10th grade entrance exam is within reach: Will test scores and benchmark scores increase?

At the end of the 10th grade entrance exams in Hanoi this year, the most noticeable thing was the bright smiles of the candidates. The exam questions were assessed as appropriate, not tricky…, so did the exam scores and benchmark scores increase?

" MATH IS USEFUL IN LIFE"

Ms. Le Nhung, a math teacher at Marie Curie Secondary and High School ( Hanoi ), said that this year's math exam was very good, increasing the practical element, closely following the sample exam that the Department of Education and Training had previously announced; the exam was clearly differentiated into 3 levels (average, good, excellent) but the content was a bit more difficult in the differentiation question for excellent students. According to this teacher, in lesson 5, few students will be able to do it completely, students can write the profit expression but not all students know how to find x, so it is predicted that many students will lose 0.25 points in this lesson.

Mr. Nguyen Ba Tuan, a math teacher at Chu Van An High School for the Gifted, said that this year's exam was similar in terms of differentiation to last year's, with about 2-3 strong differentiation questions, of which the most deeply differentiated question, although not a "puzzle", certainly not many candidates would be able to answer. "That is completely appropriate in an entrance exam with quite intense competition," Mr. Tuan said, adding that with such a way of setting the questions, the expected exam scores would not be different from last year's for this subject.

The joy of candidates in Hanoi after completing the 10th grade exam with 3 subjects that were assessed as innovative, within their ability but with good differentiation

PHOTO: TUAN MINH

Sharing the same opinion, Mr. Hoai Duong, a math teacher at Giang Vo Secondary School (Ba Dinh District), is satisfied with this year's math problem because it has practical problems that ensure differentiation. "Why is differentiation important? Because Hanoi has a lot of students, 4 specialized schools, 10 top schools, how can those schools and the schools in the farthest places still choose students?", Mr. Duong said.

"Lesson 5 is very good because later on, you will all have to solve problems in an optimal way in life. In the past, everyone said that math is useful for life, but the way it is taught and tested did not clearly show that. Now, the way it is given in exams and tests like this will show that math is close to and useful for life," said Mr. Duong.

D SCORES PREDICTION

After analyzing the math exam, Ms. Le Nhung said that average students can get a maximum of 6.5 points, good students can get a maximum of 8.5 points, excellent students can get 9 or above 9 points, but there will be few 10 points because few students can do question c of the geometry test, and complete part 5. It is predicted that the average math score this year will be about 1 point lower than last year.

Teacher Nguyen Ba Tuan predicted that this year's math exam scores would not differ significantly from last year's. Therefore, if we only look at math, there would not be a big change in the benchmark scores.

According to Mr. Tran Manh Tung, a math teacher at a cultural training center in Hanoi, this year's math questions are safe, without riddles, complicated calculations, and have a similar structure to the sample questions, so they do not cause many surprises, creating favorable conditions for candidates. The questions ensure good differentiation when average students can achieve 6.5 - 7.5 points; good students can achieve 7.5 - 8 points. Good students can conquer 8 - 9 points. "There will not be many 9 - 10 points, the math score range this year may be 0.5 - 1 point lower than last year," Mr. Tung predicted.

Ms. Pham Thi Kim Hue, Vice Principal of Chuong Duong Secondary School (Hoan Kiem District), said: "With this year's exam, I think there will be many scores of 8 - 9. The average score of Hanoi students will fall between 7.5 - 8 points and possibly higher."

In literature and English, besides the majority of positive comments about the close and suitable way of making the exam questions, a few opinions also expressed concern about whether the "easy" admission questions will cause the standard scores to skyrocket at top schools? In literature, many teachers and students commented that there will be many exams with scores of 7.5 - 8 points; in foreign languages, many candidates are predicted to score 8 - 9 points...

However, according to many literature teachers, the familiarity of the materials and requirements does not mean that the test is easy and lacks differentiation. Ms. Nguyen Nguyet Nga, a literature teacher at Viet Duc High School, commented that even the social argumentation question about the joy of students, all students can do it, but good and excellent students will have better feelings and expressions than average students. Those tests will have higher scores and this is the differentiation that the test aims for.

