Selecting non-textbook materials for Literature exams and assessments allows teachers and students to be creative, limiting rote learning and memorization. However, it requires teachers to invest time in research and careful consideration to avoid overwhelming students with too many questions, while also ensuring the material is neither too easy nor too superficial, thus failing to differentiate between students.
According to the guidance document on the implementation of secondary education tasks for the 2024-2025 school year issued by the Ministry of Education and Training , there are several specific requirements for testing and evaluating the Literature subject. Specifically, junior and senior high schools should avoid using texts and excerpts already studied in textbooks as materials for testing and evaluating reading comprehension and writing skills in periodic tests.
Furthermore, assessments must be conducted in accordance with regulations, not exceeding the program's learning objectives, and regular checks and evaluations should be strengthened through practical exercises, learning projects, etc.
In addition, schools also need to strengthen the development of question banks and test matrices according to the learning objectives of the subject curriculum; prepare 9th-grade students to familiarize themselves with the orientation of the entrance exam for 10th grade, and 12th-grade students to familiarize themselves with the orientation of the high school graduation exam.
Recently, the mid-term essay question from Mac Dinh Chi High School (Ho Chi Minh City) received significant public attention due to its focus on a very topical issue. The question was also surprising because of its brevity, requiring students to write an argumentative essay on the superficial lifestyle of today's youth. Many students expressed their interest, saying that the topic easily evoked emotions, allowed for the expression of personal perspectives, and provided vivid examples such as people photoshopping receipts, falsifying donation figures for Typhoon Yagi relief, and the trend of showing off a luxurious lifestyle while actually living in borrowed houses and rented cars.
Ms. Hoang Thi Tu Anh, a Literature teacher at Vietnam-Poland High School (Hanoi), assessed the exam as timely and responsive, quickly grasping aspects of social life and prominent phenomena that have been of particular interest to young people recently. The very real-life materials will not pose a challenge to students, but will still ensure differentiation among students with convincing ideas, evidence, and clear, fluent writing. “The exam is linked to a fresh, practical theme that emerges from the changes in the 2018 General Education Program, which is bringing lessons into life. The structure of the high school graduation exam has also changed to help students develop their abilities and freely create,” Ms. Tu Anh said.
Furthermore, from a professional standpoint, some opinions suggest that when including terms in the exam, clear explanations of terminology are needed, especially for newly introduced terms not yet found in the Vietnamese dictionary, to avoid misunderstandings or debates regarding the level of reading comprehension in the exam. The exam structure also differs from typical midterm exams, lacking a Vietnamese language section to fully assess students' abilities. The exam duration is also shorter than stipulated in Circular 22 on the assessment of secondary and high school students by the Ministry of Education and Training, which requires periodic assessments for subjects with over 70 lessons/year to be 60-90 minutes, and for specialized subjects a maximum of 120 minutes, while this exam only lasts 45 minutes.
From this perspective, experts suggest that teachers can be flexible in testing and evaluating students while still providing a comprehensive assessment according to the subject's requirements. The careful selection of teaching materials has been repeatedly emphasized by management agencies and education experts. However, in practice, mistakes can still occur because, based on their subjective opinions, teachers may unintentionally choose inappropriate materials, such as those that are offensive, too easy, superficial, or too advanced.
Mr. Ho Tan Nguyen Minh, a Literature teacher at Luong Van Chanh High School for the Gifted (Phu Yen), suggested that when teachers and students are not confined to a few texts in the textbook, it will benefit creativity and reduce the situation of "teachers guessing the questions, students studying only what's on the test," rote learning, and memorization. Importantly, when selecting teaching materials, it's crucial not to choose based on the teacher's preferences but to select materials that are appropriate for the students. Therefore, the chosen materials must be coherent, clear, manageable, age-appropriate, and uphold traditional customs and values.
Source: https://daidoanket.vn/chon-ngu-lieu-mon-ngu-van-ngoai-sach-giao-khoa-doi-moi-phai-phu-hop-voi-hoc-sinh-10293975.html
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