Entering first grade becomes a "war", the exam is difficult, the competition rate is high

Elementary school teachers say the demand for children to take entrance exams for "hot" first-grade schools is increasing, leading to a significant increase in pressure for children to get accepted into these schools.

Many families are willing to spend money on exam preparation for their children to enter first grade. Photo: Pexels.

Interviews, language and thinking skills assessments, aptitude tests... these are the tests that children must go through to win a place at "hot" private schools in Hanoi .

Even though 2024 is not yet over, a number of private schools in Hanoi have announced their admission plans for the 2025-2026 school year. Accordingly, children will have to take tests and assessments set by the school and meet the requirements to be admitted.

For example, children who want to enter grade 1 at Ly Thai To Primary School need to join the Grade 1 Preparation Club so that the school can assess their thinking and cognitive abilities. Or at Newton Inter-level School System, the school requires candidates to pass the school interview to win a place.

Entrance exam to grade 1 is no longer a rare thing.

Talking to Tri Thuc - Znews about the private schools enrolling first graders, which has led to the phenomenon of parents rushing to send their children to school and practice for the exam, Ms. Le Thao, a primary school teacher in Hanoi, said that in fact, the story of children taking the first grade entrance exam is not rare, on the contrary, it has become a trend in recent years. Each year, the number of applications for the first grade entrance exam has increased more and more.

As a primary school teacher with experience in first grade, Ms. Thao has often been asked by parents about tutoring their children in pre-primary school and preparing them for the first-grade entrance exam. One parent even offered a substantial fee for her to tutor their child, but she refused.

For Ms. Thao, teaching children to prepare for the first grade entrance exam is a huge challenge, much more difficult than simply teaching pre-primary school. Pre-primary classes teach children how to read, write, use a pen, organize supplies, books, etc., but preparing for the first grade entrance exam is a more "upgraded" version. Teachers will have to teach English, guide children on how to walk, answer questions, and help children gain skills to recognize and understand some familiar objects and phenomena in life.

"Preparing children for the entrance exam to first grade at 'hot' schools is very difficult. I'm not a professional exam preparation teacher, so I don't dare take on classes. Parents have high expectations, and I don't want to disappoint them," Ms. Thao told Tri Thuc - Znews.

Similarly, Ms. PA, a primary school teacher in Hanoi, also said that sending children to prep for the first grade entrance exam is becoming more popular than before. As the person who opened a pre-primary and first grade exam preparation class, Ms. A. only accepts about 6 students each year to ensure the quality of the children's review, even though the demand for parents to send their children to prep is many times higher than this number.

Speaking further about preparing children for exams, Ms. A. said that the children in her class are usually 4-5 years old. Some have already been taught to read and write by their parents, so they are more proactive, but some are completely "blank slates," and she has to guide them a lot.

However, the most difficult challenge for Ms. A. was not teaching children to read and math, but teaching them social skills so they could participate in competitions at school. Teaching skills requires long-term support because if taught only for a short period, children may forget what they learned quickly.

"Some schools even assess whether children have speech impediments. Correcting children's speech patterns and responses to questions is also a big challenge. I think that's also part of the reason why families send their children to private tutors," PA shared.

Many schools assess children's speaking abilities and social skills for admission to first grade. (Illustrative photo: Phuong Lam)

Is the competition for first grade getting increasingly intense?

Commenting on the current situation regarding first-grade entrance exams in schools, Ms. Le Thao said that the competition for first grade is becoming increasingly intense for many reasons.

Firstly, due to the increasingly developed lifestyle, families have the means to invest more in their children's education. Ms. Thao said that many families believe that their parents didn't have the opportunity to go to school in the past, so now they want to give their children the best of everything.

Second, many families have planned and mapped out a path for their children since they were young, so they decided to invest in sending their children to good schools right from kindergarten and elementary school. For families who want their children to study abroad, they are willing to let their children practice from an early age to get used to exams, improve their skills and knowledge to lay the foundation for studying abroad later.

Thirdly, families also believe that "a good learning environment will help children improve." Therefore, they are willing to invest in getting their children into "specialized schools and selective classes." When their children are educated and trained in an environment full of excellent students, they believe their children will also become excellent and progress like their peers.

Fourth, Ms. Thao said that the entrance exam for first grade is more competitive in big cities due to the large population, large number of children but few places. The teacher gave an example that the quota for public schools is usually 45-50 students/class, but private schools - where the entrance exam is held, only fluctuate at 30-35 students/class and the whole school only takes about 10 classes.

Therefore, in terms of competition ratios, the most popular private schools will face fiercer competition, making the race to get into first grade even more intense.

In addition, Ms. Thao also mentioned another reason: the "FOMO" mentality of some families. The teacher said that parents sometimes have a fear of being left behind, so when they see other families' children preparing for the entrance exam to first grade, they also have their children do the same "to keep up with the Joneses".

“In general, I think that letting your child take the first grade entrance exam is not a bad thing, on the contrary, it can help your child develop some necessary learning and social skills. However, parents also need to pay attention to clearly planning, giving their children appropriate exam preparation and not putting pressure on them to avoid affecting their health and spirit,” Ms. Thao emphasized.

Source: https://danviet.vn/vao-lop-1-tro-thanh-cuoc-chien-thi-kho-ty-le-choi-cao-20241124131928877.htm