Rush to take English certificate exam for admission to grade 6

In the current situation where the Enhanced English Program (TATC) cannot be implemented widely, many parents in Ho Chi Minh City these days are running around looking for testing centers for their children to take the English certificate exam, in order to have priority conditions when considering admission in the upcoming primary school entrance exam.

Try to study and take English exams

Ms. Le Thu Quynh, a parent of a 5th grader in District 10, said that her child did not study the TATC program in primary school but she hopes to apply for admission to grade 6 at Nguyen Van To Secondary School (District 10). In order to be eligible for admission to the school, the whole family has been busy taking their child to review for the exam to get an English certificate to add to their application. "Many students meet the admission requirements to the school while the quota is limited. Therefore, the only way to compete is to have many preferential conditions, in which English is the top priority, so we have to try to let our children study and take the exam in time to get the certificate," Ms. Quynh said. Mr. Nguyen Thanh Van, Head of the Departmentof Education and Training (GD-DT) of District 10, said that it is expected that in early June, District 10 will announce the enrollment plan for the first level. In previous school years, the admission requirements for TATC grade 6 at Nguyen Van To Secondary School stipulated that students must have a TATC score of 9 in all four skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing in primary school. International English certificates equivalent to Flyers 12 shields or higher.

The situation of parents rushing to take their children to take English certificate exams is not uncommon. According to leaders of many Departments of Education and Training, it is expected that enrollment in grade 6 for the 2023-2024 school year in Ho Chi Minh City this year will be more stressful because of the "golden dragon" age group.

Đổ xô thi chứng chỉ tiếng Anh để xét tuyển vào lớp 6 - Ảnh 1.

Nguyen Du Secondary School (District 1, Ho Chi Minh City) - one of the schools with entrance requirements for grade 6 admission

To ensure a place at the desired school, some parents do not hesitate to take their children to many places and many times if they do not meet the desired standards. Ms. Nga, a parent in District 1, said that the requirements for admission to TATC 6th grade are the minimum requirements. Almost all parents try to "upgrade" their children so that they can feel secure because they are given priority.

According to the enrollment plan in District 1 in previous years, enrollment in TATC 6th grade with conditions such as students completing primary school in District 1, with a total score of 6 points or higher in each skill will be assigned to public secondary schools that organize TATC classes. If they do not meet the requirements, they will be assigned to other public secondary schools. In case the schools are still able to accept more students into TATC classes, students must have a level 2 foreign language certificate or a foreign language certificate at level A2 or higher according to the CEFR framework or a Cambridge Flyer certificate with 10/15 shields or higher or a TOEFL Primary Step 2 with 3/5 badges or higher or a PTE Young Learners Quickmarch level with a Pass of 3/5 stars or higher.

Not required but preferred

Mr. Nguyen Thai Vinh Nguyen, Head of the Department of Education and Training of Thu Duc City, said that English certificates are only used to add to the criteria for secondary schools with a large number of registered students. Currently, there are two English programs for admission to grade 6, including Integrated English (TATH) and TATC. Students studying any English program are considered for admission based on their residential area.

Mr. Nguyen added that the TATH program is a separate program with specific admission criteria. Currently, Thu Duc City has not announced the enrollment plan for grade 6 in the next school year. However, in previous years, enrollment for grade 6 students in the TATH program was divided into 2 groups. For students who have completed grade 5 of the TATH program in primary school, the average score of the five TATH subjects is required to be 6 or higher. In case the capacity of the secondary school is less than the number of students registered, English certificates such as Pearson PTE Young Learners Quickmarch, TOEFL Primary will be considered. As for grade 6 students who want to study under the TATC program, if they have studied in primary school and have scores in their transcripts, they will not be required to have any other certificates.

However, according to Mr. Nguyen, in reality, TATC classes are usually boarding classes. In the condition that TATC cannot be implemented in all classes, priority conditions must be taken into account when considering admission. "Or the school has finished recruiting but still has some quotas, in many cases, priority must be given to those with certificates. Cambridge English certificates: Movers, Flyers, KET, PET... Pearson PTE Young Learners, ETS (TOEFL Primary, TOEFL Junior)..." - Mr. Nguyen said.

Meanwhile, according to the Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City, the department has just recognized an additional English certificate so that students can register for the exam, as a basis for admission to grade 6 in the near future.

Mr. Ho Tan Minh, Chief of Office of the Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City, said that currently, in addition to Cambridge English certificates for children, the Department of Education and Training of the city still recognizes international certificates from other examination boards. For example, students can completely register to take the Pearson English certificates for children, which are Pearson English International Certificate Young Learners (PEIC Young Learners, also known as PTE Young Learners). "This is a certificate that is examined and awarded by the Pearson Edexcel International Examination Council - part of the world's largest education group Pearson -" - said Mr. Minh. The PEIC Young Learners certificate has levels equivalent to the Cambridge system such as: Firstwords level equivalent to Starters, Springboard equivalent to Movers and Quickmarch equivalent to Flyers.

There will be many exams.

According to Mr. Ho Tan Minh, currently, the Department of Education and Training's Center for Foreign Languages and Information Technology still accepts registrations and organizes these exams in parallel with Cambridge and TOEFL Primary exams, meeting the needs of students in Ho Chi Minh City to take exams and obtain international certificates. Thus, to prepare for the registration for admission to grade 6 of TATC in the upcoming 2023-2024 school year, in addition to Cambridge English certificates such as Starters, Movers, Flyers, KET, PET, students can register to take the Pearson English certificate for children, the exam schedule for this certificate is held many times a year.

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