Students under pressure from the plan to draw lots for the third exam subject to enter grade 10

“We don't want the third subject to be a draw.”

Drawing lots for the third subject in the 10th grade exam is a proposed plan of the Ministry of Education and Training in the draft Circular amending and supplementing the Regulations on Secondary School Admissions and High School Admissions, which will seek public opinion. The purpose of this is to provide a number of framework criteria for uniform implementation in localities across the country and to avoid the situation of lopsided learning and rote learning of secondary school students.

Candidates taking the 10th grade exam for the 2024-2025 school year.

According to the draft, the public 10th grade entrance exam will take place with 3 subjects: math, literature and a third subject - one of the subjects assessed by scores (foreign language, civics, natural science , history and geography, technology, information technology).

The leaders of the Ministry of Education and Training have determined that the method of choosing a third subject has received attention from the public, parents and schools. Currently, the Ministry is only in the process of collecting opinions to draft a circular. The Ministry's viewpoint is to listen to opinions from the grassroots level, the drafting of the circular will be based on three core viewpoints: being concise, not causing pressure, not causing costs to parents, students and society; promoting educational activities, meeting the requirements of the new program on students' qualities and abilities and ensuring state management.

Through the survey and synthesis of the Ministry on the 10th grade exams of localities in the past time, it shows that the basic exam method is stable; most provinces choose 3 subjects but there is no unified regulation on the 3rd exam subject; this creates inadequacies, making it difficult to check and evaluate in management work.

A representative of the Ministry of Education and Training said that if the third subject is fixed, the Ministry is worried that it will cause a situation of rote learning, lopsided learning, and students will not be fully prepared with the qualities and abilities required by the new program, so they are researching different methods and forms that can be chosen from the remaining subjects.

The Ministry of Education and Training’s plan to draw lots for the third subject in the 10th grade exam has received mixed opinions from the public and parents. Few people agree with the proposal and the reasons given by the Ministry, believing that the “lottery” format should not appear in education because it will create insecurity, anxiety, and even confusion for students.

“Since hearing the proposal to draw lots for the third subject in the 10th grade exam, my friends and I have been very worried. We hope that the number of subjects will be fixed and announced publicly and clearly so that students can be mentally prepared and well-prepared for the exam,” said Nguyen Ngoc Minh, a 9th grade student at Luong The Vinh Secondary and High School, Hanoi .

Many 9th grade teachers shared that this year's 9th grade students are the first generation to take the 10th grade exam according to the 2018 General Education program. Right from grade 6 - the first year of accessing the new program and learning methods at the secondary school level, students had to study online for a long time due to the impact of the Covid-19 epidemic. Moreover, taking the exam according to the new program in the first year also has many difficulties, such as the literature subject no longer having materials in the textbooks; new multiple choice test formats appearing... These things show that students' desire to soon announce the plan and number of exam subjects is completely legitimate.

Should not draw lots for exam subjects

Expressing his opinion on the plan to draw lots for the third exam subject, teacher Nguyen Quang Tung, Principal of Lomonosov Education System (Hanoi) said: the 10th grade entrance exam is mainly for admission to 10th grade, from high to low according to students' registration wishes. Therefore, in terms of timing, the exam subjects should be announced from the beginning of the school year and not wait until the end of March every year. Regarding the number of exam subjects, there should be no drawing of lots but a fixed exam plan for the 3 subjects of math - literature - foreign language. In reality, the mid-term and final exams are enough to ensure the assessment of standard knowledge and skills according to the requirements of each subject, so there is no need to worry about students learning lopsidedly or learning by rote.

Most students, teachers, and parents want the public 10th grade exam to include 3 subjects: math, literature, and foreign language.

"The most ideal solution for the public 10th grade exam is that students can choose their exam subjects and absolutely should not draw lots for the third exam subject," said Mr. Tran Manh Tung, a prestigious Math teacher in Hanoi.

According to teacher Tran Manh Tung, the 10th grade exam is inherently too stressful because of the high competition rate. The drawing of exam subjects has an element of luck, passive imposition and creates stress because students and teachers have a mentality of predicting and waiting for the announcement of exam subjects, causing distraction and difficulty for both teachers and students in teaching and learning.

“The 10th grade entrance exam with 3 subjects: math, literature, and foreign language, which has been applied by many localities in recent years, has proven to be suitable and received support from the majority of students and parents. The lottery causes a lot of pressure for students. For example, if the lottery is for history and geography, the actual number of subjects is 4; if the lottery is for natural science, the actual number of subjects is 5,” said teacher Tran Manh Tung.

According to Mr. Tung, there is no basis to worry that without exams, students will not study because the 2018 General Education Program requires the learning process to meet the goals and requirements of capacity, qualities, and attitudes. The learning process has regular and periodic assessments... and this is carried out throughout the school year. If the education sector has to use exams to force students to study, studying will become a coping mechanism, and there may be cases where many places study half-heartedly, waiting for the day to announce the exam subjects.

Teacher Tran Manh Tung believes that the ideal solution for the 10th grade exam is that, in addition to math and literature, students can choose a third subject that suits their ability. However, this solution is currently difficult to implement because the organization of the exam and the construction of the exam bank will be difficult and complicated. Therefore, this teacher recommends that there should be a fixed exam of 3 subjects: math, literature, and foreign language. The education sector should consider these 3 subjects as 3 "backbone" subjects, necessary for all students, contributing to promoting the improvement of the quality of foreign language teaching and learning in schools.

Currently, many media agencies are also asking for opinions from parents, students and the public on the plan for the number of subjects in the 10th grade exam. The results show that most opinions agree with the plan for the third fixed subject to be a foreign language.

"Whether students are from the plains or the mountains, urban or rural areas, in the general curriculum, these three subjects are allocated more time throughout the learning process and ensure knowledge coverage for students," parent Mai Thi Ha (Hanoi) commented.

Source: https://kinhtedothi.vn/hoc-sinh-ap-luc-boi-phuong-an-boc-tham-mon-thi-thu-3-vao-lop-10.html