What are they arguing about?

A midterm literature exam at Mac Dinh Chi High School (District 6, Ho Chi Minh City) with 17 words sparked debate about how to appropriately follow trends and drew particular attention to the principles of exam question compilation.

The midterm exam for 10th-grade students at Mac Dinh Chi High School had the topic: "Write an argumentative essay discussing the superficial lifestyle of today's youth." What students found interesting and teachers appreciated was the "trendy" approach to youth life, the high level of differentiation, and the discussion of a phenomenon close to students' psychology. This helped students stay engaged in writing the essay, and made grading less tedious for teachers.

"P HONG BAT": SLANG THAT NEEDS AN EXPLANATION

However, teachers also provided feedback on the format and content requirements of the test questions within the overall context of the curriculum.

According to Master Tran Le Duy, a lecturer at Ho Chi Minh City University of Education, the phrase "pretentious lifestyle" is slang used on social media and may be confusing for students. Therefore, teachers need to provide examples or context to help students understand accurately. Exam setters should also consider whether it's necessary to use "pretentious lifestyle" or if there are simpler, clearer, and more understandable ways to express it.

A literature lesson for 10th-grade students under the new general education curriculum.

PHOTO: DAO NGOC THACH

Many other teachers also agreed, saying that the term "phông bạt" (bamboo screen) should have been put in quotation marks, as it is slang, not commonly used, and not all students understand it. Therefore, teachers need to provide a clear explanation. The test would be better if it included a story, pointing out some young people who exhibit this behavior in real life.

Furthermore, some teachers disagree with the phrase "the superficial lifestyle of today's youth," arguing that it generalizes and assumes that almost all young people have such a lifestyle. Perhaps the phrase should be revised to "the superficial lifestyle of some young people today."

Exam question about 'A superficial lifestyle': What do students think?

Furthermore, many opinions suggest that the 45-minute test is inconsistent with Circular 22 of the Ministry of Education and Training, which stipulates a minimum of 60 minutes for evaluating secondary and high school students. Additionally, the test only includes a writing section, lacking a reading comprehension section to help students identify the characteristics of the genre, as per the curriculum guidelines. The way the test was designed appears hasty and superficial.

Regarding the educational value of the topic, Mr. Le Hai Minh, a literature teacher in Binh Thanh District (Ho Chi Minh City), shared: "Teachers choose topics or try to 'follow trends' to bring excitement and interest to students, but it is important to note that the educational value of the topic is one of the very important factors."

N. REQUIREMENTS THAT MUST BE MET FOR THE EXAM

Master's degree holder Tran Le Duy pointed out that the test must meet the learning objectives of the 2018 General Education Program, as demonstrated through the matrix and specification table. It must ensure scientific accuracy, precise wording, avoiding ambiguity and hidden meanings, accurate citations, and proper source attribution; the knowledge and information included in the test must be correct and free from errors. Regarding aesthetics and education, the content should aim for noble values, conveying positive lessons and guiding students towards the values ​​of truth, goodness, and beauty.

The exam is causing controversy.

Master's degree holder Nguyen Phuoc Bao Khoi, a lecturer in the Literature Department at Ho Chi Minh City University of Education, points out that choosing hot social issues demonstrates the test setters' good up-to-date knowledge of current events, making it easier for students to grasp the topic... However, this is still a 50/50 situation for the test setters as it can easily cause controversy and receive mixed reactions from the public.

Furthermore, the social issues included in students' essays need careful consideration regarding their compatibility and suitability to their age and psychological development. In addition, the social commentary topic should be a situation close to the students' experience in handling similar issues, in order to align with the competency-based assessment approach.

Therefore, Master Khoi noted that teachers must be very careful in choosing the topic when compiling exam questions. For example, with this exam question, using the word "banner," the question setter should use an explanatory note or footnote below to clarify its meaning. If there were a reading passage quoted from a reliable source and the prompt were changed to "Write an essay about the phenomenon mentioned in the article/newspaper above," the exam would be better.

"When designing exam questions, regardless of scope or level, the criteria of 'safety and good differentiation' should always be prioritized. Public opinions such as 'good/bad, old/new, reflecting real life/lacking connection to reality' cannot be concretized into criteria and have never been criteria for evaluating exam questions," Master Khoi stated.

The Ministry has just issued training materials for core teachers on test design.

According to a teacher at a high school in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, teachers should adhere closely to the learning objectives when creating exam questions, and the Department of Education and Training provides guidance on question design.

This teacher also stated that in October 2024, the Ministry of Education and Training only issued a set of training materials for core teachers on constructing periodic tests for the Literature subject at the high school level. Therefore, only at this point are there specific guidelines, and only core teachers have access to these materials. Thus, some errors and limitations in test design by teachers are completely understandable, as teachers teaching the new curriculum are still in the process of adapting and adjusting. Hopefully, the guidance materials will be widely disseminated and reach every teacher. Schools also need thorough professional development sessions, and especially, there should be a review of test questions.

When creating test questions, criteria that teachers need to keep in mind.

When creating essay prompts, teachers first need to be emotionally invested (at the time of brainstorming), then they must use reason to carefully control the form, content, and every punctuation mark in the prompt, anticipating all situations and making appropriate adjustments. Essay prompts containing elements that serve as "backdrops" require careful consideration and consensus within the subject group.

Exam questions need to be pedagogically sound. Using materials that reflect real life is appropriate, but when incorporating a phenomenon or trend that young people are interested in into a test, teachers should consider carefully and use filters to refine the material. High school students need to be taught to be polite, tolerant, upright, to have dreams, to know how to start a business, to read diligently, and to actively engage in physical training. Exam questions should focus on these aspects to help students develop their abilities and qualities, even while always "following trends."

Once, I suggested to the literature teacher that they use the story of the students at Le Hong Phong High School for the Gifted in Ho Chi Minh City, who bowed to the security guard every time they arrived at school, as material for a test. Everyone was amused and praised it, but more importantly, after that test, the students at my school gradually got used to bowing to the security guard.

From a literature test, I was moved to receive a sweet reward, a reward of happiness!

Creating test questions requires teachers to strive to improve their methods, update their knowledge, read diligently, stay close to real life, and be proficient in the virtual world.

The power to create test questions to assess students is merely the hard part; the greatest authority of a teacher lies in their collaborative pedagogical activities that build a truly effective school, a truly effective classroom, a truly effective teaching environment, and a truly effective learning environment. The school is a "sacred temple," and superficial comments will simply be swept away by the wind…

Dr. Nguyen Hoang Chuong

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/de-kiem-tra-ngu-van-ve-phong-bat-tranh-luan-vi-dieu-gi-185241030230112226.htm