The essay topic is too long: Whose responsibility is it?

The regulation that literature test materials cannot be taken from textbooks that students are studying causes many difficulties and risks for teachers - Photo: MY DUNG

The second semester literature test for grade 10 at Marie Curie High School (District 3, Ho Chi Minh City) continues to be a hot topic on forums. The debates about the length and difficulty of the test seem to have no end.

90 minutes to do the test, three A4 pages long

According to the exam matrix, the 6 questions in the "Reading - Comprehension (5 points)" section have ensured the testing levels from recognition, understanding to application and high application of the characteristics of the short story genre. The exam closely follows the text, is suitable for the competency assessment framework and the differentiation requirements of the exam.

Except for question 6 (generalizing the work's ideas), questions 1 to 5 (asking about: narrator, point of view, narration, finding details expressing character's personality, errors in using Sino-Vietnamese words), students can answer relatively well even without reading the entire corpus text.

For question 6, to do well, students only need to grasp and perform the operation of finding keywords and topic sentences. It is also necessary to put it in the context of the curriculum: in this semester, students learn and practice reading and understanding the short story genre. And the form of short questions in the reading comprehension section is familiar to students from secondary school.

In the "Writing (5 points)" section, the requirement to write an argumentative essay is also the type of topic and knowledge content that students have learned.

Thus, the statement that the essay is difficult (if not taking into account the time factor) is somewhat unconvincing. The only question here is: with 90 minutes to do the test, is this test long or not?

The length of the text in the "Reading - Comprehension" section has sparked debate not only among students and teachers but also among public opinion.

Let's try to explain why the test maker chose this material?

Although the requirement that exam questions must use materials other than textbooks has been implemented for many years, the 2018 general education program for grade 10 has only been applied for 2 years, so confusion in testing and evaluating students is inevitable.

The short story genre is also a problem. The question maker is often worried that if only excerpts are used as material, students will have difficulty understanding or not fully understand the text. Therefore, the question maker even provides information about the author of the text used as material.

Skim or read for comprehension?

As a result, we have a three-page A4 essay that makes students feel overwhelmed when they first receive the essay. This is a normal mentality, because at that time students are in the exam room, under pressure from the exam.

Therefore, some opinions that students have learned the skill of “skimming” and will not be confused are not convincing. Because clearly, the question requires the skill of “reading comprehension”, not “skimming”.

The view that the length of the text in the literature exam is “nothing” compared to the texts appearing in English exams, and from there concluding that students are getting worse at reading Vietnamese, is also a lame comparison.

Because one side is learning language, the other side is learning literature (including literary appreciation). The level of reading comprehension and text analysis is different.

Not to mention that English exams are mostly multiple choice, students only need to reason logically to find the most correct answer among the four options given. Literature exams are essay-type questions that include all four levels of recognition, comprehension, application, and high application.

To be fair, the overly long text did make it somewhat difficult for students to complete the test. This is a professional lesson that should be noted, discussed, and possible solutions developed in the future.

Choosing materials for literature exams has never been easy, because it must simultaneously meet many strict requirements according to regulations of professional levels from groups, schools to departments.

So, are the review operations being carried out? What is the responsibility of the team leader, the board of directors, and the subject network specialist?

And most importantly, what are the specific directions and instructions for setting questions from the professional staff of the Department of Education and Training?

We cannot put all the responsibility on the shoulders of the test makers.

The essay questions make students complain that they are too long and too difficult.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/de-van-gay-ngop-vi-qua-dai-trach-nhiem-cua-ai-20240430113523972.htm