Exams are not a game of chance.

Candidates taking the entrance exam for 10th grade at high schools in Hanoi . Photo: Quang Vinh.

According to the draft, there will be two methods for admitting students to 10th grade in high schools: selection based on academic records and entrance examination. For the selection method, the criteria will be the student's conduct and academic performance in the lower secondary education program or the lower secondary continuing education program. If a student repeats a grade, the results from the repeated year will be used.

Regarding the entrance examination method, there are three subjects: Mathematics, Literature, and one subject randomly selected by the Department of Education and Training from the remaining subjects in the lower secondary education curriculum. The third subject is announced before March 31st each year. For admission to specialized high schools, each specialized subject has an additional specialized examination subject.

Following the announcement of the proposed random draw for the 10th grade entrance exam subjects, students, parents, and many experts and teachers have expressed concerns and a lack of enthusiasm. Most have suggested that the exam subjects should be fixed to allow students to prepare more effectively.

Ms. Nguyen Phuong Nga, a teacher at Linh Dam Secondary School (Hoang Mai District, Hanoi), said that announcing or defining the subjects for the 10th grade entrance exam early will help teachers, students, and the school be more proactive in their teaching, learning, and review schedules. Based on many years of teaching experience, teachers in Hanoi also believe that dedicating more time to teaching, learning, and reviewing the subjects that will be tested is essential, in order to help students achieve good results. The goal of both the old and new education programs is to equip students with general knowledge.

In Hanoi, for many years, the entrance exam for 10th grade consisted of three fixed subjects: Mathematics, Literature, and Foreign Language. Since 2019, a fourth subject has been announced annually in March. However, this four-subject exam method was only maintained for two years, 2019 and 2020. From 2021 to the present, to reduce pressure on students due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, Hanoi has maintained a stable exam method with three subjects: Mathematics, Literature, and Foreign Language.

Similarly, for many years, students in Ho Chi Minh City have taken exams in three subjects: Mathematics, Literature, and Foreign Language, for admission to grade 10. Mr. Ho Tan Minh, Chief of the Office of the Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City, expressed his desire to maintain and grant autonomy in choosing the third subject for the grade 10 entrance exam, as is currently the case. Each locality develops its own educational development strategy, depending on its specific circumstances and characteristics.

Regarding the 10th grade entrance exam and subject selection, at the recent regular government press conference, Deputy Minister of Education and Training Pham Ngoc Thuong stated that the Ministry is researching various methods for selecting a third subject. This could involve a social science subject this year, a natural science subject next year, and a different subject the year after that, or it could be done by lottery. The Ministry of Education and Training has conducted a comprehensive survey and thorough evaluation of the 10th grade entrance exam process over the past 10 years. This shows that without a framework and decentralization of authority, management will still face shortcomings. Mr. Thuong explained: "According to statistics, we see that the method is basically stable. Regarding the number of subjects, most provinces choose three. What should the third subject be? Foreign language, computer science, or something else? There are no unified regulations yet, creating inconsistencies and making it difficult to monitor and evaluate the central government's management as well as assess the overall teaching standards at the school level."

According to Deputy Minister Pham Ngoc Thuong, the method of selecting the third subject is the most important consideration. If left to local authorities to choose, this could be influenced by the subjective will of the head of the locality, leading to many negative consequences. However, if a fixed subject is chosen, the Ministry is concerned about creating a situation of rote learning and unbalanced learning. This would prevent students from being adequately prepared with the qualities and competencies required by the new curriculum. Currently, the Ministry of Education and Training is in the process of gathering opinions to develop a draft Circular, with the view of listening to opinions from the grassroots level, but on the principle of ensuring unified state management regulations and ensuring scientific assessment and output according to the objectives of the 2018 General Education Program, appropriate to each educational level.

Dr. Nguyen Tung Lam, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Dinh Tien Hoang High School (Hanoi), believes that the Ministry of Education and Training's concern that fixed exam scores for all three subjects will lead to unbalanced learning is understandable. However, it is also necessary to consider another aspect: the random selection of exam subjects means that any subject could become an exam subject, potentially leading to students needing extra tutoring to prepare for all subjects. Therefore, the option of randomly selecting exam subjects needs thorough consideration, as there is no scientific research to adequately assess whether exams will promote positive learning.

Source: https://daidoanket.vn/thi-cu-khong-phai-tro-choi-may-rui-10292019.html