Proposal to hold early high school graduation exam: Teachers only have time to finish teaching the program

(Dan Tri) - Many high schools in the provinces and cities have not completed the 12th grade program. Students will have a short review time if they take the graduation exam in early June.

If the high school graduation exam is taken early, students will not have time to review.

"Students will only finish all of their 12th grade knowledge by the end of May. So they will only have about 2 weeks to review if the graduation exam is pushed back to early June," Ms. HTH, a teacher in Hai Duong, shared with Dan Tri reporter.

Ms. H. was discussing a new teaching plan with her colleagues as soon as she read the news that some localities proposed to move the high school graduation exam schedule 3 weeks earlier than expected.

If the Ministry of Education and Training approves this proposal, teachers like Ms. H. and many high schools across the country will have to completely change their teaching and review plans for final year students.

Candidates taking the 2023 high school graduation exam (Photo: Hai Long).

"In theory, students should be able to grasp the knowledge as they learn. But in reality, the more time they spend reviewing and applying, the more the knowledge is consolidated.

11 years ago, the graduation exam and the university entrance exam were two separate exams, serving two different purposes. The graduation exam was held right after the end of the school year. The university entrance exam was held more than a month later so that students had time to review thoroughly.

Since 2015, the two exams have been combined into one, and students still have an extra month to review.

The fact that students have nearly 3 weeks of review time cut off inevitably affects their exam results.

In particular, there is an imbalance between private and public schools, specialized schools and regular schools, urban and rural schools. Because private schools and specialized schools often finish their programs very early, students have more time to review," Ms. HTH analyzed.

Too many changes in one exam make it difficult for students and teachers

Sharing the same opinion, Mr. M.D.V, a teacher in Hanoi, is worried when students have to race against time.

"I hope the exam is not pushed back, or just one week earlier. Because too many changes in an exam will make it difficult for both students and teachers.

The 2007 class is the first to take the high school graduation exam under the new program. They may also be the first to apply for university admission under the new regulations, which eliminate early admission and change the way scores are calculated.

Students are also the group directly affected by Circular 29 on extra teaching and learning. Many schools have stopped providing extra review sessions due to the Circular prohibiting the collection of fees.

Candidates taking high school graduation exam in Hanoi (Photo: Manh Quan).

City students who do not study at school study at the center. Suburban students who do not study at school can only study online. The effectiveness is limited because they do not have a stepping stone to prepare for self-study.

The time they have to review is too little, how can they compete with city students?

I think that decisions about this year's graduation exam need to be carefully considered. We had a year of 2021 graduation exams in confusion because of Covid-19. But that was an unavoidable natural disaster. We should not create unnecessary disruption to the psychology of students and parents," said Mr. MVĐ.

Sharing with Dan Tri reporter, Nguyen Manh Quan, a 12th grade student in Hanoi, said he is ready to take the graduation exam early. However, Quan's university admission plan is affected.

"I registered for the SAT on June 7, which coincides with the new proposed graduation exam schedule. I asked about changing the SAT exam date, but there are no more dates for June or July. If the proposed exam schedule is finalized, I will lose the opportunity to have another method of university admission," Quan worried.

As Dan Tri reported earlier, the Ministry planned to hold the 2025 high school graduation exam on June 26-27. However, in a document recently sent to the Department of Quality Management (Ministry of Education and Training), the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training proposed adjusting the time to hold the high school graduation exam to the time frame of June 7-10.

Nghe An, Hanoi, Ninh Binh also proposed similar.

Prof. Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Ha, Deputy Director of the Department of Quality Management, said that in general, if the high school graduation exam has to be moved, there will be a plan that will have less impact on the entire system. This is a big issue so it will be carefully considered before a decision is made.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/giao-duc/de-xuat-thi-tot-nghiep-thpt-som-giao-vien-chi-kip-day-xong-chuong-trinh-20250319135500091.htm