It is expected that from around July 4 to 6, the Hanoi Department of Education and Training will announce the exam scores at the same time as the benchmark scores.

Photo: Tuan Minh

BENCHMARK DEPENDS ON MANY FACTORS

Regarding the prediction of benchmark scores, Director of the Hanoi Department of Education and Training Tran The Cuong said that benchmark scores depend on many factors, not just the test questions. Therefore, only when the grading is completed can we make well-founded judgments about benchmark scores.

This is also the opinion of many high school principals when sharing their experience in determining the benchmark scores for grade 10 for many years: the benchmark scores depend partly on the difficulty of the exam, on the teaching quality of each "batch" of junior high school graduates, and the quotas and "competition ratio" of each school each year...

However, the way Hanoi calculates the benchmark scores this year has changed significantly compared to decades ago, that is, the scores for the literature and math exams are no longer multiplied by a factor of 2, but are only calculated by a factor of 1 on a 10-point scale like the foreign language exam. According to some opinions, foreign languages ​​are a strong subject for students in the inner city, so the foreign language score can be calculated by the coefficient of the literature and math scores, which will increase the benchmark scores, especially in top schools.

THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS "LOOSE DOT, TIGHT DOT"

The exam questions are open, but is there a phenomenon of "loose marking or tight marking" in essay exams, especially in literature? This issue continues to be raised in this year's 10th grade exam.

Ms. Nguyen Nguyet Nga, with many years of experience in grading 10th grade exams, said that before grading the exam, the Hanoi Department of Education and Training has three scoring rem with detailed instructions for each question. Parents do not have to worry about "high or low grading" because there are specific measurement indicators, in each sentence, each idea, what level of knowledge the student has achieved, how many points will they get. "In Hanoi's 10th grade entrance exam, students can pass or fail with a difference of 0.25 points, so teachers will be extremely careful in grading the exam," Ms. Nga said.

Mr. Tran The Cuong affirmed that the exam can only go well when the marking process is completed seriously. Therefore, Hanoi will have to select the most experienced and responsible examiners, comply with the answers and marking instructions; ensure the exam results of the candidates are fair and objective, there is no loose marking or strict marking. "After marking, we will select a number of papers to re-mark, probability mark, cross-mark, ensuring fairness for the candidates", Mr. Tran The Cuong affirmed.

The Hanoi Department of Education and Training said it will mobilize over 2,000 officials and teachers to participate in marking the exams. It is expected that from around July 4 to 6, the exam scores will be announced at the same time as the benchmark scores.

There was a candidate who had appendectomy surgery at night, but still took the exam the next morning.

At the end of the 10th grade entrance exam for specialized high schools, Director of the Hanoi Department of Education and Training Tran The Cuong shared touching "behind the scenes" stories.

Many teachers andeducation officials have sacrificed important family matters for the sake of preparing the exam. For example, during the process of absolute isolation to prepare the exam this year, a teacher's father suddenly passed away but he could not return to see his father for the last time, and had to return later to mourn because of the absolute confidentiality of the exam.

Mr. Cuong also praised the studious spirit of Hanoi students this year when mentioning 12 candidates who had health problems such as broken arms and legs, were being treated for illness but still took the exam and were supported to write their papers and received attentive medical care. There was even a candidate who, after finishing the two exams in literature and foreign languages, had to be hospitalized for emergency appendectomy on the night of June 7, but on the morning of June 8, still insisted on going to the exam school to finish the math exam. The family had written a commitment, and with the coordination of the medical force, the police, and the exam steering committee, organized for this candidate to take the exam under the supervision of medical staff, ensuring absolute safety. After the math exam, the student got back on the medical vehicle to go to the hospital for further treatment.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/de-thi-vao-lop-10-vua-suc-diem-thi-diem-chuan-co-tang-185250608200352127.htm