Does title say anything about academic ability?

At the end of the first semester, Ms. Hoang Thi Thanh Van, in Thai Thinh, Dong Da, Hanoi, decided to find additional Literature, Math, and English classes for her child who is in grade 7. Talking with friends, Ms. Van learned that the way students are evaluated has changed, with the title of excellent student being higher than that of good student, making her even more worried because the entrance exam to public high school is getting more and more fierce.

"For example, in my child's class, there are 5 excellent students, up to more than 20 students are good students. When they hear that they are good, they are easily satisfied with the results they have achieved. Therefore, I want to be more strict, so that the children know what their academic performance is like, so that they can try harder," said Ms. Van.

Circular 22/2021 of the Ministry of Education and Training regulating the assessment of secondary and high school students will be applied from the 2021-2022 school year, corresponding to the roadmap for implementing new textbooks. Students' learning and training results are assessed at the following levels: unsatisfactory, satisfactory, fair and excellent.

Regarding rewards, the principal will give certificates of merit at the end of the school year to good students (good study and training, 6/8 subjects with an average score above 8), and excellent students (average score above 9).

Real assessment is the way for schools and the education sector to completely cure the "disease" of achievements, not letting virtual achievements derail the "train" of innovation (Illustration photo)

Thus, the difference compared to before is to remove the title of advanced student and divide excellent students into 2 levels. Although the majority of parents support this new evaluation method to overcome the "achievement disease" in education, there are still many concerns.

"If you haven't achieved excellence yet, but you have made progress compared to yourself, you also need a certificate of merit. The same goes for my parents' agency. Every year, we encourage and give gifts to children who have certificates of merit."

"Inflation" of certificates makes the value of efforts not recognized anymore, you can underestimate the results."

According to Ms. Nguyen Thi Viet Nga, member of the National Assembly's Committee on Culture and Education, student assessment according to Circular 22 has made many improvements compared to before, including assessment by comments instead of scores in some subjects.

"Physical education, arts (music, fine arts), experiential activities, career guidance, etc., teachers base their assessment on students' abilities to determine whether they pass or fail. This way of assessment does not put pressure on students. As for other cultural subjects, they are assessed by scores, similar to what we have been doing for many years.

With the removal of the title of advanced student, parents are still not used to it, but in my opinion, Circular 22 is appropriate. When 100% of students from advanced students and above receive certificates of merit, that reward does not become a form of encouragement for them to strive," said Ms. Nguyen Thi Viet Nga.

At Tay Mo Secondary School, Nam Tu Liem District, Hanoi, the number of certificates of merit has decreased significantly compared to previous years when implementing the new evaluation method.

According to Ms. Do Thi Thu Thuy, Vice Principal of the school, having the title of excellent student helps students have more motivation to strive: "In our opinion, the teaching and learning of teachers and students is more substantial. Students will no longer have the situation of rote learning or lopsided learning because all subjects are evaluated equally. Our school currently does not have any subjects considered as minor subjects, creating opportunities for students to develop their full potential."

At Thanh Nhan High School, Tan Phu District, Ho Chi Minh City, Mr. Nguyen Dinh Do, the school's principal, shared that teachers, especially subject teachers, had a hard time in the early stages of implementing Circular 22, but later it became easier thanks to the software. Mr. Do said that the new assessment method helps teachers better recognize students' abilities when it is not necessary to give specific exercises, but can be through tasks to evaluate students' level of knowledge application.

However, according to experts, even though the policy is correct, if the implementation is not serious, the "disease" of achievement may return and at that time, the title will not truly reflect the student's ability.

Associate Professor, Dr. Tran Thanh Nam, University of Education, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, assessed that Circular 22 has reduced social prejudice in classifying students, aiming to educate them more comprehensively. However, implementation may encounter obstacles if parents, students and teachers still put too much pressure on achievements.

"Regarding the solution, we need to understand and be consistent with the new thinking. The goal of assessment is not to classify or "label" a student as good or bad, but to determine where they are and how far they are from their goals so that they can have the right direction.

