Parents are tired of waiting for the 10th grade entrance exam: "It's difficult for us and difficult for others"

"Reduce or increase the load, only more than 60% of students go to public schools"

Mr. Nguyen Van Linh has a child born in 2010, currently studying in grade 9 at Phuong Canh Secondary School. However, after initially waiting impatiently for the Department of Education and Training to announce the 10th grade entrance exam plan but seeing nothing, he gave up and did not care about what social media groups were discussing about the 10th grade entrance exam plan.

The reason Mr. Linh gave was: "Whether taking 3 or 4 subjects, knowing that the 3rd or 4th subject is taken early or late, whether the exam program is reduced or increased, the rate of students entering public schools is still only over 60%.

Therefore, I told my child to just focus on studying and reviewing according to the teachers' requirements, without waiting to see what subjects will be tested this year.

According to Mr. Linh, listening to the exam plan and guessing the subjects like in the past only increases unnecessary anxiety and fatigue. Parents discussing the exam plan also unintentionally creates fear and confusion for their children, causing them to lose direction in their revision.

"My point of view now is to study what you take the test, not to study what you take the test. My child studies the subjects seriously and meets the teachers' requirements, so taking the test is not a problem. What is easy for some people is easy for me. What is difficult for me is difficult for others. All students are equal before the exam," Mr. Linh emphasized.

Five years ago, Mr. Linh's eldest child also took the 10th grade entrance exam. At that time, Hanoi had four subjects. The fourth subject was only announced around March. Comparing the two children at two different times, Mr. Linh realized that the intensity of their studies and the pressure of their exams had not changed at all.

Students taking the 10th grade exam in Hanoi (Photo: Manh Quan).

"I remember that after Tet, my child was racing with extra classes. From March, he went to extra history classes - his fourth subject. Until the exam day, he didn't have a weekend.

Over the past few years, I have watched my friends' children only take 3 subjects to enter grade 10. They still study day and night, and all their free time during the week and on weekends is spent on extra classes.

If teachers and students know the exam early, they will be more proactive in reviewing. If they know the exam late, teachers and students will be ready to race for the final exam. No one knows earlier than anyone else, everyone still has the same starting line," said Mr. Linh.

It is not easy to ensure fairness if the third subject is an independent subject.

Regarding equal opportunities for 9th grade students to take the 10th grade entrance exam, Ms. Phan Thi Thanh Nhan (Thanh Xuan, Hanoi) said that besides English, no other subject meets the requirement of fairness.

"If the third subject is an independent subject, choosing history and geography will be disadvantageous for students with natural strengths. On the contrary, choosing physics, chemistry and biology will be disadvantageous for students with social orientation.

In theory, subjects in secondary school are not divided into levels, so everyone must learn them. But in reality, children clearly show their strengths and weaknesses from the beginning of secondary school.

Therefore, I think to be fair, the third subject should be a combined test including both natural sciences and social sciences. Or the third subject should just be English," Ms. Nhan shared.

Ms. Nhan is not too worried about the upcoming 10th grade exam plan because she believes that the Department of Education and Training will not choose "new" plans.

Candidates taking the 10th grade exam in Ho Chi Minh City (Photo: Hai Long).

"Over the past few years, I have noticed that education managers always try to maintain exam stability, avoiding causing psychological disturbance to students and parents. Therefore, I believe that students only need to review according to the direction of teachers and schools.

"Passing or failing depends on each student's ability, determination and a little luck," said Ms. Nhan.

From another perspective, Ms. Le Phuong Thao (Cau Giay, Hanoi) said that it is necessary to consider the effectiveness of the 10th grade entrance exam.

"If the exam is only for admission to the first level, it is not necessary to change one subject each year.

If the exam is to evaluate the quality of 4 years of secondary school, the third subject changing every year only makes students learn to cope, learn for the exam, not learn for use, without real learning.

Hanoi and many other provinces used to have 10th grade exams with 4 subjects, rotating the 4th subject, but in reality, the situation of lopsided learning, focusing on main subjects over secondary subjects has not changed at all," Ms. Thao commented.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/giao-duc/phu-huynh-met-moi-vi-ngong-mon-thi-vao-10-thoi-thi-kho-ta-kho-nguoi-20241022115853376.htm