Students are afraid of being called on to answer questions at the beginning of class.

Many students are nervous because they don't know if they will be called to the blackboard to answer questions at the beginning of class, and hope that teachers will change things to make the test easier.

According to the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training, oral tests and random assignments at the beginning of class make students stressed and anxious. Teachers are allowed to take the initiative in testing and evaluating, but the Department notes that this form should be avoided.

The information has been discussed enthusiastically on student forums in Ho Chi Minh City for the past three days with many conflicting opinions, but the majority support the Department's policy.

Thanh Hung, a student at Vo Truong Toan High School in District 1, said the first 15 minutes of class are always "scary." He and his friends are used to the teacher's first action when class starts, which is to look at the class list and randomly call for tests like a lottery.

"Sometimes she chose students whose serial numbers matched the dates, sometimes she used random games and software online, and sometimes she was even chosen to answer questions because they had strange names...", Hung said. Once, the teacher tested a Literature test for two periods, and the whole class was "as tense as a bowstring". Later, she had to postpone teaching the new lesson because more than half of the class did not know the old lesson.

Although Hung himself was a good student, he still forgot things when called to the board due to stress. According to Hung, the whole class only breathed a sigh of relief when the teacher announced the new lesson.

Although not too scared, Gia Bao, an 8th grade student in Go Vap district, also said that the atmosphere in his class during the first 10-15 minutes of class was very quiet, everyone was shaking because they didn't know if their name would be called or not.

On September 13, at the conference to launch the new school year in District 3, Mr. Nguyen Van Hieu, Director of the Department of Education and Training, also mentioned this issue. "Early in the morning, students sit in their parents' cars to go to school, eating while holding their notebooks to study because they are afraid that the teachers will ask them to answer their questions," he said.

Poll results on VnExpress as of 7am on September 16. Screenshot — Poll results on VnExpress as of 7am on September 16. *Screenshot*

Having many years of psychological counseling for students, Dr. Giang Thien Vu, lecturer in the Psychology Department, Ho Chi Minh City University of Education, said that many students shared feelings of stress and frustration with the way teachers communicate when randomly calling students to test at the beginning of class.

He acknowledged that this makes students stressed and anxious. In addition, students may be subjective, thinking that since they have been called on to recite lessons, they will not be called on again, so they do not need to study.

Ms. Hong Thuy, a parent of a 6th grader in Go Vap District, believes that every method has its pros and cons. Many shy students will be afraid and stressed when their names are called, but because of that, they will actively study at home. If the test at the beginning of class is too easy, students will neglect their lessons, and teachers will not know how much they have learned. However, she also agrees that testing and evaluation methods should be changed.

"My son once cried because he had to memorize too much for the oral test the next day," said Ms. Thuy.

Explaining the requirement that teachers not randomly call on students to answer questions, Mr. Nguyen Bao Quoc, Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training, said that this is one of the contents of the innovation in testing and evaluation according to the instructions of the Ministry of Education and Training, not a specific regulation of Ho Chi Minh City.

The Ministry stipulates regular and periodic student assessment. Regular assessment is carried out throughout the teaching and learning process, in many forms such as: question and answer, writing, practice, experiment, presentation, product, group work. Thereby, teachers and students can promptly adjust teaching and learning.

"Oral tests are one of the forms of regular assessment. But randomly calling students to answer questions at the beginning of class based on rote learning does not help students progress and goes against the spirit of educational innovation," said Mr. Quoc.

Although he has requested and instructed on innovation in methods for many years, Mr. Quoc admitted that there are still teachers who maintain old habits and testing methods, so the Department must remind and correct them.

Students of Dinh Tien Hoang Primary School, Thu Duc City, during class on September 5. Photo: Quynh Tran — Students of Dinh Tien Hoang Primary School, Thu Duc City, during class on September 5. Photo: *Quynh Tran*

According to Ms. Ho Thi Bich Ty, Head of English at Ha Huy Tap Secondary School in Binh Thanh District, randomly calling students to answer questions at the beginning of class has become a habit of many generations of teachers. The 2018 general education program focuses on developing students' abilities, not on scores, so teachers must also change the way they test. However, the change must take place step by step, not overnight.

Ms. Ty's motto is not to put pressure on students but still find ways to maintain their study habits because "without testing, students will not learn".

"At the end of class, I still tell students to study for the next day. But in the next class, I don't ask them to turn in their work right at the beginning of class. Instead, I wait until practice time to ask a few questions related to the old content," Ms. Ty shared.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Huyen Thao, a history teacher at Tran Dai Nghia High School for the Gifted, also said that in her 17 years of teaching, she has never called on a student to stand in front of the class to answer a question. Instead, she tests previous knowledge through quizzes.

For example, when learning about the Tran Dynasty, students answer questions about famous figures by reciting poems. For example, the poem "Dốc tâm cứu ợ giang san/Cổ ai sẻ lục chữ vàng tung phi" is about the character Tran Quoc Toan. After the whole class gives their answers, Ms. Thao lets students volunteer to talk about this character to get extra points.

"The questions are at a light level, not testing memorization or recall of numbers or facts. This method makes the class atmosphere comfortable and excited to start a new lesson," said Ms. Thao.

For primary school, Ms. Huynh Thi Tuyet Hoa, Principal of Le Van Tho Primary School, District 12, said that the practice of randomly calling out names has long been eliminated. Instead, at the beginning of each lesson, teachers have a warm-up and connection activity. Students watch short films, play quizzes or sing together to both recall old knowledge and lead into new lessons. On the other hand, testing and evaluating students is carried out throughout the teaching process through their expressions, level of participation, learning attitude and many other factors.

"Compared to before, primary school students are more excited to go to school and have a more positive spirit," Ms. Hoa commented.

According to Dr. Vu, testing lessons and old knowledge is still necessary. Whether it is positive or negative depends on the method, pedagogical skills, and communication of the teacher when making requests, suggestions, and guiding students. The above methods help students have a positive mentality when having to mobilize and recall old knowledge.

This is also the wish of students and parents. Thanh Hung said he felt a bit regretful because he was in grade 12 this year. He believes that if these changes had been made earlier, he would have avoided the anxiety he felt when going to school for many years. Gia Bao, an 8th grader in Go Vap, hopes that teachers will have a more flexible and fun way to test old lessons.

"I hope the teacher will let me play games or choose volunteers," Bao said.

Le Nguyen

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