NEW REGULATIONS ON PERIODIC TEST MATRIX
The Ministry of Education and Training issued Document No. 7991 on the implementation of testing and assessment for secondary and high schools, in which regulations on periodic test matrix will be applied nationwide from the second semester of this school year.
Students will take periodic tests according to the new structure from semester 2.
Accordingly, the periodic test of subjects assessed by high school scores will have a new matrix, consisting of 2 parts: Objective test (accounting for 7/10 points) and essay (accounting for 3/10 points). In the objective test, students will have to solve the following types of questions: Multiple choice (accounting for 3 points); True - False (accounting for 2 points); Short answer (accounting for 2 points).
In addition, the Ministry also provided instructions that for "True - False" questions, each question will include 4 sub-questions, each of which students must choose true or false. Some documents classify these questions as complex multiple-choice or multiple-choice with multiple correct options. For "Short Answer" questions, subjects that do not use this format will transfer all points to the "True - False" format.
ADD AN ESSAY SECTION TO REDUCE THE RISK OF THE TEST
Before the regulations on the semester test matrix of the Ministry of Education and Training, many teachers expressed different opinions.
A teacher in District 3 said that in the past, for tests with 100% multiple choice questions, the percentage of students who got 10 points was very high. This also raises the question of whether the students' academic performance was excellent or due to luck. There were students whose academic performance and learning attitude were not very good but who got high scores due to luck when choosing the answers. The multiple choice test format used in the past was often based on luck, so if the test was still 100% multiple choice questions, it would be unfair and unable to properly assess the students' true abilities.
Therefore, this teacher believes that adding essay questions to the periodic test will be very suitable and create positive impacts and influences. For the essay section, students will not be able to rely on "luck" or "random guessing" as with the multiple choice section. At that time, students must study seriously and have full knowledge to have the opportunity to conquer 3 points in this section.
CONFLICT WITH HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION EXAM STRUCTURE?
According to teacher Lam Vu Cong Chinh, Nguyen Du High School (District 10, Ho Chi Minh City), in the objective test section, short answer questions are similar to essay questions, and are evaluated through the final results that candidates must fill in on the answer sheet.
From there, teachers at Nguyen Du High School believe that adding essay questions will supplement the multiple choice test format, requiring students to argue and provide solutions instead of just filling in the results. However, because short answer questions are similar to essay questions, adding an essay section will overlap. Therefore, one of the two formats can be chosen to streamline the test and reduce pressure on students.
At the same time, according to this teacher, the structure of the high school graduation exam from 2025 will not have an essay section. "So is it necessary to add an essay section to the assessment test?", the teacher asked.
There are different opinions about adding essay sections to periodic tests, especially in natural science subjects.
photo: peach jade
The head of the math group of a high school in District 3 (HCMC) also questioned why the high school graduation exam structure does not have an essay section but requires students to take a periodic test with 30% essay. This person stated that although the 10th grade entrance exam in HCMC is 100% essay, the Department of Education and Training has no document guiding the form of periodic testing.
A chemistry teacher said that building matrices, specifications and periodic high school exams as instructed by the Ministry would cause a lot of confusion for both teachers and students.
According to this teacher, in essence, testing and evaluating students' abilities does not stop at testing knowledge content, but needs to focus on specific manifestations of each component ability, suitable to the characteristics of each subject. Therefore, the guidance on testing and evaluation must ensure that there is no conflict between these two goals.
According to this teacher, for literature, using multiple choice to build a matrix is not suitable for the specific nature of the subject. Meanwhile, natural science subjects are applying the high school graduation exam format including short answer format (similar to essay). Therefore, adding essay format to the assessment test of these subjects not only complicates but also creates more pressure for teachers.
More importantly, according to many teachers, the Ministry's guidelines seem to be returning to testing and assessment based on subject content. This is not consistent with the spirit of the 2018 General Education Program, which emphasizes competency assessment. This "mismatch" between the competency and content approaches may hinder the goal of educational innovation that is being pursued. Therefore, there needs to be clearer consistency in the guidelines to avoid causing unnecessary difficulties in the actual implementation process.
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/tranh-luan-viec-dua-tu-luan-vao-kiem-tra-dinh-ky-185250114185242035.htm
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