Candidates preparing to take the Literature exam at the 2024 High School Graduation Exam - Photo by: DUYEN PHAN
The high school graduation exam and university/college entrance exam were then seen as a "breakthrough" to drive change in the general education system, which was experiencing significant inertia.
Particularly since 2015, the literature exam has undergone significant changes to meet the "two-purpose" exam requirements (graduation assessment and university/college entrance examination).
The reading comprehension section uses material outside of the textbook, making it difficult for candidates to predict the answers. The key to doing well on the exam is not rote learning or memorizing specific topics, but rather mastering real skills. This also significantly changes teaching methods and even partially addresses the current situation of students being "lazy about reading."
Along with the inclusion of reading comprehension and changes in question formats at different levels, the literature exam after the "combined exams" or the multi-purpose graduation exam as it is now also gains points from social commentary questions.
This makes the essay topic appealing to both candidates and those who encounter it because it reflects real life and even current events. Many issues and values are raised for candidates to think about and express. These positive changes in the exam topic also impact changes in the teaching and learning of literature.
However, the negative aspects of the literature exam – viewed over the past decade – still outweigh the positive ones. Every year, authorities have to deal with rumors of leaked literature exam questions.
The exam questions might not be leaked, but candidates can still guess the works included in the exam accurately. This is because the exam committee wouldn't dare "break the rules" in the literary analysis section by using material outside of the textbook. With over a dozen works in the curriculum, and repeated practice, it becomes easy to predict the answers.
Besides the limited range of materials, the question format in exams over the years has not changed much, basically maintaining a safe and familiar approach. This has also discouraged schools from adopting creative teaching methods.
Another point of concern that many teachers have mentioned is the "right of students to speak the truth."
Over the years, exam papers in the reading comprehension and social commentary sections have included open-ended questions with "closed" answers, leading to inconsistent grading opinions that negatively impact the final results.
The Ministry provides grading guidelines, and the committees always have to discuss the grading direction carefully, but this direction often follows a one-sided approach. No one can guarantee that dissenting opinions in a candidate's paper will be accepted.
A teacher in Hanoi commented that this year's exam question was about "respecting individuality," but she worried that the answer would be unlikely to "respect the individuality" of the students. The question asked for "your thoughts/feelings," but the answer was "the thoughts/feelings of the teachers."
"It's only a dream," wrote a literature teacher. But why only a dream when schools don't change? And the first necessary condition for truly innovative and creative national exams is a roadmap for teachers and students to change, starting with the teaching and learning process.
Many believe that next year's exam under the new curriculum will bring about breakthroughs in the literature section. However, this is not certain if the actual reform process in schools remains merely "old wine in new bottles."
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/mot-cuoc-doi-moi-nhin-tu-de-thi-van-20240629081803669.htm
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