Candidates said they were 'overwhelmed' by the math test, teachers commented that the test was good

đề thi - Ảnh 1. — Candidates after completing the math exam at the Chu Van An Secondary School exam site, Hanoi - Photo: NAM TRAN

Candidate: Math questions have high classification

In Nha Trang City, Khanh Hoa Province, candidate Nguyen Bao An (exam site at Ly Tu Trong High School) said that this year's math questions were very close to the reality learned at school, and in addition to applying formulas, there were many flexible ways to solve them. The last questions of Part II were relatively difficult, requiring candidates to apply a lot of knowledge and experience in solving exercises during the exam preparation period.

Meanwhile, candidate Tran Hoai Phuong, who took the exam at Thai Nguyen Secondary School, said this year's exam was quite difficult, with a high level of classification, and from the first questions, he had to apply a lot of knowledge to find the answer. "This year, not many candidates will get full marks because the last questions are extremely difficult. Personally, I had to struggle to complete about 70% of the exam," said Hoai Phuong.

"The test was really difficult, the first few questions overwhelmed me, but if I had a solid grasp of the knowledge, I could still have scored above average" - candidate Nguyen Minh Anh (exam score from Ly Tu Trong High School) shared.

đề thi - Ảnh 2. — Candidate Nguyen Phuc Hung smiles as he leaves the Nguyen Van Troi High School exam site, Nha Trang City, Khanh Hoa - Photo: TRAN HOAI

At the exam site of Ngo Si Lien High School, Bac Giang , Nguyen Viet Dung, class 12A7, shared the math questions that differentiated with 2 true-false questions and 2 probability questions. Dung was confident of getting 8-9 points because the first 12 questions could get the maximum score because they were basic knowledge, not tricky.

Similarly, Pham Khoi Nguyen, class 12A7, said the two probability questions were the most challenging because they required a lot of time to calculate and think. For example, the triangle question with many numbers was easy to lose focus, but he was confident of getting 8-9 points.

Meanwhile, Nguyen Phuong Nguyen, class 12A2, confidently scored over 8 points because she had solid knowledge of block A. Nguyen shared that the first 12 questions were the easiest to get points, and the correct questions that followed were not difficult and did not "trap" people like the sample questions. The short answer section had 2 difficult questions: arranging books on the bookshelf and decoding codes. "The integral questions looked difficult but were quite easy to do," Nguyen confided.

đề thi - Ảnh 3. — Candidates "frown" after the math test, although still confident of getting over 8 points at the test site of Ngo Si Lien High School (Bac Giang) - Photo: HA QUAN

At the exam site of Huynh Thuc Khang High School, Vinh City, Nghe An , many candidates left the exam room with different feelings. When asked, most of them shared that the exam was "easy" but it was difficult to get 8-9-10 points.

Candidate Phuong Anh said that the exam structure under the new 2018 program has many changes compared to the old program. In addition to the multiple choice part, there is also a true and false part that requires candidates to spend more time thinking and calculating. Part 3 in particular is difficult questions, only those with good academic performance or higher can earn a score of 8.

"The math test is very differentiated. I found the questions about probability, statistics and geometry difficult," Phuong Anh said, predicting that she would get more than 7 points.

đề thi - Ảnh 4. — Candidates leaving the exam site at Huynh Thuc Khang High School, Vinh City on the afternoon of June 26 - Photo: DOAN HOA

Some candidates taking the test at Me Tri Secondary School in Hanoi said that the test was too difficult, they could only do about 50-60%. The new multiple choice questions were the toughest. However, at this test site, some candidates said they could do about 80%. "Compared to the sample test published by the Ministry of Education and Training, the official test is easier," said Linh Dan, a candidate at this site. She predicted that she would get about 8 points because there were some questions she was not sure about.

Trung Thanh, a candidate at Trung Vuong Secondary School (Hoan Kiem, Hanoi) said he was not sure about the two true/false multiple choice questions. Compared to the multiple choice test format, the new formats require more time to calculate to get the results. Thanh said that at his test site, no candidate submitted their test before the scheduled time, but he hoped he would get a score of 8.5-9.0.

Candidate Nguyen Quoc Vuong - Hanoi - Amsterdam High School for the Gifted, commented that this year's math test was quite challenging, especially in the true-false format: "I found this year's test much more difficult than last year's. The true-false part was the easiest to get wrong. However, I think I got about 9.5 - 10 points."

At the exam site of Tran Phu High School for the Gifted, Hai Phong , candidate Tran Hai My agreed that the exam questions were highly classified, and that if one did not have a solid grasp of the knowledge, it would be difficult to get a high score. To get a score of 9-10, students must study very well. According to Hai My, the structure of this year's exam questions was very good, the multiple choice part could "save" students who were not majoring in math, but some other parts required solid knowledge and took time to calculate.

đề thi - Ảnh 5. — Candidates leave after the math exam at the exam site of Tran Phu High School for the Gifted, Hai Phong - Photo: TIEN NGUYEN

In Kien Giang , contestant Dong Bao Quyen - a student at Huynh Man Dat High School for the Gifted - said that this year's math test was somewhat difficult, but she was still confident in doing well on the test because she had reviewed the knowledge thoroughly.

