Is it time to let local authorities organize high school graduation exams?

(Dan Tri) - Decentralizing the organization of high school graduation exams to localities is an inevitable trend in the process of educational innovation, enhancing autonomy, accountability and flexibility in the system.

In recent years, and especially at present, the policy of decentralization and delegation of power in state management has been and is being vigorously directed by the Party and Government in many fields, including education and training.

Resolution No. 29-NQ/TW on fundamental and comprehensive innovation in education and training clearly identifies the need to strengthen autonomy and accountability for educational institutions and decentralize appropriately to localities.

The high school graduation exam is one of the most important exams for Vietnamese students, marking an important transition from general education to higher education. In recent years, the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) has developed the exam questions, organized the same exam session and the same exam questions nationwide. The remaining steps have been assigned to localities to proactively implement.

The exam has many advantages in terms of fairness, transparency and standardization. However, in the context of educational innovation and the need for decentralization of management, this model is revealing many shortcomings in terms of flexibility, cost and suitability to local conditions.

Therefore, considering decentralizing exam organization to provinces and cities is a necessary and inevitable step to adapt to reality and comprehensively reform the education system.

Why is it necessary to decentralize high school graduation exams to localities?

The main objective of the high school graduation exam is to accurately assess the learning outcomes of learners according to the objectives and requirements of the General Education Program. At the same time, the exam is one of the bases for assessing the quality of teaching and learning of educational institutions and the direction of educational management agencies.

Organizing exams in a concise, effective, efficient, fair and suitable manner to actual conditions is always a matter of social concern.

In the current context, the Party and Government have adopted a policy of strong decentralization in education management to promote the role of localities, while enhancing autonomy and creativity in education. Decentralization to provinces to organize high school graduation exams is considered a step in line with this policy.

Decentralization of the organization of high school graduation exams to provinces is considered a step in line with the policy of strong decentralization in education management (Photo: Trinh Nguyen).

First of all , each province has different economic, social, infrastructure and educational conditions. Decentralizing the organization of high school graduation exams to localities helps create flexibility and suitability to the actual circumstances of each region.

Provinces can proactively adjust the organization and location of the exam to make it most convenient and safe for students. Especially in remote, mountainous or island areas, organizing the exam locally will reduce travel difficulties, helping students have a more complete and fair opportunity to take the exam. This is not contrary to the provisions of Article 34 of the 2019 Education Law.

Second , the policy of strong decentralization in educational management not only affirms the autonomy of localities but also promotes increased responsibility and efficiency in organizing educational activities.

In that context, Ho Chi Minh City's proposal to organize separate exams for localities is not only a practical need but also a direction in line with the major policies of the Party and State, aiming to improve the quality of education in each region.

In addition, decentralizing the organization of exams to provinces helps increase the ability to respond flexibly to unexpected situations such as epidemics or natural disasters. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many localities had to adjust exam schedules and organization plans to suit the actual situation.

If each province organizes autonomously, they will be able to respond promptly, minimizing disruption to candidates and their families.

Third , the draft amendment to the 2019 Education Law to assign the authority to grant high school diplomas to high school principals will increase the role and responsibility of schools in managing, testing and evaluating students.

When principals have the authority to award degrees, schools will be more proactive in organizing internal tests/exams, monitoring learning quality, and at the same time, increasing responsibility for student results. This also contributes to promoting educational decentralization, creating a more flexible and transparent environment.

In particular , decentralizing the organization of exams associated with innovation in teaching, testing and assessment at the local level will help the exams accurately reflect the capacity and quality of students.

Localities can proactively develop exam questions that are suitable for the teaching program and characteristics of local students, thereby motivating teachers to innovate teaching methods, enhance skills training, critical thinking and application of practical knowledge for students.

Decentralized testing and assessment will contribute to promoting student-centered and learning-centered teaching and learning, aiming at the goal of comprehensive education.

Assigning the organization of high school graduation exams to localities reduces the burden on the central government.

Currently, after the administrative reorganization, the country has 34 provincial-level administrative units, each with different socio-economic conditions, educational infrastructure and natural characteristics. At the same time, Vietnam is a country with a terrain stretching from North to South, from plains, mountains to islands.

Therefore, the weather between regions is very different, natural disasters and floods occur unevenly over time and space, often causing disruptions to learning and exams in many localities.

Candidates taking high school graduation exam in Ho Chi Minh City (Photo: Trinh Nguyen).

In that context, organizing the high school graduation exam in a centralized model at the same time nationwide is revealing many shortcomings in terms of flexibility, safety and efficiency, especially in mountainous provinces and remote areas, where there are often difficulties in traffic, exam conditions and harsh weather.

Decentralizing the organization of high school graduation exams to localities ensures consistency in the chain of responsibility. In which, the province is the administrative unit directly managing high schools, understands local characteristics and has the capacity to organize exams according to actual conditions.

