Concerns from innovation in primary school student assessment

(Baonghean) - No homework for students studying 2 sessions/day, no competitions for excellent students, evaluating students by comments instead of scores are new features in the work of evaluating primary school students in the 2014 - 2015 school year. After one semester of implementation, there have been positive signs but there are still concerns...

At this time, in previous years, primary schools were focusing on recruiting excellent students, organizing review sessions to prepare for the Olympic exams, online math competitions, and parents were very concerned about the results of the final semester assessment tests.

However, coming to Ha Huy Tap 2 Primary School (Vinh City) these days, the learning atmosphere is quite comfortable, even for 5th graders. Ms. Nguyen Thi Viet Ha, Vice Principal of the school said: “In the system of primary schools in Vinh City, in previous years, Ha Huy Tap 2 Primary School was one of the schools with the highest rate of excellent students and students passing the entrance exam to specialized schools. This can be considered an achievement, but it is also a pressure for the school. To maintain its brand and maintain its achievements, every year we have to assign targets to teachers. Parents also have to keep up with their children's studies by letting them "race" from one extra class to another, making them very tired and not having many opportunities to participate in other recreational activities. From this school year, teachers are no longer under pressure about scores, achievements, and excellent student targets; students' psychology is also more comfortable, studying and taking exams are much more harmonious."

Class of students at Nghi Thuy Primary School (Cua Lo Town).

As is known, to reduce the load and pressure on students, starting from the 2014-2015 school year, the Ministry of Education and Training issued Circular 30, according to which instead of evaluating students by scores as before, teachers will switch to comments based on students' knowledge, skills and learning attitudes. At the same time, the Ministry also directed not to organize competitions for excellent students, not to teach extra classes, not to organize entrance exams for grade 6...

Ms. Phan Thi Hong Mai, Principal of Hong Son Primary School (Vinh City) said: "At the beginning of the implementation, we encountered many difficulties and most parents did not agree. Teachers themselves were quite confused with this change. However, after 1 semester of implementation, what we saw most was that thanks to the need to increase comments and assessments, teachers' sense of responsibility towards students became more frequent, more self-conscious and more in-depth. As for students, they are happier and more active, no longer under much pressure from schoolwork, and can participate in many extracurricular activities. The school is also not as heavy on provincial and city-level competitions as before. Instead, the school organizes many intellectual playgrounds such as Math and English competitions for the purpose of learning and exchanging, so students feel very comfortable participating."

However, regarding the assessment of student quality and the comparison of learning outcomes this school year with the previous school year, teacher Phan Thi Hong Mai still has many concerns. The reason is that in the past, the results were specified by scores in exams, so good, fair, average, and poor could all be clearly seen. Now, the "measurement" of learning quality mainly depends on the comments of teachers, so the results are only relative.

Furthermore, teacher Mai also believes that innovation is right, but the current approach is still a bit hasty, and teachers have not been prepared in time. The physical facilities and some other factors are not enough to help students develop their abilities and talents comprehensively. Ms. Nguyen Thi Hien, a parent of a student, confided: “Currently, seeing my child studying less and having more time to rest is also very happy. However, I am still concerned because we have only innovated methods and assessment methods but have not innovated the textbook program. Currently, the children's curriculum is too heavy, but we only teach in the style of "learning while playing", and the assessment is also general, so I am afraid that the children will not be able to keep up with the program and will not grasp all the knowledge in the textbooks".

Regarding this issue, Mr. Nguyen The Son, Head of Primary Education Department, Department of Education and Training, assessed: Since the 2013-2014 school year, Nghe An is one of the few localities that have piloted the evaluation method from scores to comments in grade 1. In addition, this evaluation method has also been applied in 73 schools teaching according to the new school model VNEN.

However, when implementing it on a large scale, due to the late training and implementation (close to the implementation date of October 15, 2014), the initial student evaluation was not timely, the dissemination to parents and the community was not much, and the effectiveness was not high. In addition, this is a new policy, many managers and teachers are not familiar with the new evaluation method. Therefore, some teachers are confused in their comments and evaluation: there are comments that are 3 or 4 lines long, with little information, unclear information, difficult for students to understand and implement, especially for the first grade classes; there are general comments, not pointing out specific errors of students to correct (For example: The work still has many spelling errors; the presentation is not beautiful...); choosing the words to evaluate accurately, closely, and without duplication for each student is difficult; In classes with too many students, it is difficult to ensure accuracy and objectivity in monitoring learning outcomes, formation and development of qualities and abilities of each student; the time spent marking and correcting students' work on their products in each lesson and subject takes up a lot of time and is difficult for teachers.

In addition, some teachers are still afraid of innovation and accepting new things; some teachers do not fully understand Circular 30 (purpose of assessment, use of assessment results, etc.), so the assessment is still coping and formal. First grade students, semester I, have limited reading skills, cannot receive and understand much information through teachers' comments, so teachers have to mainly give direct comments during class; students in mountainous and ethnic minority areas have limited communication skills, so the formation and development of students' qualities and abilities are more difficult. The new assessment method also causes difficulties in quality management and assessment of teachers' teaching quality. Meanwhile, the results of the two periodic tests are mainly used for reference only, not for classification. The assessment records of some types, according to regulations, are not reasonable and scientific, while the effectiveness is not high.

Entering the second semester, in order for the policy of innovating primary school student assessment according to Circular 30 to truly promote the purpose of helping teachers adjust appropriate teaching methods, helping students to be confident and progress, the Department is currently continuing to direct the content of professional activities at schools and school clusters. Improve the quality of comprehensive education, the quality of teaching 2 sessions/day. Direct the development of teaching and education plans for schools (timetables) to ensure scientific, professional orientation, arrange self-study periods at the end of each day to help students complete their learning tasks during the day, reduce the pressure of having to study extra outside of regular school hours, help teachers differentiate teaching for students. Arrange at least 1 period/week to implement life skills education content for primary school students. Continue to direct the strict implementation of solutions according to Directive 5105 of the Minister of Education and Training to reduce the pressure of extra study for primary school students. At the same time, schools are required to evaluate students' learning products closely to the results achieved, especially to point out the incomplete points and the causes to help students correct and overcome. For students who have not completed the learning content, timely and appropriate measures must be taken to help them overcome difficulties. In the monthly, semester and end-of-year comprehensive assessments, teachers must point out which aspects have improved or excelled, which aspects need help to monitor students' development in the assessment content.

My Ha