Diversify ways to assess the qualities and abilities of primary school students

Looking back at nearly 5 years of implementing Circular No. 27/2020/TT-BGDDT (Circular 27) regulating the assessment of primary school students in Vinh Phuc province, manyeducation managers and teachers believe that this assessment method is humane and creates a big change in educational methods and educational relationships.

At Hop Chau Primary School, Tam Dao District, teachers are trained every year on how to evaluate students. Every month, the school organizes professional activities at the school level once, and professional groups meet twice, focusing on teaching methods and student evaluation methods. Teacher Tran Xuan Ngoc, Principal of the school, said: The method of evaluating students depends on the feelings of each teacher, and there is no scale for comparison when selecting excellent students. Therefore, in order to reward properly, there are cases where the Board of Directors has to re-examine students to ensure accuracy. Having taught at Hop Chau Primary School for many years, teacher Do Thi Hong Dung shared her experience: Teachers must pay attention to observing and increasing interaction with students, especially shy and unconfident students. Teachers should let students interact and communicate more with each other to improve their abilities.

Assessment for first graders is even more difficult. Teacher Le Thi Hong Van, Dai Dong Primary School, Vinh Tuong District, shares her secret: “I mark on the books to see if the students are making progress or not. I have to pay attention and have my own method for each first grader.

In addition to regular parent-teacher meetings, teachers also have private discussions with parents whose children need to make an effort. Ms. Hoang Thi Ngoc Lan, Principal of Dai Dong Primary School, said: The school evaluates very seriously, even forcing students to repeat a grade. Fortunately, parents are very cooperative in evaluating and classifying students.

Students of Dong Tam Primary School, Vinh Yen city experience collage products.

Commenting on the regulations for evaluating primary school students, teacher Vu Thi Thanh Van, Principal of Duc Bac Primary School, Song Lo District, said: Circular 27 is very humane. Teachers mainly use measures to motivate and encourage students; do not publicize survey scores, give private comments on individual cases, and do not present them to the class or parents. Students are happier and more joyful when they go to school.

In general, the team of education managers and primary school teachers highly appreciate the humanity of Circular 27. Teachers have paid more attention to assessing students' progress, regularly encouraging and motivating students to make the most of their own abilities and capacities. The assessment method also ensures timeliness, fairness, objectivity, does not compare one student with another, and does not create pressure for students, teachers and parents.

To implement Circular 27, every year, the Department of Education and Training of Vinh Phuc organizes training for all managers and teachers at the primary level, and at the same time strengthens periodic and surprise inspections and checks of the Departments of Education and Training. The assessment results of the schools are uploaded to the industry database system, which is used as a basis for consideration of promotion to the next grade or retention, and consideration of completion of the primary school program. In the 2023-2024 school year, Vinh Phuc province has 514 primary school students who have to be retained, accounting for 0.4% of the total number of students, lower than the national average rate of 1.3%.

The Vinh Phuc Department of Education and Training affirmed: After nearly 5 years of implementing primary school student assessment according to Circular 27, the majority of primary school teachers have mastered the content, methods, procedures, assessment records and the use of assessment results. Managers and teachers have a firm grasp of the purpose of assessment, which is to provide accurate and timely information, and determine learning and training achievements according to the level of meeting the requirements of the primary school general education program.

Teachers and students of Duc Bac Primary School, Song Lo District, excitedly experience the Dien Bien Phu panorama painting donated by Nhan Dan Newspaper.

After 4 years of implementing Circular 27, teachers of primary schools such as Duc Bac, Hop Chau, and Dai Dong have become familiar with the new assessment method, knowing how to use language to describe students' qualities and abilities relatively accurately instead of evaluating by scores as before. Parents are all satisfied with the assessment method because through teachers' comments, even though they are only words of encouragement, they still know what level their children are at and what they need to try. For children with slow progress, teachers invite parents to school to discuss and advise parents on educational methods. Schools all focus on self-assessment, self-assessment of quality, and organize additional tests to ensure accurate assessment results. Thanks to that, the educational quality of these schools is always among the top in the locality.

Mr. Hoang Minh Tuan, Head of the General Education Department (Department of Education and Training of Vinh Phuc) said: After a period of implementing Circular 27, the team of education managers and primary school teachers in the whole province has mastered and drawn many experiences from previous school years to evaluate the qualities and abilities of 5th grade students to ensure efficiency, publicity, transparency, and strive for 100% of 5th grade students to complete the primary school program.

To continue implementing Circular 27 well, the Department of Education and Training directs the Departments of Education and Training of districts and cities to organize acceptance and handover of educational results for students completing primary school programs to grade 6 in accordance with the conditions of schools and localities. The Departments of Education and Training of districts and cities direct the principals of primary schools to organize invigilation and marking of tests with the participation of teachers from secondary schools in the same area. The homeroom teachers complete the student evaluation records and hand them over to the schools.

However, the application of the new assessment method also creates some difficulties for teachers. Talent subjects are also assessed like other subjects, while teaching an average of 1 period/week, so there is not much time to observe and interact with students. Meanwhile, not all students have a talent for singing or drawing, so there needs to be guidance on calculating competition scores so that good and well-behaved students who have not yet shown their talent are not disadvantaged, ensuring fairness in assessment activities. Primary school students often lack stability in their learning outcomes, affected by psychology and health, so periodic subject tests may not be truly accurate, objective and convincing. Many parents still focus on academic performance through scores. It is very difficult to determine the boundaries for grouping to find outstanding students.

In the near future, the Department of Education and Training of Vinh Phuc will organize an output assessment test for 5th grade students to see an overview of primary education, on that basis, propose solutions to assess the qualities and abilities of primary school students in a truly scientific and accurate manner.

Source: https://nhandan.vn/da-dang-hoa-cach-danh-gia-pham-chat-nang-luc-hoc-sinh-tieu-hoc-post849511.html