The boom of training for the 6th grade entrance exam

After the Tet holiday, the demand for information and registration for the 6th grade aptitude test preparation classes at Tran Dai Nghia High School for the Gifted (District 1) and Tran Quoc Toan 1 Secondary School (Thu Duc City) among parents and students in Ho Chi Minh City has increased again. Many new forms of exam preparation have been organized to meet the diverse needs of parents.

Students prepare for the entrance exam for grade 6 at Tran Dai Nghia High School for the Gifted (District 1) for the 2023-2024 school year.

Exam preparation: All kinds!

In the role of a parent looking for a preparation course for their child to enter grade 6 at Tran Dai Nghia High School for the Gifted, we were informed by a consultant from the TE Center (with 3 locations in District 3, Tan Binh and Binh Thanh): the weekend class has reached the maximum number of 20 students/class, no more students are accepted, parents can only register for classes on weekday evenings.

The latest course will start on February 22 with a rather “expensive” tuition fee of 9 million VND/36 sessions, studying from now until mid-June 2024. For families with lower economic conditions, VT Center (with 2 facilities in Binh Thanh District) introduces a 6th grade entrance exam preparation course with a tuition fee of 1.5 million VND/8 sessions. Parents can pay tuition monthly or in a 3-month package if it suits their family's financial capacity.

In Thu Duc City, to "anticipate" the need for parents to have their children prepare for the 6th grade entrance exam, SH Center (currently has 5 locations in Districts 7, 10, Phu Nhuan, Tan Phu and Thu Duc City) announced a 5% tuition reduction for all students registering to prepare for the 6th grade entrance exam at the 6th location, which will open on February 25 in Binh Tho Ward (Thu Duc City).

Similarly, the KT Center (currently has 4 facilities in District 7, Binh Thanh, Tan Binh and Thu Duc City) is preparing to open its 5th test preparation facility in Binh Tho Ward (Thu Duc City) in early March 2024. According to the consultant, the 6th grade entrance exam preparation program is designed for many students from grades 1 to 5. In addition to helping students get acquainted with the competency test, teachers also provide additional knowledge of science, mathematics and logical thinking to improve their learning outcomes at mainstream schools.

In addition to the exam preparation courses organized by the centers, in groups for parents whose children will take the 6th grade entrance exam this year, many teachers have proactively introduced the form of "1-on-1" exam preparation or group study at home with prices ranging from 70,000-100,000 VND/student/session.

In addition, some exam preparation centers also introduce online courses - learners pay to buy an account, receive review outlines and sample exams to practice at home, have teachers grade and answer questions via online communication tools. The price of this form of exam preparation ranges from 500,000-700,000 VND/account, exam preparation for 3 months.

Avoid overloading students

From the 2022-2023 school year onwards, Ho Chi Minh City only had one school enrolling students in grade 6 based on the entrance exam, which was Tran Dai Nghia Specialized High School (District 1). In the 2023-2024 school year, for the first time, Tran Quoc Toan 1 Secondary School (Thu Duc City) enrolled students in grade 6 based on the entrance exam. In the 2024-2025 school year, according to information from the Department of Education and Training, it is expected that there will be 4 more schools enrolling students in this form, including Hoa Lu Secondary School, Binh Tho Secondary School (Thu Duc City), Van Don Secondary School (District 4) and Nguyen Huu Tho Secondary School (District 7).

The fact that localities have expanded the number of schools that recruit students by means of competency testing has increased the need for test preparation for parents and students. In fact, many teachers believe that test preparation for grade 6 should not start too early for students in grades 1, 2, and 3, because at this age, students need to be equipped with basic learning skills, find joy in learning instead of cramming knowledge, making learning heavy and stressful.

According to a leader of the Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City, every year, Ho Chi Minh City faces the problem of student overload, and the admission plan is based on a competency test to improve the admission quality of key schools, schools following advanced models, and international integration.

However, districts and Thu Duc City need to calculate a plan to ensure places for students who are not admitted to grade 6 of secondary schools that recruit students based on student capacity assessment. Currently, localities are developing plans to recruit first-grade classes for the 2024-2025 school year, including proposing a plan to recruit students to grade 6 for secondary schools under high pressure to recruit students.

"The Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City will review and guide the Departments of Education and Training to implement enrollment plans suitable to the actual situation in the locality, ensuring the goal of fairness, all students are allocated study places suitable to their abilities and travel conditions," said a representative of the Department of Education and Training.

In the 2023-2024 school year, the total enrollment target for grade 6 of Tran Dai Nghia Specialized High School (District 1) and Tran Quoc Toan 1 Secondary School (Thu Duc City) is 805 students. Candidates take a test consisting of 2 parts: multiple choice and essay. In the multiple choice part, the test consists of 20 questions in English about knowledge of natural sciences, social sciences and common life knowledge. In the essay part, the test assesses English proficiency (listening, reading, writing skills), math and logical thinking skills, reading comprehension and writing skills. The total time for each part of the test is 90 minutes.

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Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/no-ro-luyen-thi-khao-sat-nang-luc-vao-lop-6-post727467.html