Focus on review for grade 9 students

According to Decision No. 619/QD-UBND, dated April 6, 2025 of the Provincial People's Committee on approving the enrollment quota for grade 10 in the 2025-2026 school year in the province, the total enrollment quota for grade 10 of all systems is 10,850 grade 9 students, including: 350 enrollment quotas for grade 10 of Bien Hoa Specialized High School; 7,380 enrollment quotas for grade 10 of high schools; 1,665 enrollment quotas for grade 10 at vocational education - continuing education centers (GDNN- GDTX) and GDTX - Vocational Guidance Center of Ha Nam province; it is expected that there will be 210 enrollment quotas for grade 10 of Nguyen Tat Thanh Secondary and High School; it is expected that there will be 60 enrollment quotas for grade 10 of Mensa Secondary and High School; It is expected that there will be 240 enrollment targets for grade 10 at FPT Primary, Secondary and High School and the expected enrollment target for grade 10 between the Continuing Education Center and the Vocational Education Institution is 945 students. Thus, there is still a lot of pressure on grade 9 students preparing for the 10th grade entrance exam for the 2025-2026 school year.

Every year, entering April and May, the atmosphere of the 10th grade entrance exam review in secondary schools in the province is usually very exciting, with review classes organized systematically right at school. However, this year, the implementation of Circular 29 of the Ministry of Education and Training stipulating that no extra classes for money are organized in schools has somewhat changed the organization of review for students. Currently, most schools choose to organize free review sessions after hours, but this form requires teachers to volunteer to teach classes and students to voluntarily register to study before organizing classes. According to teacher Tran Thi Hue, a teacher at Thanh Tan Secondary School (Thanh Liem), they have now entered the final review phase to prepare for the 10th grade entrance exam for the 2025-2026 school year. However, for students with average academic performance, they need close supervision. If they do not receive support from the school and teachers, they will have to rely on themselves to review.

Many 9th grade students of Le Hong Phong Secondary School (Phu Ly City) have parents who are self-employed or workers, so it is difficult for them to go to the center to review. Teacher Nguyen Thi Ngoc Lien, the school's principal, shared: This year is the first year that students take the 10th grade entrance exam according to the 2018 General Education Program, with many new points in the exam structure as well as the organization of the exam. Not only families, but also teachers are very worried about the students before the upcoming entrance exam. Therefore, since the end of February, the school has organized free review sessions for students, 2 periods/subject per week. Teachers are completely voluntary, the school arranges classrooms, plans and closely supervises. Review lessons are organized on the basis of classifying students according to their abilities to have appropriate review measures.

Math review hour for 9B grade students at Le Hong Phong Secondary School (Phu Ly City) in preparation for the 10th grade entrance exam.

Not only facing difficulties in reviewing conditions, this year's 9th grade students also have to face an important change when the 10th grade Literature entrance exam has a major adjustment in structure, following the orientation of capacity development. If in the past, the Literature exam usually consisted of three parts: reading comprehension, social commentary and literary commentary, this year the exam structure according to the 2018 General Education Program will be new, consisting of two large parts, each worth 5 points. In which, part 1 is reading comprehension of literary texts and writing paragraphs (about 200 words); part 2 is reading comprehension of argumentative or informative texts and writing social commentary essays. In part 1, the reading comprehension is worth 3 points, and the paragraph (2 points) will require candidates to express their feelings about the poem, or analyze the theme, art and aesthetic effect of the text. In part 2, the reading comprehension question is worth 1 point, the remaining 4 points are for the social argumentative essay (can ask candidates to express their opinion on a life issue or propose a feasible solution - PV).

One notable point is that all reading comprehension materials will be outside the textbook, no longer than 1,300 words, requiring students to have quick reading comprehension skills, analytical and synthetic thinking. The test is designed in an integrated direction, meaning that the writing part will be related to the text in the reading comprehension part, requiring interdisciplinary competence, and the connection between theory and practice.

According to teacher Tran Thi Hue, teacher at Thanh Tan Secondary School (Thanh Liem): The new test structure is very good but also very difficult. Students in rural areas have few opportunities to be exposed to integrated test formats and lack argumentative and critical writing skills. If not well trained, they can easily get low scores in this section.

It is worth mentioning that at this time, the locality does not have official sample questions for the entrance exams to grade 10 like many provinces and cities. Most teachers who teach 9th grade review courses proactively search for materials to review for students. A 9th grade student at Hoa Hau Secondary School (Ly Nhan) expressed concern: I find this year's essay questions difficult to predict. The paragraph writing section requires in-depth analysis, while the social argumentative essay requires factual evidence. If I do not receive direct guidance from a teacher, I do not know how to express myself...

Nguyen The Manh, a 9th grade student at An Do Secondary School (Binh Luc), shared: This year, the province only organizes one entrance exam for grade 10 for all high schools in the area, the scores of all 3 subjects are coefficient 1, the admission score is the total score of these 3 subjects. Therefore, we need to study well to have a high total score, there is no longer the situation of one subject's score compensating for another subject's score by multiplying the coefficient like previous years. At this time, in addition to the review materials from teachers in class, we ask friends studying at the center to support documents, knowledge or exploit the internet to solve and review by ourselves. I myself feel worried when I encounter difficulties in studying and reviewing, especially with the innovations in exams.

The entrance exam for grade 10 public high schools in Ha Nam will officially take place from June 6 to 8, 2025. Currently, grade 9 students of secondary schools have completed the 2024-2025 school year program and are focusing on reviewing for the grade 10 entrance exam. Along with innovations in enrollment, the rate of secondary school student streaming in Ha Nam continues to increase, so the pressure on students and teachers before the exam is very high.

Jiangnan

Source: https://baohanam.com.vn/xa-hoi/giao-duc/tap-trung-on-tap-cho-hoc-sinh-lop-9-160616.html