National High School Exam: Close guidance, more confidence in victory

According to the Deputy Prime Minister's request, relevant levels and sectors must create the best conditions for candidates; we innovate the way of testing for students but still rely on the results of old textbooks, old teaching methods, old programs, old requirements, so the National High School Exam is not a tightening but creates an honest, objective platform, correctly assesses students' abilities, as a basis for the innovation process.

Close attention and guidance

During the working sessions with the localities of Hai Duong, Tuyen Quang and Ho Chi Minh City on the preparation for the National High School Exam , Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam and the Ministry of Education and Training listened to the recommendations of these localities to continue directing the adjustment of shortcomings.

On May 23, implementing the direction of Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam, the Ministry of Education and Training sent an official dispatch to the Departments of Education and Training and universities hosting the examination clusters regarding the continued permission for candidates (if they wish) to adjust the information in the examination registration form (including adjusting the chosen subjects) before May 27, 2015.

In order to create conditions for ethnic minority students to travel to the Department's examination clusters to take the graduation exam; to thoroughly implement the Prime Minister's direction that no candidate due to difficulties cannot take the exam, Tuyen Quang has organized a bus route to pick up and drop off students to the centralized examination site, and has come up with plans to provide maximum support for food, accommodation, and transportation for students and parents.

In Ha Giang, because the exam time is one month later than the previous high school graduation exam schedule, boarding high schools continue to review knowledge for students until the exam takes place. Similarly, ethnic high schools in Lao Cai province are also proactively letting students stay to study, even though the costs of overtime work and scholarships for ethnic students for an additional month are being sent to the province for decision.

Dien Bien province has also proposed plans to create the most favorable conditions for candidates who live far from the exam locations. The Department of Education and Training has assigned high schools, ethnic boarding high schools and continuing education centers in the area to review the number of students with especially difficult circumstances to come up with support plans.

Candidates who live far from their families and take the exam at inter-school examination sites in Dien Bien province will be arranged to stay at ethnic boarding high schools in the area. For candidates at ethnic boarding high schools, the Department requires them to develop their own plans for picking up and dropping off students, managing students, and arranging accommodation.

In Son La, in order to help students get familiar with the exam subjects, the Department of Education and Training has directed high schools and continuing education centers to regularly update the sample exam questions for the 8 national high school exam subjects announced by the Ministry of Education and Training; at the same time, the organization of teachers assigned to review the exam to solve these sample questions.

Schools have also organized for students to get acquainted with the sample test seriously and proceed to grade and evaluate the results. Even though it is only solving sample test questions, this familiarization will help students a lot, they will initially visualize the level of difficulty - ease, as well as the structure of the test to come up with the best review method, prepare for the exam.

Candidates and schools have more confidence in victory

One of the issues that many candidates and schools are still concerned about is the difficulty level of this year's exam. Regarding this issue, Associate Professor Dr. Mai Van Trinh - Director of the Department of Examinations and Educational Quality Assessment (Ministry of Education and Training) has dispelled this concern.

Mr. Trinh said: Immediately after the sample test was posted online, the Department had a department analyze the specific details in a serious spirit of acceptance, to edit it to create the most favorable conditions for candidates.

Up to now, the Ministry of Education and Training has accepted and decided not to mix easy and difficult questions in the exam but to clearly distinguish them to create conditions for candidates. Specifically, the exam structure includes a block of basic questions and a block of advanced questions that are separated.

In addition to concerns about the difficulty of the exam when it has to take on both the role of graduation and university and college admission, concerns about graduation conditions for students this year have also been satisfactorily answered by the Department of Testing and Education Quality Assessment.

The Department believes that this year's graduation consideration will not only be based on the average score of 4 subjects but also the average score of the student in grade 12, in addition to incentive points by subject and by region.

Teacher Nguyen Tuan Nghia - Principal of Tien Yen High School (Quang Ninh) said: In a mountainous district like Tien Yen, not only students and parents but also teachers are worried about this exam.

Due to the school's ethnic minority students, their academic performance is uneven. Not all students want to continue their studies, some only want to graduate.

Therefore, if students do not achieve their wishes, teachers must also take some responsibility. However, after receiving answers from teachers at the Department of Testing and Education Quality Assessment, we are no longer worried and now only focus on reviewing and consolidating knowledge for students.

There is only a little over a month left until the National High School Exam takes place, with many expectations of creating a foundation for innovation and better changes in the country's education system. The Government is concerned, the Ministry of Education and Training and the Departments of Education and Training continuously have close and timely instructions; schools, teachers, especially candidates, parents and the whole society are increasingly confident in the success of the 2015 National Exam .