Furthermore, in any educational system, the person who grants degrees must also have control over or be in control of the student assessment process. When the principal is given the power to grant degrees but not the power to decide or administer exams, the chain of responsibility is broken and disconnected.

Giving local authorities full authority to organize exams is a step to perfect the mechanism: the person responsible for evaluating learning outcomes is also the person who signs to confirm the value of the diploma. In particular, in that context, giving high school principals the authority to issue graduation certificates is a new step, affirming the spirit of transferring real authority to general education institutions.

To ensure unity, synchronization and rationality in the chain of teaching - testing - assessment - granting of certificates, decentralization to localities, specifically the provincial level, to take full responsibility for organizing the high school graduation exam is inevitable.

Decentralization of high school graduation exams to localities increases flexibility and reduces the burden on the central government (Photo: Hai Long).

This decentralization also increases flexibility and reduces the burden on the central government. If localities take the initiative to organize the exam, the Ministry of Education and Training will have the conditions to focus on developing details on the requirements to be achieved/output standards of the General Education Program, promulgating the matrix structure and detailed standardized specifications of the high school graduation exam, training, professional guidance and quality monitoring instead of implementing the current tasks.

That working time is spent on researching, issuing educational policy reforms, solutions and monitoring, guiding and supporting localities to improve the quality of general education.

This is also a way to help the system operate more streamlined, effective and efficient in the context of curriculum innovation and shifting the focus from teaching knowledge to developing learners' capacity.

Localities do not lack professional capacity to organize high school graduation exams.

With current practical conditions, localities have experience in building semester tests, mock tests... according to competency orientation, so there is no shortage of professional capacity, especially if there is a guidance framework from the Ministry of Education and Training.

Most provinces - especially those with large populations and developed school systems - have adequate examination rooms, equipment, and a team of professionally trained invigilators and supervisors.

Many localities have experience in organizing semester exams, 10th grade entrance exams or other large-scale exams. This is a solid foundation for organizing high school graduation exams on a larger scale.

Furthermore, if in the first years some provinces cannot create their own exam questions, they can use the exam questions and hold the same exam session with other provinces that have the capacity to create exam questions and have a roadmap to develop the team as well as the local capacity.

In particular, the application of technology in the organization of exams, such as candidate management, examination room monitoring by camera, digital transformation in multiple-choice test scoring, etc., helps increase transparency and minimize errors and negativity. This ensures that the exam is organized seriously and with quality, creates favorable legal and political conditions, and at the same time increases responsibility and motivation to improve the quality of education for the provinces.

Some opinions are concerned that when the exam is handed over to the locality, the quality of the exam will be difficult to control, especially cheating, "achievement chasing" or the difference in level between provinces. However, in the current context, modern educational measurement and assessment science can completely solve these problems.

Many localities have experience in organizing large-scale exams (Photo: Manh Quan).

The main solutions that can be applied are using a matrix system, standardized test specifications; analyzing score distributions and monitoring test data using technology; the correlation between test results and academic performance in the school year... These indicators help the Ministry of Education and Training identify localities that need in-depth inspection or policy adjustment to suit the trend of decentralization and delegation of authority.

In addition, many solutions are used to implement post-auditing, national independent standardized assessment surveys in grades 9 or 12 to objectively compare with graduation exam results. From there, a national general education quality map is built, which is both transparent and creates real motivation for improvement.

At the same time, it is necessary to gradually switch to computer-based exams and apply digital technology to the high school graduation exam such as: digitizing the exam and grading process; applying artificial intelligence to detect cheating; converting exam scores to a common scale to compare the quality of the entire system, ensuring objectivity and fairness when localities organize the exam themselves, reducing human intervention.

This method has been successfully applied by many countries around the world in national and international standardized exams, demonstrating that decentralization of exam organization does not mean loss of control over quality and fairness in assessment.

Decentralization of high school graduation exam organization to localities is an inevitable trend in the process of educational innovation, educational management innovation, enhancing autonomy, accountability and flexibility in the system.

This work, if implemented scientifically, controlled and transparently, will not only help improve the quality of examinations but also promote the even and sustainable development of the education system across the country.

In order for the decentralization of the organization of the high school graduation exam to be highly effective, careful preparation is needed. The monitoring, inspection and control system needs to be strictly implemented to ensure fairness and transparency. The exam questions need to be standardized and highly reliable, and local exam organizers must be well-trained to avoid unfairness, disadvantages for students and possible errors and negativity.

Dr. Sai Cong Hong - Expert in educational assessment and evaluation

(*) Title given by Dan Tri newspaper.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/giao-duc/da-den-luc-nen-giao-cho-dia-phuong-to-chuc-thi-tot-nghiep-thpt-20250813211449318.htm