Concerns of Nghe An teachers before the National High School Exam

Teacher Phan Van Thai - Math Teacher - Phan Boi Chau High School for the Gifted:Take advantage of your break to focus on your studies.

Due to the impact of the Covid-19 epidemic, up to this point the Ministry of Education and Training has cut down the program and each teacher and each school will base on that to make appropriate adjustments.

The National High School Exam is scheduled to be held in August 2020. Photo: My Ha

Specifically, in addition to the knowledge learned in the 12th grade program, students must know how to apply and improve. In addition, from analyzing the sample exam, students can apply a lot of knowledge and many exercises of the same type because for many years the exam questions issued by the Ministry are similar to the sample exam questions that have been announced.

Candidates taking the 2019 National High School Exam. Photo courtesy

Teacher Le Khac Thuc - Principal of Tan Ky High School:

The National High School Exam should "shrink" difficult knowledge

After the Ministry of Education and Training adjusted the curriculum to reduce the workload, the school continued to increase teaching methods via the Internet and on television, especially for 12th grade students.

However, through our survey, we found that not many students have the conditions to study online teaching programs, many students are having to study via phone so the effectiveness is not high. For students who do not have the conditions, we have also printed the papers and asked our contacts to bring the papers to the students, but during the period of social isolation, assigning assignments in this form is still difficult and the number of students who have feedback on the work is not much.

The 2019-2020 school year was a year of many changes for 12th graders. Photo: My Ha

As for the second semester, although it has been streamlined, in current conditions, teaching new lessons is still inadequate and difficult to implement widely.

We have also calculated that if students return to school in May, schools will still be able to complete the program. On the contrary, if students start school on June 15 and the school year ends on July 15, the time is quite limited and will affect students' preparation for the National High School Exam.

A lesson of students at Nghi Loc 5 High School. Photo: My Ha

Currently, I still support the Ministry if it implements the National High School Exam, because this is the best method to be able to assess the quality of students on a large scale. However, in the current context, the Ministry should consider the implementation method such as reducing the subjects, the difficult knowledge should be "shrinked" to reduce pressure on students, especially students in disadvantaged areas.

Teacher Tran Thi Mai Hoa - History Teacher - Cua Lo High School:It is necessary to soon announce the National High School Exam plan so that students can proactively review.

After receiving the sample History exam from the Ministry of Education and Training, I was quite reassured because in general, the exam was easier than last year and closely followed the program. The exam structure also had changes like before, in which the application questions (difficult and advanced) accounted for about 30%, now there are only 10/40 questions. Instead, there are more recognition and comprehension questions, creating favorable conditions for candidates, especially those who only take the exam to graduate.

Before that, I also studied the reduced part very carefully and found that this program is lighter and many lessons that focus on events have been cut. The sample exam also follows the reduced program and does not test the parts that are not studied or are the parts that students study on their own.

I also believe that if the official exam questions are closer to the reduction, the test scores will be higher. Students who only got 3 or 4 points last year can get 5 points this year. Students who want to get 7 or 8 points just need to study the textbooks carefully. Even students who want to get higher scores do not need to study much more and teachers can improve their knowledge during the teaching process.

Candidates taking the National High School Exam. Photo: My Ha

However, what I am worried about is the National High School Exam. If possible, I hope the Ministry will not change much and keep the multiple-choice test format because students have been studying and reviewing in this format for a long time. In addition, the Ministry should also soon announce a new exam plan so that students can proactively review. Personally, I am very worried that if many universities organize their own exam plans and schools change the exam format from multiple-choice to essay, it will be very disadvantageous for students.