

Support the drawing of the third exam subject for grade 10 to ensureeducation quality

Many teachers and education managers said they support the plan of having fixed Math and Literature exams, and drawing lots for the third exam to ensure the quality of education. Because at this time, students still have the mentality of no exams, no learning.

According to Mr. Vu Khac Ngoc, a Chemistry teacher in Hanoi: "It will create a generation of science illiterates because students drop out of Natural Sciences and Social Sciences from grade 6 to focus on Math, Literature, and English."

Mr. Ngoc said that the pressure does not lie in the number of subjects, but comes from the competitive nature of the exam and the expectations of parents that exceed their children's abilities. In terms of educational science, having more subjects will be a relief, helping students to be less bored during the exam preparation process and reduce the pressure of having to concentrate and bet on a small number of subjects.

To reduce pressure, it is necessary to "manage expectations", correctly assess your child's abilities, and make preparations and provisions that best suit your child's abilities and your family's conditions.

Students of a secondary school in Hanoi . Photo: Tao Nga

Proposal for students to choose a third exam subject for grade 10

Mr. Tran Manh Tung, a math teacher in Hanoi, proposed the ideal solution for students to choose a third subject to take. According to Mr. Tran Manh Tung, the annual 10th grade high school entrance exam receives great attention from students, parents and society. He also gave 10 reasons why a third subject should not be drawn for this exam.

Firstly, the lottery will create unnecessary pressure and stress. The 10th grade entrance exam is already stressful because of choosing a school first and taking the exam later, because of the competition rate, because candidates register by region... Many people think that this exam is more stressful than the university entrance exam.

The drawing of exam subjects has an element of luck, passive imposition and creates stress for students. In fact, in the years when this method was applied, in the second semester, there began to be predictions and a mentality of waiting for the announcement of exam subjects... causing distraction and difficulty for both teachers and students in teaching and learning.

Second, the organization of the lottery for the exam subjects may be biased towards Natural Sciences and Social Sciences. It is not suitable for students to choose the exam subjects for grade 10 because students take the Geography exam for grade 10 but do not study Geography when they go to grade 10.

Third, the draw is organized by the Department of Education and Training locally, not publicly like "drawing lots for football matches", so there is no basis to ensure reliability.

Fourth: The 10th grade entrance exam plan with 3 subjects: Math, Literature, and Foreign Language, which has been applied by many localities in recent years, has been proven to be suitable in practice. This plan has also received support from the majority of students and parents, and the graduation exam results of these localities are still at the top.

Fifth, there is no basis for worrying that if you don't take the exam, you won't study because the new General Education Program requires the learning process to meet the goals and requirements of capacity, qualities, and attitudes.

The learning process has regular assessment, periodic assessment… this has an opposite impact on teaching and learning. Schools and administrators have plans to check the implementation of the program right in the school year without having to wait until the exam subjects are announced.

Sixth, if the education sector has to use exams to force learning, then learning will become a coping mechanism. At that time, there may be a situation where many places will study half-heartedly, waiting for the day to announce the exam subjects. Once announced, learning will only be for the exam. This way of studying does not meet the requirements of the new General Education Program, which is to focus on assessing students' abilities. The new program does not have the problem of not taking exams, then not studying. Announcing exam subjects late to avoid biased learning shows that management is still weak.

Seventh, if the actual number of subjects drawn may be more than the number of subjects, it will put pressure on students. For example, if the subjects drawn are History and Geography, the actual number of subjects will be 4. If the subjects drawn are Natural Sciences, the actual number of subjects will be 5.

The reason why there is no third draw for the 10th grade entrance exam is because we need to distinguish between the graduation exam and the entrance exam. The graduation exam does not need to be eliminated. The entrance exam needs to be taken from high to low, while not all students are good at all subjects.

9th, it is recommended that three subjects should be compulsory: Math, Literature, and English. The industry should consider these three subjects as the three "backbone" subjects, necessary for all students, even high school students. In addition, compulsory English exams to promote the study of this subject are also a step in preparing for making English a second language in schools.

10th, the ideal solution for the high school entrance exam is that students are allowed to choose the subjects to take the 10th grade entrance exam. In that case, in addition to Math and Literature, students are allowed to choose a third subject that is suitable for their ability to take the 10th grade entrance exam. Because when they go to high school, students are allowed to choose a combination of subjects to study according to their ability. However, with this solution, the organization of the exam and the development of exam questions will be difficult and complicated, while the construction of the question bank does not meet the requirements, so it is difficult to implement.

Source: https://danviet.vn/boc-tham-mon-thi-thu-3-vao-lop-10-ap-luc-khong-phai-o-so-mon-thi-2024101506243142.htm