Excellence is not only demonstrated through scores, in the future, employers will not place too much emphasis on qualifications, this must come from public awareness. We also need to strengthen training on assessment techniques for substance and effectiveness, so that teachers can apply them flexibly."

Agreeing with this view, Ms. Nguyen Thi Viet Nga said that in order for Circular 22 to be truly effective, it is necessary to further promote propaganda work to create consensus among teachers, parents and students, avoiding the mentality of valuing scores and certificates.

The education sector also needs to change the way it evaluates educational and training institutions so that schools are not pressured by achievements, and move towards real teaching, real learning and real scores.

Implementing the new 2018 general education program has been a real challenge for the entire education sector over the past 3 years, as managers, schools and teachers have had to "get used to it while doing it" with new textbooks, new teaching methods and new assessment methods.

Circular 22 of the Ministry of Education and Training has provided a “measurement yardstick” for schools to evaluate students’ learning and training results, as well as the effectiveness of the teaching and learning process. The problem is how to measure correctly and accurately so that both teachers and students really know where they stand, avoid the long-standing “disease” of achievement and truly create quality human resources for the future.

Certificates of merit for advanced students and excellent students have been associated with many generations of students for decades. And now, when they have become parents, the fact that their children have achieved good academic results but do not have a certificate of merit really surprises many people, even though the new assessment method has entered its third year of implementation.

Children feel sorry for their friends, parents feel disappointed when they have nothing to "submit" to the company, the neighborhood association on children's award occasions, the stories to tell colleagues, friends are also more serious when "achievement disease" has crept into society, not just the problem of schools or teachers.

In fact, the disease of achievement appears wherever there is competition and reward, but it is more dangerous in the field of education, where human resources for the future of the country are created. Therefore, the new point in Circular 22 on abolishing certificates of merit for advanced students is necessary in the fight against this "disease", when the saying "100% of good and excellent students" has become a satirical joke and the "mass" awarding of certificates of merit will no longer have any encouraging value.

However, that is a necessary but not sufficient condition. Stories about classes with more than 50% of good and excellent students seem to be problematic at first, because according to the rule, in a large group, the number of good and poor students is always a small number, while those in the middle are the majority. Is it because the students are really good, or are the teachers, out of pity for them or for some other reason, "lax" in grading and evaluating? Those involved must have had the answer.

Educational innovation is an urgent requirement to create high-quality human resources - one of the three breakthroughs in the country's development strategy. In which, substantive learning and substantive assessment are among the prerequisites for successful innovation.

Circular 22 has provided a new, suitable "measurement" for schools to implement the new program. In the new context, the problem is how to "measure" correctly depending on the responsibility and dedication of the teachers.

Evaluation is essentially the most correct way to love students, so that they really know where they stand, are not complacent, and know how to try harder to achieve better results.

Evaluation is essentially the way teachers can most accurately perceive the teaching and learning process, its effectiveness, in order to promptly overcome shortcomings or make adjustments for better and better results.

Real assessment is also a way for schools and the education sector to completely cure the disease of achievements, not to let virtual achievements derail the "train" of innovation, not to let the certificates of merit of excellent students today be only on par with those of advanced students in the past.

In addition to the frank recognition, the education sector also needs to pay attention, provide timely encouragement, and create conditions to increase income and stabilize teachers' lives, so that teachers can maintain their passion for the profession. The efforts of cadres and teachers in implementing the new general education program over the past 3 years are very valuable, including student evaluation, because giving scores as before is much easier than giving detailed comments as it is now.

Parents' responsibility in their children's learning process is indispensable. Parents need to gradually get used to the fact that their children may not have certificates of merit; care, remind, and encourage them instead of forcing, pressuring, or finding negative ways to achieve results.

The cooperation of the whole society is the most effective "medicine" for the long-standing disease of achievement and promotes the teaching and learning process to be more effective and practical.

MINH HIEU (VOV-Traffic)

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