Feeling emotional about the season… showing off certificates of merit!

Parents should not view grades as the sole measure of their children's abilities.

Having been a secondary school teacher for 38 years, I would like to share my experience with parents to help them better understand why there was often an inflation of certificates of merit and awards for outstanding students at the end of the year when implementing the 2006 (old) general education program in previous years.

Starting from the 2021-2022 school year, the title of "Outstanding Student" will no longer be awarded at the lower and upper secondary levels under the new general education program.

There are many reasons for the inflation of certificates of merit. The high number of excellent students stems from the obsession with achievement in education. Homeroom teachers want their classes to have many excellent students so that they can be praised by the school administration for being good teachers, having solid skills, dedication, responsibility, and competence, and it is also a criterion for evaluating the quality of the subject at the end of the year.

To meet the quality standards of the subjects they teach, many excellent students are often graded leniently by their subject teachers. Meanwhile, schools always want to have many students excelling at the school, district, and provincial levels, so that this can be included as a criterion for awarding school honors at the end of the year.

Furthermore, contributing to the increasing number of high-achieving students is the evaluation and classification regulations according to Circular No. 26/2020/TT-BGDĐT, issued together with Circular No. 58/2011/TT-BGDĐT, amending and supplementing some articles of the Regulations on evaluation and classification of junior high school and high school students applicable to grades 9 and 12 in the 2023-2024 school year.

Specifically, Article 13 of the semester and annual grading standards stipulates that students achieve an "excellent" grade if they meet the following criteria: An average grade of 8.0 or higher in all subjects, with an average grade of 8.0 or higher in at least one of the three subjects (mathematics, literature, or foreign language); no subject with an average grade below 6.5; and all subjects assessed by qualitative evaluation achieving a "satisfactory" grade. Because the average grade is calculated based on the average of all subjects, many students only need to diligently study history, geography, civics, biology, and technology to compensate for the more difficult subjects like mathematics, literature, and foreign language, in order to achieve an average grade of 8.0 or higher and earn the "excellent" title.

From the students' perspective, while not all of them are dishonest, many have resorted to various methods to obtain high scores and deceive teachers and parents. During midterm and final exams, I discovered numerous students cheating in various ways, with many using their phones to photograph materials and using them very cleverly. If not detected, a score of 9 or 10 would be guaranteed, so parents shouldn't view grades as the sole measure of their children's abilities.

Since the 2021-2022 school year, the application of Circular 22/2021/TT-BGDĐT to grade 6 students regarding student assessment, grading, and awarding of titles has attracted significant public attention due to its progressive, positive, and humane new points. Specifically, student assessment and grading in academics and conduct are now based on four levels: Excellent, Good, Satisfactory, and Unsatisfactory, with only the titles of "Outstanding Student" and "Excellent Student" being awarded. The calculation of average subject scores has been abolished; conduct grades (Excellent, Good, Average, Poor) and academic performance grades (Excellent, Good, Average, Poor, Very Poor) have been eliminated; and the title of "Advanced Student" has been abolished.

Therefore, the widespread awarding of certificates of merit has been stopped with the new 2018 General Education Program classes (grades 6, 7, 8, 10, 11) starting from the 2021-2022 school year. In fact, over the three years of applying Circular 22, the widespread awarding of certificates of merit has been limited, the inflation of certificates of merit has been curbed, and it has received support from parents and students, making the awarding of merit more meaningful.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/nang-long-voi-mua-khoe-giay-khen-185240528145007064.htm