The trend of reducing entrance exams for grade 10

In Hanoi alone, although schools are impatient, they still believe there is no reason to increase the number of exam subjects.

FROM 5 SUBJECTS TO 3

Up to now, 6 provinces and cities nationwide have announced their plans for admission to grade 10 for the next school year. It is noted that no locality has tested more than 3 subjects. Some localities have tested 4-5 subjects for grade 10 in recent years, but this year they have decided to reduce it to 3.

According to the 10th grade admission plan of Ninh Binh province recently announced, this exam will only have 3 subjects including 2 "hard" subjects: math and literature; the third subject, candidates (TS) will take a multiple choice test in 60 minutes, chosen from the subjects: physics, chemistry, biology, history, geography and English. The Department of Education and Training will announce the third exam subject on March 1, 2024.

For many years now, students in Ho Chi Minh City have taken the 10th grade entrance exam with only 3 subjects.

Thus, compared to the 2023 plan, the exam subject announcement time is 45 days earlier. English may also no longer be a compulsory subject if the Department of Education and Training does not choose it, unlike last year. The total number of exam subjects has also decreased by 2 subjects. The 10th grade entrance exam in this province for many years now consists of 3 exams: math, literature and combination. The combination exam includes 3 subjects: English, natural science (randomly choosing one of 3 subjects: physics, chemistry, biology), social science exam (choosing one of 3 subjects: history, geography, civic education ). In 2023, this province chose a combination exam including: English, physics and geography.

Similarly, according to the decision announced next year, the entrance exam for grade 10 in Hung Yen will only include: math, literature, English; the exam for natural science and social science will be eliminated. Candidates applying to Hung Yen Specialized High School will take an additional specialized exam. Thus, compared to the present, the number of grade 10 exams in Hung Yen will decrease by 2.

The Departments of Education and Training of the above provinces all explained that the reduction of exam subjects was to reduce pressure on candidates, and at the same time, to be more consistent with the 2018 General Education Program (GEP). When entering high school, students will be able to study in a differentiated way, reducing the number of compulsory subjects and increasing elective subjects. In addition, the innovation of regular testing and assessment, and periodic assessment that the Ministry of Education and Training has prescribed in recent years also helps to evaluate the entire learning process of students more closely, without concentrating all exam subjects in the final exam.

SCHOOLS in Hanoi hope and believe that only 3 subjects will be tested

According to statistics from the Hanoi Department of Education and Training, this school year is expected to have nearly 135,000 students graduating, an increase of more than 5,000 students compared to the previous school year. This means that the number of students taking the 10th grade entrance exam next school year will increase, the level of competition in this exam is already tense, next year will be even "fierce" if schools cannot increase in time. Currently, the Hanoi Department of Education and Training has only confirmed that the 10th grade admission plan in 2024 will continue to take place by exam method but has not yet finalized the number of subjects, making students, parents and teachers impatient and confused.

The leader of a secondary school in Tay Ho District (Hanoi) said that although they expected it, the psychology of students and teachers in the school still hoped and believed that next year Hanoi would only have 3 subjects and could not find a convincing enough reason to return to 4 subjects. According to this person, in previous years, due to the epidemic, Hanoi reduced the number of subjects at the last minute. Last year, the epidemic was gone, 9th grade students also went to school in person, but Hanoi still decided to only have 3 subjects instead of 4 as planned. Therefore, increasing the number of subjects this year in the context of localities having 5 subjects but still reducing them to 3 subjects is very unreasonable and unreasonable.

Many opinions point out that although this is the last generation of students to study the old program, when they enter grade 10, they will study the new program, so there is a need for harmony and compatibility between the two programs. From the 2022-2023 school year, grade 10 will begin to apply the new General Education Program, entering the career orientation education stage. In addition to 8 compulsory subjects, high school students are chosen to study 4 out of 9 subjects, including: physics, chemistry, biology, geography, economic and legal education, information technology, technology, fine arts, and music. Therefore, there are subjects in the 6 subjects chosen for the entrance exam to grade 10 in Hanoi that students will not study in high school.

Mr. Nguyen Quang Tung, Principal of Lomonosov Secondary and High School (Hanoi), shared that schools and parents always want stability in the entrance exam method for grade 10. The 2023-2024 school year is also the last school year according to the 2006 General Education Program, so students hope to maintain stability like the previous year.

According to Mr. Tung, taking 3 subjects is enough to classify students, helping to significantly reduce pressure on students; saving the budget and costs of society...

Parents take their children to take the 10th grade entrance exam in Hanoi for the 2023-2024 school year.

The exam is too "old", it will be very difficult for students going to grade 10 to study the new program.

Mr. Dang Viet Ha, Deputy Head of the Department of Education and Training of Tay Ho District (Hanoi), expressed his opinion: "There should only be 3 subjects for grade 10 because this is an entrance exam, not a graduation exam. Moreover, according to the 2018 General Education Program, when entering high school, students are allowed to choose subjects based on their abilities and strengths. The requirement for students to take a 4th subject randomly selected each year by the Department of Education and Training is no longer appropriate."

Sharing the same view, Mr. Tran Manh Tung, director of a cultural supplementary center in Hanoi, analyzed: The 10th grade entrance exam is an entrance exam, not a junior high school graduation exam. The 10th grade entrance exam usually takes place in early June, which is also the time when students have completed the program and graduated. Therefore, to meet the comprehensiveness, the solution should be chosen from the time of studying, not the entrance exam, and taking exams to study is no longer suitable.

A high school literature teacher pointed out the reality that 9th grade students moving up to 10th grade are easily "shocked" in the first semester because the literature entrance score is from 7 to 8.5 but they cannot meet the minimum, core requirements of the new program.

Therefore, many opinions point out that testing and evaluation are very important because middle school students put all their efforts into studying to take the 10th grade entrance exam, so if the exam questions are not outdated, not following the beaten path, and promote students' creativity, then when they go to 10th grade, they will study according to the new program, in the direction of developing the learners' capacity, then students will not be "shocked".

Hanoi proposes special mechanism for admission to grade 10

Last July, after the controversy of parents having to line up all night to submit applications for their children to enter grade 10 at some non-public schools, the Hanoi Department of Education and Training sent a report to the Hanoi People's Committee and the Ministry of Education and Training.

Parents lined up all night to submit their children's 10th grade admission applications last July.

Accordingly, the leader of the Hanoi Department of Education and Training explained: "Every year, due to the mechanical population growth, the number of students applying for grade 10 in the city increases rapidly, while the number of newly built and supplemented schools has not yet met the needs of the people. Hanoi City and the education sector have also made efforts to ensure that the rate of students enrolling in public high schools is about 60%, ensuring compliance with the regulations in Resolution 35/NQ-CP and Decision No. 522/QD-TTg of the Prime Minister. The Hanoi Department of Education and Training proposed to the Ministry of Education and Training to allow Hanoi to have a special mechanism in grade 10 admission. Specifically, allowing a 10% increase in the number of classes/school (from 45 classes/school will increase to 50 classes/school); allowing a 10% increase in the number of students/class for high school level. According to current regulations, the number of students in high school level is 45 students/class, it is recommended to increase to 50 students/class".

Mr. Tran The Cuong, Director of the Hanoi Department of Education and Training, affirmed that next school year there will certainly not be a repeat of the scene of parents lining up all night to register for admission to first grade classes, even in the non-public school system.

Source link: https://thanhnien.vn/xu-huong-giam-mon-thi-tuyen-sinh-vao-lop-10-185231218200435467.htm