To prepare their children for first grade at a high-quality, private school, many parents send their children to extra classes to review, even though their children are only 4-5 years old.
- My child was born in 2019 and wants to study at Doan Thi Diem Primary School. What preparation does he need? Currently, he is studying at a private school and is also in pre-primary school.
- My child was born in 2019 and is currently in kindergarten at the age of 5. My family is planning to send him to Nguyen Sieu Primary School and wants to find a review center for him. Please help me introduce a teacher.
- I want to find a place to study pre-primary school to prepare for the Doan Thi Diem entrance exam for my child born in 2020. My child currently only knows how to count, add and subtract simply, doesn't know the alphabet, and is just babbling in English.
These are just 3 of many posts shared on the forum by parents whose children are in kindergarten aged 4-5. Most of these parents are planning to send their children to grade 1 at high-quality or private, international schools.
These schools often apply entrance assessments to first graders. Children may have to take assessment tests, interviews, or participate in clubs organized by the school to measure their abilities, cognitive abilities, and thinking skills in subjects such as Math, Vietnamese, and English.
That is why, not only this year but also in previous years, when their children were just starting kindergarten, many parents were eager to find extra classes for their children to prepare for the first grade entrance exam. Teachers and centers also competed to announce enrollment and invite students to attend pre-primary classes.
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Parents search for review classes on social networks, and many places also post invitations. Photo: Jade. |
Going to first grade is also "hot"
Determined to send her child to private school, Ms. Hai Ha (Thanh Xuan district, Hanoi) found 2 schools near her home. Share with Knowledge - Znews , the parent said that to enter first grade at these two schools, her son will have to undergo an entrance assessment.
In this case, a school requires children to join a club or a separate program. Here, children will be interviewed directly and take a survey; or their thinking and cognitive abilities will be assessed through club activities.
My school has not announced admission information for next year yet, but like last year, students will be surveyed and assessed for their input abilities through interactions with teachers, language tests, and thinking tests.
Knowing the information early, from the beginning of 2024, Ms. Ha also researched more places to review for the first grade entrance exam. Finally, she "finalized" registering for a center near her home, specializing in training children to take the entrance exam to primary schools.
“Currently, in addition to kindergarten hours, I am sending my child to extra classes five times a week, in three subjects: Math, Vietnamese and English. The tuition fee is 150,000 VND/session,” said Ms. Ha.
Parents said that their children will study in the evening from Monday to Friday, after dinner. Each session only lasts 1 hour with simple and fun knowledge, so the children like it and gradually get used to it, without stress.
Studying since March 2024, up to now, Ms. Ha's son can spell Vietnamese, has a good understanding of Math, can communicate simply in English, only writing is a bit weaker.
Similar to Ms. Ha, Ms. Tran Hang (Ha Dong district) said that she researched 6-7 private and international schools and all of them required entrance assessment through tests or club experiences. Meanwhile, in the public school sector, only one high-quality school in the district has this requirement.
The school Ms. Hang plans to enroll her child in requires children to participate in a competency assessment through a class session. During that session, the children will learn Math, Vietnamese, and English. After each class, there will be a small test. At the end of the day, the school will conduct a comprehensive assessment to see if the child is suitable for the school's orientation and can follow the school's curriculum.
Ms. Hang is not too worried about this assessment because since her child was 4 years old, she has taught her child to count, spell and learn English at kindergarten. Up to now, the teachers at the school also teach pre-primary school so the child can spell, add and subtract within 20.
Ms. Ha's son is taking extra Math, Vietnamese, and English classes to prepare for first grade. Photo: NVCC.
Not letting her child study at a private or international school, but last year, in order for her child to study in a high-quality class at a public school, Ms. Viet Anh (living in Vinh Phuc) also hurriedly sent her son (then 5 years old) to a pre-primary class to learn to read and write.
She said that although the school did not specify the requirement that children must be able to read and write beforehand, parents who intend to enroll in this class like her all implicitly understand that their children must meet this requirement. Therefore, she had to prepare a good profile for her child, with a certificate of "completion of 36 pre-primary school sessions".
Debate on whether to take the "exam" to enter grade 1
According to a survey of Knowledge - Znews In Hanoi, many high-quality, private, and international schools will have entrance exams to enroll first graders. However, there are some "hot" schools that parents consider to have more difficult entrance exams, such as Nguyen Sieu Primary School, Archimedes, Hanoi Star, Le Quy Don (Nam Tu Liem District), Newton...
For example, to apply to Hanoi Star School, students will have to submit a preliminary video in Vietnamese or English.
The school will then evaluate students through the WISC-IV test (Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children) and direct interviews by the school board. Students enrolled in the Advanced English class will participate in an English proficiency assessment after enrollment.
Or at Newton School, students have to take the test directly at school and go through an interview with the teacher.
With the above admission methods, many parents have the mentality that if they don't let their children study in advance, it will be difficult to get admitted.
Share with Tri Thuc - Znews , Ms. Tran Hang thinks that it is understandable for primary schools to recruit first graders through entrance exams. She even supports "hot" schools using this method because the goal of the schools is to train students with good quality, so entrance exams are the right thing to do.
“If the school wants to produce good people and ensure its reputation, it must ‘filter’ its intake. I think it is reasonable because it is impossible for poor students to study with good students. If the quality is consistent, it must be selective,” said Ms. Hang.
Parents also said that although it was called an exam, in reality, the entrance exams were quite simple and did not require much, so children were not too stressed.
She gave an example of the past, when her eldest daughter took the entrance exam to Le Quy Don Primary School, the test simply assessed mathematical thinking through images or teachers reading questions; interviews to assess communication and language; English was talking with foreign teachers...
However, this parent also believes that not all schools need to organize entrance exams. According to her, there are schools that organize exams just to increase the school's "virtual" reputation. Meanwhile, there are mass classes where all children who register for the exam pass, but still have to take the exam.
Ms. Hai Ha does not support schools organizing entrance assessments for first grade. Photo: Freepik.
Ms. Hai Ha also believes that schools organize entrance assessments for grade 1 to screen the quality of students, as well as ensure the number of students. However, she does not fully support this, and even somewhat opposes it.
She considers this an anti-educational act because preschoolers are too young to participate in competitions or compete with each other, even though the test mainly assesses children's ability to absorb knowledge.
However, because she wanted her child to attend a school that matched her family’s preferences, she still had to register. To reduce the pressure on her child, she chose a few schools so that her child would not have to take many tests and interviews. At the same time, the mother also chose a school with a lighter assessment level than the “hot” schools to limit stress for her child.
“Choosing a private school will help reduce the pressure of exams and studying for your child. But private schools put children in competition from the beginning, and even put pressure on parents, so I don’t agree,” said Ms. Ha.
Source: https://danviet.vn/tre-moi-hoc-mau-giao-da-di-hoc-them-de-luyen-thi-vao-lop-1-20241122112055281.htm
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