Why separate specialized students in the gifted student exam?

Specialized students are not allowed to take the gifted student exam in their specialized subject or have to take a separate exam because if they take the exam together with the general education system, they will "grab" all the high prizes, causing unfairness.

In the 12th grade gifted student exam on March 5, Ho Chi Minh City stipulated that students in specialized classes are not allowed to take exams in the specialized subjects they are studying, but only in other subjects. This has made many people wonder and worry about the rights of students in specialized schools.

The Ho Chi Minh City Departmentof Education and Training said that in previous years, the Department did not distinguish between specialized and non-specialized candidates. However, realizing that the competition conditions between the two groups of candidates were unfair, the Department made adjustments.

This does not affect the rights of the students, because specialized students have already taken the exam in their favorite subjects in the national excellent student selection exam in October 2023. Therefore, if they continue to take the city-level excellent student exam for grade 12, they must register for another subject to be fair to the general education students.

"Many specialized students who took the first round of exams but were not satisfied with the results or wanted to try another subject can still take the second round. Similarly, general education students can still take the first round of exams if they feel capable enough," an official from the Department added. In both rounds, students are considered for prizes.

Students in Ho Chi Minh City discuss the content of the Literature exam after the 12th grade excellent student exam on March 5. Photo: Le Nguyen

Not only Ho Chi Minh City, many localities also organize two rounds of excellent student exams such as Vinh Phuc, Quang Nam . Normally, the first round is called the exam for excellent students of specialized high schools, often held at the beginning of the school year to combine with the selection of the national team. Students of specialized schools and other high schools are all allowed to participate.

The second round is the provincial excellent student exam for students in the general program. In Vinh Phuc , specialized students are not allowed to participate in this round. In Quang Nam, only specialized students in grades 10 and 11 are allowed to participate.

Explaining, Mr. Nguyen Hoang Nam, Deputy Director of the Department of Education and Training of Quang Nam, said that the first exam to select the national competition team requires candidates to have in-depth knowledge, skills, and outstanding courage, suitable for students of specialized schools. Meanwhile, the second exam aims to discover and recognize the abilities of excellent students compared to the general level, as well as encourage the movement to foster excellent students throughout the province. In both exams, participating students are considered for provincial-level prizes, without affecting their rights.

"The two groups of candidates are trained in two different directions, with different levels. If they take the same test and have the same evaluation method, it will be unfair," said Mr. Nam.

Mr. Trinh Van Mung, Head of the Department of Testing and Education Quality Assessment, Vinh Phuc Department of Education and Training, has a similar opinion.

"The prize ratio of each exam is about 60% of the number of candidates participating. If all the high prizes are awarded to specialized schools, other schools will not be interested in discovering and nurturing talented students," Mr. Mung added.

Mr. Mung assessed that allowing specialized students to take two exams, but not taking the exam in the second exam subject like in Ho Chi Minh City, is a new way of doing things, creating favorable conditions for specialized students but not affecting the rights of other candidates.

"Each method has its own advantages and disadvantages. Based on the characteristics of the students and the purpose of organizing the exam, each locality will have different methods," said Mr. Mung.

An expert in training gifted students in Ho Chi Minh City and the southern provinces said that the new regulation of Ho Chi Minh City is reasonable if the purpose of organizing the exam is to encourage the movement of gifted students on a large scale. Students of specialized schools will have special playgrounds with higher competition such as the 30/4 Olympic exam or selecting the national gifted student team.

Le Nguyen

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