Will the 'problem' of formulaic essays finally end?

TP – The Ministry of Education and Training has mandated that end-of-semester and end-of-year exams for the 2024-2025 school year should not use materials from textbooks. This move is expected to put an end to the copying of model essays and speculation about exam questions.

The problem of model essays, where students simply copy and paste lessons from class into exams and still achieve high scores, is considered a weakness of the 2006 general education program that has persisted for decades. Since the implementation of the new general education program, with its single curriculum, multiple textbooks, teaching methods, and assessment of Literature, the approach has gradually shifted towards using materials outside of textbooks to evaluate students' analytical and literary appreciation skills.

Starting next school year, students will take Literature tests using materials outside of the textbook.

In its guidelines for the 2024-2025 school year, the Ministry of Education and Training requires schools not to use materials from textbooks for periodic tests. Naturally, the entrance exams for grade 10 and the high school graduation exams will also follow this direction.

Ms. Le Thi Lan, a Literature teacher at Phuc Xa Secondary School in Ba Dinh District ( Hanoi ), believes that it is necessary to innovate teaching and assessment methods for the subject. In fact, since the implementation of the new curriculum until the upcoming fourth year, teachers have gradually shifted towards not using textbook materials for test questions. Even schools using this textbook do not use materials from the other two textbooks to introduce students to new texts. This type of assessment requires teachers to also innovate their teaching methods, equipping students with test-taking skills and the ability to identify different literary genres.

"Teaching literature must focus on outcomes, ensuring students acquire good reading comprehension skills and a strong ability to appreciate literature. And with the new assessment methods, teachers must also accept and grade students' viewpoints, considering their arguments, perspectives, and evidence. Only when students present sound reasoning, viewpoints, and evidence can creativity be encouraged, instead of rigidly adhering to a grading rubric."

Dr. Hoang Ngoc Vinh

According to Ms. Lan, this method is advantageous for students with above-average academic performance because they only need good reading comprehension skills, a solid foundation of knowledge, and critical thinking abilities to grasp the method and learn more easily. Conversely, students below average, who have long relied on model essays and teacher-provided readings to copy, will struggle considerably. Students entering 6th grade this year, having spent five years in primary school following the old curriculum, also need time to adapt and avoid feeling overwhelmed.

Depends on the teacher.

The success of innovative teaching methods in Literature depends heavily on the teachers. Some teachers have expressed concern that there has been a recent trend of teachers "tipping off" or "coaching" students on exam questions. For example, before an exam, teachers might provide 3-4 excerpts outside the textbook for students to refer to, and then create an exam question based on one of those excerpts. This is believed to stem from teachers' pressure to achieve high grades and end-of-term/end-of-year results. Some teachers admit to being confused when selecting and quoting appropriate materials for exam questions. In fact, some schools have created end-of-year exam questions that are three pages long, causing students to complain about the excessive amount of time they spend reading the questions.

A Literature teacher from Lao Cai Specialized High School in Lao Cai province analyzed that not using textbook materials for testing has advantages but also disadvantages and limitations. The advantage is that it certainly fosters students' intellectual abilities and creative literary skills. Students will no longer learn mechanically, rigidly following model essays, a problem that has persisted for many years. However, when students realize that studying textbook material without testing or evaluation leads to superficial learning, a careless and fleeting approach, and forgetting what they've learned quickly, the situation becomes problematic. "Previously, in the old curriculum, textbooks only contained a few works, so teachers taught them meticulously, analyzing each passage in depth from content to artistry and meaning. Learning through in-depth study, students pondered and researched related texts, thus absorbing, understanding, and appreciating the work. This would be impossible with a completely new excerpt or work, because students wouldn't have the time to deeply appreciate it. Furthermore, students with poor reading comprehension skills might misunderstand the content or go off-topic," according to this teacher.

Dr. Hoang Ngoc Vinh, former Director of the Department of Professional Education (Ministry of Education and Training), believes that for a long time, university-graduated Literature teachers have taught students in a purely rote manner, meaning they want all students to love and have their own perspective on literary works. Students understand what the teacher says, following a set pattern. This "repetition" prevents students from writing a coherent essay after many years of study. Children who write freely and creatively, reflecting their own thoughts, are often considered off-topic… and lose points. As a result, model essays become "valuable," and students don't need to think critically when studying literature. For many years, Literature exam questions have also been limited to a few works from the textbook, and students consistently guess the answers correctly every year,” Dr. Vinh said.

Ha Linh

Source: https://tienphong.vn/khong-dung-ngu-lieu-trong-sach-giao-khoa-se-cham-dut-nan-van-mau-post1662148.tpo