Changing the concept of grades in middle school to reduce pressure on children?

The new school year is about to start, will I see anxiety rising, the pressure of studying filled in the eyes and whispers of the 6th graders?

Candidates taking the entrance exam for grade 6 at Tran Dai Nghia Secondary and High School in 2025 - Photo: NHU HUNG

The new school year is about to begin, and besides the anticipation, there are worries of many teachers and parents. Reader Thanh Nguyen, a teacher, sent his thoughts to Tuoi Tre Online .

Don't let children struggle with pressure and gradually become afraid and obsessed with learning.

Many years of teaching and being in charge of children who have just started middle school, I often watch and feel compassion for the awkwardness, confusion and invisible pressures that haunt the souls of children.

Just transferring to a new level, getting used to a strange school environment, and new learning methods make many children out of breath.

Therefore, children really need active interaction and enthusiastic support from teachers and parents to confidently and firmly enter the first year of school full of surprises and confusion.

Our quality companionship in the first steps of middle school will be very decisive for the long learning journey ahead of the child.

The number of subjects is much greater, the amount of knowledge and requirements for qualities, abilities, and attitudes in each lesson and each topic are also higher.

Children who are used to the easy learning style in primary school and are now forced into a routine of preparing lessons, doing homework, taking tests, and taking exams will quickly become overwhelmed. If the psychological barriers are not removed properly, the child will struggle with pressure and gradually become afraid and obsessed with studying.

The gentle assessment with comments, encouragement, and praise in primary school has ended. In grade 6, every day children face tests on previous knowledge, group activities to get scores, and learning projects... This is a big shock for children.

Many children are not used to it, and in the first few weeks, they keep forgetting to study their old lessons and prepare new ones. Many children even confided that they stayed up until past 11pm last night and still couldn't finish all their homework...

Will scores determine learning outcomes?

Assessment scores are no longer a prerequisite, each score will determine the learning outcomes of the entire school year, including regular tests such as the first-class review, 15-minute tests, or midterm and final exams. Students need to understand this important change to strive and make efforts for each test.

Scores 9 and 10 appear much less frequently than in primary school.

Except for excellent students who can easily achieve perfect scores, the rest depend on the students' abilities to achieve good, excellent, or average scores accordingly.

And many times I have seen the stunned eyes of students and phone calls from parents questioning their children's unsatisfactory grades, or grades beyond imagination...

We need to change the concept of grades in middle school, don't insist on your child getting a 10, don't force your child to get a perfect score. This will put the child under terrible pressure of getting a good score when entering 6th grade.

Accept your child's abilities, be satisfied with the unwanted scores when they first enter secondary school, then calmly analyze the situation, evaluate the situation to see what the child is lacking in so that you can make up for it in time: it could be a lack of knowledge, a lack of foundation, or a wrong learning method.

Children really need teachers to thoroughly explain the testing method with strict regulations, plan a reasonable time allocation for exam preparation, and guide them on test presentation skills...

And children need more than ever the care, sharing and companionship from their parents.

With their own knowledge and self-study or consulting with teachers, parents should become a solid support for their children, helping them discover difficulties and solving each problem during this final exam.

Talking openly with your children, confiding in them about school, teachers, friends, and gradually removing the pressure of getting a perfect score is the most beneficial and effective way to be friends with your children!

THANH NGUYEN

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/thay-doi-quan-niem-ve-diem-so-o-bac-trung-hoc-co-so-de-tre-bot-ap-luc-20250802161130279.htm