Open-minded thinking in grading Literature exams

The application of rubrics in grading the high school graduation exam in Literature is considered by many teachers to be a suitable innovation, helping to recognize students' abilities, independent thinking, and creativity.

Candidates and their families discuss the exam questions.

Reforming the grading method for Literature

Currently, examination boards nationwide are carrying out the grading of the 2026 high school graduation exams. This year, in addition to publishing the answer key as usual, the Ministry of Education and Training has published guidelines for grading the Literature subject, applying the rubric grading method for the first time.

According to many teachers, using rubrics in grading essays in Literature helps to make assessments more objective and fair, while also valuing students' abilities and open-mindedness in their work.

According to Ms. Thai Thi Thanh Huyen, a teacher at Ha Tinh Specialized High School in Ha Tinh province, the grading guidelines from the Ministry of Education and Training closely follow the exam requirements. Based on these guidelines, teachers can clearly differentiate the abilities of candidates through their answers.

According to Ms. Thai Thi Thanh Huyen, a notable point is that the Writing section is implemented using a rubric system, shifting from a point-based grading system that counts ideas to a more structured grading system that emphasizes competence and the openness of the answers. This innovation aligns with the goals of the 2018 General Education Program.

In the 2018 Literature curriculum, examiners can no longer mechanically count points based on the answer key as before. Examiners must assess students' abilities through their work, from reading comprehension and reasoning skills to language use and text creation. Therefore, essays with different approaches from the answer key but that meet the requirements of the question may still be recognized.

Agreeing with the use of rubrics for grading essay-based Literature exams, Mr. Duong Trung Thanh, a teacher at the Bac Ninh Provincial Ethnic Boarding School, believes that rubrics offer clear advantages. Rubrics not only assess whether students can present solutions but also evaluate how they think about those solutions.

According to teacher Duong Trung Thanh, from a grading perspective, the rubric helps to make scores fairer. An essay with only slogans cannot be considered equal to one with analysis; an essay with sufficient ideas but bland content cannot be considered equal to one with original insights; and a smooth essay that borrows from model essays cannot mask a lack of critical thinking.

Conversely, a student with a fresh perspective, sound reasoning, and a unique writing style will be deservedly recognized, even if their work doesn't follow the exact order of ideas in the answer key. This is the spirit of competency assessment.

Teacher Duong Trung Thanh emphasized that rubrics have a great advantage in recognizing individual personality in thinking. With the topic "Steve Jobs of Vietnam," some students stressed the role of the individual, such as great ambition, self-discipline in learning, and technological competence. Others emphasized environmental factors such as policies to attract talent, investment in scientific research, acceptance of failure, protection of intellectual property rights, and support for startups.

Many articles may raise the insightful point that instead of copying Steve Jobs, we need to create conditions for Vietnamese people to become the best versions of themselves. These approaches differ, but they can all be valid if the arguments are convincing. If grading is based on rigid answers, graders may easily be confused by alternative perspectives.

According to teacher Duong Trung Thanh, grading using a rubric helps graders distinguish between students who speak the truth and those who think deeply; between essays with sufficient ideas and those with soul; and between general appeals and solutions based on sound reasoning. While traditional answer keys help maintain the boundaries of the essay, a rubric allows one to see the breadth, depth, and clarity of thought.

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Ms. Do Thi Huong Giang, a teacher at Le Hong Phong Specialized High School in Ninh Binh province, also commented that the answer key and marking guidelines closely followed the requirements of the exam questions, focusing on assessing students' ability to read and understand argumentative texts and their ability to create social and literary argumentative essays at the high school level.

According to Ms. Do Thi Huong Giang, a notable point in this year's grading guidelines is that for each question, the required achievements are stated or presented specifically and in detail down to the smallest point, even for open-ended questions. The grading guidelines for the reading comprehension section provide strict regulations on how to award points for each point; the writing section requires grading using a rubric to enhance the objectivity of quantitative assessment and reduce the subjectivity of qualitative assessment.

These new requirements necessitate that examiners both respect the answer key and grading guidelines to avoid subjectivity and bias, and apply the answer key flexibly to avoid rigidity and simply counting points for each idea.

Despite the strict requirements and detailed descriptions in the grading criteria, the answer key still allows for flexibility to acknowledge different approaches and expressions from students, respecting independent thinking and creativity in answering reading comprehension questions, writing paragraphs, and argumentative essays.

Students need to express themselves using correct grammar and clear Vietnamese to receive a perfect score.

Teaching Literature needs to change.

Based on this year's Literature exam questions, answers, and marking guidelines, many teachers believe that teaching and learning methods in schools for this subject need to continue to change to suit the requirements of competency assessment.

According to Ms. Pham Thi Dieu Linh, a teacher at Vo Nguyen Giap Specialized High School in Quang Tri province, to meet the requirements of open-ended questions and competency assessment in Literature, students need to prepare well in problem-solving skills, be creative, and also cultivate their literary appreciation abilities.

Ms. Pham Thi Dieu Linh believes that teachers must regularly and actively update and improve their skills to better understand the diverse and varied assignments students may be doing.

Ms. Tran Huynh Nhi, a teacher at Hoa Ninh High School in Vinh Long province, shared that after many years of teaching, she has been very concerned about the limited reading comprehension skills of her students. The reason is that many students do not have the habit of reading books, which consequently affects their writing skills as well.

"Having taught for many years, I've been deeply concerned about the limited reading comprehension skills of my students. This is because they lack the habit of reading, and this is an alarming situation, which in turn limits their writing abilities. With this year's exam, students can no longer rely on model essays; they must answer using their own genuine abilities," shared Ms. Tran Huynh Nhi.

Therefore, Ms. Tran Huynh Nhi argues that changes in exam question setting and grading methods place new demands on current Literature teaching. Teachers need to teach students reading comprehension, not just reading words. Understanding must be based on specialized knowledge and life experience.

At the same time, teachers need to teach students to independently express their thoughts, to dare to write from their own perspective, not to be afraid of making mistakes, to be able to self-assess their writing content, to compare it with guidelines to learn from experience and adjust their writing style, and to be able to explore and learn independently to expand their vocabulary and expressive content.

According to Ms. Tran Huynh Nhi, reading comprehension is extremely important because only through understanding can one correctly perceive, act correctly, critically analyze, and apply knowledge to practice.

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Sharing the same view, Ms. Thai Thi Thanh Huyen believes that this year's exam questions and answers clearly reflect the innovative spirit of the curriculum. The use of materials outside of textbooks and issues related to real-world situations is significant in assessing students' abilities. Students can no longer learn by rote as before, but need to learn using their own thinking and personal abilities.

Therefore, the teaching of Literature has had to change over the past three or four years. Teachers need to develop students' reading comprehension skills across various genres, encouraging them to expand their reading vocabulary to improve their reading comprehension abilities.

Teachers need to provide students with practice from the lower grades and gradually increase the difficulty level until high school. In addition, the use of language to create written texts is also very important, so teachers should pay close attention to this aspect when grading and correcting students' work.

Ms. Thai Thi Thanh Huyen shared that, for a long time, when grading the Literature graduation exam, many believed in the need to "sift through the sand to find gold," meaning that students could receive points simply for writing this or that idea. However, nowadays, students need to express themselves grammatically correct and ensure the clarity of the Vietnamese language to achieve a perfect score.

According to the plan, the results of the 2026 high school graduation exam will be announced at 8:00 AM on July 1st.

TT (compiled)

Source: https://baohaiphong.vn/tu-duy-mo-trong-cham-thi-ngu-van-546198.html