'Hot' schools still have competency assessment exams

According to the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET), schools with a large number of students registering for admission are currently assessing students' abilities in the form of questions and answers, writing, presentations, practice, experiments, etc. to ensure that admission is carried out fairly, openly, transparently, and in accordance with practical conditions.

Students taking the entrance exam for grade 6 at Nguyen Tat Thanh Secondary and High School (Hanoi National University of Education), school year 2024-2025. Photo: Van Trang.

Previously, the Ministry of Education and Training issued Circular No. 30 on the Regulations on Secondary School and High School Admissions, with the notable content that Secondary School Admissions is conducted by the method of selection. This has caused public concern because currently many high-quality secondary schools and some non-public schools have a much larger number of students registering for admission each year than the enrollment quota, making it difficult to select students if only using the results of Primary School transcripts. In fact, for many years, in the preliminary round of application documents to participate in the entrance exam and capacity assessment to these schools, the transcripts with all 10 points, almost no 9 points in the entire 5 years of Primary School have caused public concern. Many opinions expressed concern about the disease of achievement in beautifying the transcript, especially when there is a discrepancy between the results of the exams organized by the schools and the transcript scores. Therefore, schools have expressed their desire to have other forms of assessment besides academic records to recruit the right students.

Explaining the new regulation, Mr. Nguyen Xuan Thanh - Director of the Department of Secondary Education (Ministry of Education and Training) said that previously, Circular No. 11/2014/TT-BGD-DT also stipulated that junior high school enrollment would be conducted annually by examination. This regulation ensures that junior high school enrollment is carried out smoothly, effectively and practically for the level of education that requires 100% of students to enroll according to the goal of universal education.

By 2018, in the face of the fact that there were a number of prestigious secondary schools with a large number of students registering, making the admission based on general criteria unable to meet the enrollment target, the Ministry of Education and Training issued Circular No. 05/2018 stipulating: "Enrollment for secondary schools by selection method. In cases where the number of students registering for grade 6 is greater than the enrollment target, the Department of Education and Training shall guide the implementation of the enrollment plan by selection method or combining selection with testing and assessing students' abilities".

When issuing Circular No. 05/2018, the Ministry of Education and Training also clearly stated that testing and assessing capacity is different from an exam. That is, when conducting admission to a secondary school, if the number of students meeting the requirements of the general admission criteria still exceeds the school's assigned quota, the school can combine testing and assessing capacity to supplement the admission criteria applicable to students who have met the requirements of the general admission criteria, instead of organizing an entire exam with many subjects for 100% of students applying to the school.

However, through the implementation in recent years, some schools have implemented enrollment mainly based on organizing "testing and evaluating students' abilities" as an entrance exam for 100% of students applying to the school; the role of "admission" in the method combined with "testing and evaluating students' abilities" as prescribed in Circular No. 05/2018 has not been properly implemented. Therefore, the newly issued circular continues to stipulate that the method of secondary school enrollment is admission, along with regulations assigning the Department of Education and Training to provide specific guidance on admission criteria, ensuring that the admission is fair, objective, transparent, and suitable to the practical situation of the locality.

The representative of the Ministry of Education and Training said that the spirit of the new circular is to reduce the pressure of the transfer exam for primary school students, so even private schools or high-quality schools will conduct admissions in a uniform manner without entrance exams. Localities are responsible for guiding schools to implement based on the actual situation on the most appropriate basis. This is also consistent with the principle of Circular 30, which is that admissions at any secondary school must carry out the task of universalization in the area. This is also the basis for the Department of Education and Training to develop admission criteria to ensure accurate, fair, public and transparent admission requirements.

According to Mr. Nguyen Quang Tung - Principal of MVLomonosov Secondary and High School (Hanoi), the school is currently waiting for instructions from the Hanoi Department of Education and Training to enroll students in grade 6 for the 2025-2026 school year to comply with the new regulations. Similarly, Doan Thi Diem Secondary School (Hanoi) also announced that the admissions council has temporarily stopped accepting applications for grade 6 this school year, awaiting instructions. Meanwhile, some other non-public secondary schools have basically completed the grade 6 enrollment process, such as Nguyen Sieu Secondary and High School (Hanoi), which enrolls students in grade 6 through admission and entrance capacity assessment tests.

There is not much time left from now until the first admission season. Not only schools but also parents and students want localities to soon have specific instructions on admission methods and specific criteria, if any, to ensure the rights of students who wish to register for admission to high-quality schools and "hot" schools.

Source: https://daidoanket.vn/tuyen-sinh-lop-6-truong-hot-van-thi-danh-gia-nang-luc-10298210.html