Reduce pressure on schools and students

Faced with the situation where some schools "force" parents to register their children not to take the 10th grade entrance exam, from the 2024-2025 school year, the Department of Education and Training of Hai Duong decided to calculate the average score of the 10th grade entrance exam to consider the competition of localities and schools in the direction of ranking by total score/number of students graduating from junior high school.

Candidates taking the 10th grade entrance exam in Hai Duong for the 2024-2025 school year. Photo: The Anh.

Reduce local pressure

Every 10th grade admission season, in many localities, there are reports of parents being upset about the situation where homeroom teachers "force" them to voluntarily write a letter not to register their children for the 10th grade high school entrance exam. If parents do not agree, their children's academic records may be affected, making it more difficult to use their academic records to apply for admission to private schools or vocational schools. With the view that studying and taking exams are the legitimate rights of every student, many parents oppose this approach because if students do not take exams, they will be more negligent in their studies, making it more difficult for families to discipline their children.

The reason for this comes from the disease of achievement when the homeroom teacher is responsible to the principal for the percentage of students who do not pass the 10th grade of high school, affecting the competition achievements of the individual and the school itself. Even the quality of teaching will be evaluated, affecting the reputation of the school and that teacher.

In recent years, the work of student orientation after junior high school has been focused on by the education sector in general and schools in particular. However, due to the correct admission and no selective entrance, the rate of students passing grade 10 of many schools depends on the quality of teaching and learning of the school, but also depends on the efforts of students and the support of their families. Therefore, in addition to teachers closely advising and orienting students appropriately, coordinating with families to give them useful advice, some teachers "force" students not to take the exam and submit their transcripts to a private high school, causing parents to be dissatisfied.

To overcome the above situation, from the 2024-2025 school year, the Department of Education and Training of Hai Duong has decided to calculate the average score of the 10th grade entrance exam to consider the competition of localities and schools in the direction of ranking by total score/number of students graduating from junior high school. According to experts, this method helps create fairness for schools, without pressure on the rate of students passing or failing as before. Many opinions predict that schools may advise more students to take the 10th grade exam than last year, in accordance with the legitimate rights that students are entitled to. The final result, whether passing or failing, is up to the students to choose and achieve, no one can deprive them of the opportunity to take the exam. The work of streaming students after junior high school will therefore not be affected because with the quota for entering 10th grade of each school and each locality being fixed and unchanged, the addition or subtraction of a number of candidates will not have much impact. Students are respected and have the right to choose whether to take the exam or not. It is the job of schools and teachers to advise and orient them properly so that they can recognize their strengths and weaknesses and have the right direction.

Fair opportunity for candidates

The regulations on admission to junior high school and high school, effective from February 14, 2025, stipulate: The admission score for grade 10 high school is the total score of the subjects and exams calculated on a 10-point scale for each subject and exam. The announcement of the benchmark score is carried out at the same time as the announcement of the exam scores. Thus, from this school year, the calculation of the admission score for grade 10 will officially eliminate the coefficient multiplication and will be unified nationwide. In previous school years, depending on the locality, there were regulations on calculating the admission score for each exam subject to be equal or doubled for Math and Literature, and the coefficient for the third and fourth exam subjects was 1.

For example, in Hanoi, Hai Duong, Ha Nam, Nam Dinh , Quang Ninh... the 10th grade admission score in 2024 is the total score of Literature and Math doubled, plus the score of Foreign Language and priority points (if any). Meanwhile, in Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Duong, Bac Giang, Ninh Binh... the method of calculating admission scores for 3 subjects and exams on a 10-point scale for each subject and exam has been applied.

Because each locality is different, multiplying the coefficient by 2 for Math and Literature can easily create a misconception about the high admission scores of schools, causing students and society to mistakenly think that students have high scores in 3 subjects, but in fact, when looking at the ceiling score without multiplying the coefficient, the student's score will be clearly reflected.

In addition, the 2018 General Education Program focuses on developing the qualities and abilities of each student, regardless of the main subject or the secondary subject, so multiplying the coefficient 2 with this subject while multiplying the coefficient 1 with another subject will make students and parents focus more on reviewing this subject than the other, contributing to increasing the imbalance in studying subjects. When removing the coefficient, it will ensure fairness in assessing students' abilities and create equal opportunities for all students, not causing this student to lose the advantage if he/she is good at English while Math and Literature are worse than students who are good at Math and Literature but not good at Foreign Languages. From this method of calculating admission scores, it will promote the focus on studying evenly, comprehensive development at the secondary level, creating the necessary basic foundation knowledge for each student, as the goal of the 2018 General Education Program.

Source: https://daidoanket.vn/thi-vao-lop-10-giam-ap-luc-cho-nha-truong-hoc-sinh-10298824.html