"The short answer part was a bit too much for me. However, I am confident that I did well in the other parts. I calculated that I would probably get about 8 points," Quyen said happily. Similarly, Nguyen Tan Dat - a candidate in Rach Gia City - said that this year's math test had a difficult part in probability. Thanks to careful review of knowledge, Dat said he still had the chance to get the desired score.

Candidate Ngo Hoai Nam at Nguyen Viet Hong High School exam site, Can Tho City , said the math test was difficult, and one had to study hard to get 7 or 8 points.

Many candidates at other testing sites in Can Tho also assessed that this year's exam was more difficult than the ones in recent years. Candidate Tran Lam, a student at Chau Van Liem High School, said he got about 8 points, so he can rest assured that he will take the remaining two exams tomorrow.

At the exam site of Le Khiet High School for the Gifted, Quang Ngai City, Quang Ngai Province, candidates walked out of the school gate with different feelings. Some candidates said the test was easy, some said it was moderate, and others complained it was difficult. The common point was that the candidates said that 35/50 questions were easy and they could do them very quickly. But the remaining 15 questions were "difficult to chew".

"I think this test is not too difficult for those who study hard to get a score of 8 or higher. The most important thing is to classify the difficult questions. Personally, I can get about 9 points," said contestant Hoang Minh.

At Tran Quoc Toan Secondary School, Tuy Hoa City, Phu Yen , where candidates took the exam according to the 2006 program, candidate Le Thi Song Tra commented that this year's exam was relatively easy, she did 40/50 questions. Candidate Nguyen Van Dong found the first 34 questions easy, but from question 35 onwards they were really "difficult". The exam followed the structure closely with 90% of the questions from the 12th grade program and the remaining 10% of the questions from the 11th grade program such as analysis, probability...

"I hope to get a high score so that I can get points to be considered for admission to military schools. I'm very happy that we are taking the test again according to the 2006 program, which is easy to review. With this test, I'm confident of getting over 8 points," Dong said.

đề thi - Ảnh 6. — Candidates exchange papers after the math exam at Chau Van Liem High School, Can Tho City - Photo: T.LUY

đề thi - Ảnh 7. — Candidates in Kien Giang take the opportunity to review math exam questions - Photo: CHI CONG

Teachers' comments on math exam: Related to real life, not challenging candidates

According to Mr. Tran Van Toan, former head of the math group at Marie Curie High School, District 3, Ho Chi Minh City, this year's math test has the same matrix as the reference test of the Ministry of Education and Training. In particular, the test does not have any "plugged" questions or require candidates to use tricks to solve them.

Even practical math questions are quite familiar to students because they closely follow the math types in textbooks.

In addition, the exam still has differentiating questions, although the level of differentiation is not very high.

With the exam like this year, Mr. Toan predicts that many candidates will get 10 points. The average score will be 7 points. Average candidates can still get 6 points if they are careful.

"In short, the exam reflects the spirit of innovation of the 2018 general education program. Candidates do not need to study extra to do well on the test" - Mr. Toan assessed.

Candidates after completing the math exam at the Chu Van An Secondary School exam site, Hanoi - Photo: NAM TRAN

Ms. Nguyen Thi Hong, Head of the Math - IT Group at MVLomonosov Secondary and High School, Hanoi, also said that the exam structure is not too different from the Ministry's sample exam, ensuring the purpose of graduation and using university admission results.

The highlight is the presence of practical questions. The problems not only test theoretical knowledge and pure math solving skills but also put students in situations close to life such as: an app to manage advertising messages on the phone, the amount of residual drugs in water in the aquaculture industry, optimization problems in economics or problems calculating the volume of a decorative object...

"Personally, I was very pleased when the experts who created the exam questions did not include the problem of the shortest distance (Eulerian cycle) as in the illustration, because that content is only in the specialized textbook that many schools and many candidates do not have access to when studying and reviewing. Instead, there was an optimization problem in linear programming - this problem, although it is in the specialized textbook for studying Math for grade 12, is also in the textbook for grade 10 - so it is not too unfamiliar to students," Ms. Hong commented.

With many questions related to reality, Ms. Hong believes that students who are trained in logical thinking, understand the nature of knowledge and have the ability to apply it flexibly will have an advantage in getting a score of 9 - 10.

With this test, the score distribution may shift slightly to the left compared to previous years because although the number of questions is less, the level of thinking is higher and with the scoring method for true and false questions, students who do not do the test carefully can easily lose a lot of points, and for the short answer part, if the process is correct but the result is incorrect, there will be no points. The score distribution for math this year is predicted to fall around 6.6 - 7.0 points.

"This year's math exam is a strong change, not only in form but also in assessment philosophy. To achieve high scores, students cannot memorize or practice mechanically but must truly understand and apply math flexibly and thoughtfully. This is a positive signal that has a negative impact on teaching in general education," Ms. Hong expressed her opinion.