Fluctuations in 10th grade benchmark scores in Nghe An

Increase students, increase benchmark scores

Instead of online admission, Nghi Loc 3 High School organizes direct admission for all admitted students.

Candidates come to school with different moods, some are happy but some are regretful and disappointed.

Meeting Ms. Tran Thi Thanh - living in Phong Phu hamlet, Hung Hoa commune (Vinh city) on the day she took her child to school, she said: The route from my house to here is quite convenient, but the journey down is nearly 7km long and takes nearly 20 minutes by motorbike. On normal days, my child has a friend with him, so I think he can try, but it's raining and windy, I feel sorry for him...

Previously, Ms. Thanh's daughter and many other students at Hung Hoa Secondary School had registered for NV1 at Le Viet Thuat High School. After the exam, because they heard that many students had transferred their preferences to this school, her family was worried and decided to go to Nghi Loc 3 High School. When the scores were known, her daughter scored more than 22 points, higher than the standard score to enter the school she had initially registered for, making her family very regretful.

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The day my child got his score, I cried all day. I am a farmer, his father is a construction worker, the family has 4 children, he is the first child so I was afraid he would fail and not have the conditions to study outside the public school. In the past few days, I had to encourage him to try hard to study in the new environment. Luckily, at his old school, about 20 friends also transferred here to study, so he has friends to go back and forth to - Ms. Thanh shared more.

Ms. Tran Thi Thanh - Hung Hoa commune (Vinh city)

Previously, although this year's 10th grade entrance exam was assessed as more classified, more difficult and with a lower score range, the admission score for Nghi Loc 3 High School was 17.75, 1.5 points higher than the previous school year.

With this result, in the first announcement of scores, 250 students who registered for the school failed to enter the public 10th grade. In the second announcement, although the score was lowered to 17.65, only 7 more students were admitted. Of those, nearly 240 were students from schools in Vinh city who registered for the exam or had just transferred their preferences to the school. The number of students who had a score of over 23 points after transferring their preferences was also not small.

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Because the number of students in the city has increased rapidly this year, since the initial registration, more than 100 students from the city came to our school to take the exam, and this number continued to increase by more than 130 students after the department allowed them to change their preferences. This increased the pressure on the school's enrollment.

In fact, the students who transfer down are all students with better academic performance and are quite confident about their scores, so the passing rate is high. On the contrary, local students have weaker academic performance, so the number of students from the home district who fail is quite high.

Teacher Pham Thi Lan Huong - Vice Principal of Nghi Loc 3 High School

At Pham Hong Thai High School (Hung Nguyen), the school's first round benchmark score was 17.75 points, 1.35 points higher than last year. Similar to many schools on the outskirts of Vinh city, in the list of more than 330 students admitted to the school, more than 200 were city students. The remaining more than 200 students failed, most of whom were district school students.

Ms. Ho Thi Ha - Principal of the school said: With the characteristics of our school this year, the department has increased the quota for the school by 1 class with more than 40 students. However, we hope to have more quotas so that more students can go to public schools.

Unexpected changes

On the afternoon of July 20, Huynh Thuc Khang High School announced the second benchmark score of 21.5 points, the lowest score in the past 10 years. Previously, although the first benchmark score was 23.5 points, it was still more than 1 point lower than last year's benchmark score. With this score, many students who registered for the exam felt regretful, because they had changed their wishes from the school they had dreamed of, even though they had many chances of being admitted.

The change in the benchmark score at Nghe An’s No. 1 school, although unusual, is not unusual in this year’s exam season. Moreover, this was a predicted score after the department allowed students to change their preferences and more than 400 students who registered to take the exam at the school transferred to other schools.

A similar situation also occurred at Cua Lo High School, when this year the admission score was only 16.35, 4 points lower than last year and lower than some schools in the area, although it is considered the number 1 school in the area. It is worth mentioning that although the standard score was very low, only 4 students in the whole school failed.

On the school's personal page, after the school announced the benchmark scores, many students commented "oh my god", "why so shocking", "so shocking". On the school's leadership side, teacher Nguyen Hong Hai - Principal, also admitted that this benchmark score was really "quite sad". Explaining the reason, teacher Hai said that the benchmark score was low because in the past few days of changing their wishes, many students who took the entrance exam to the school were worried that many students from the city would transfer back. Therefore, those who expected to get a score of 20 points or less changed their wishes to another school.

The low standard score is also a reality that is happening at many schools considered number 1 this year in the localities, even many schools only need less than 5 points/subject to be admitted. For example, at Phan Dang Luu High School (Yen Thanh), the standard score is 13.8 points, Quynh Luu 1 High School is 14.25 points, Dien Chau 3 High School is 15.7 points, Hoang Mai High School is 12.35 points.

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Our school's benchmark score is lower than other years because many candidates have changed their preferences. Therefore, the number of candidates remaining in our school is not much and the source of candidates is limited. Fortunately, although this year's benchmark score is lower, the number of students with less than 17 points is not much. The remaining enrollment level is quite good because the school's average score is still 21 points/student.

Teacher Ho Thang - Principal of Quynh Luu 1 High School

Regarding this year's benchmark scores, although more than 2/3 of schools have announced their benchmark scores, admission to grade 10 will last until August because some schools will continue to recruit additional students, and many students who failed NV1 are waiting to continue admission to NV2 and NV3.

This year’s benchmark picture with many unexpected changes, beyond prediction, also raises many thoughts about admission to grade 10. It is undeniable that allowing students to change their wishes will increase the chances of being admitted to public schools for many candidates. However, there are also problems arising, partly due to parents and candidates lacking information or not accurately assessing the level of the exam, test and their scores.

Should, in order for the change of wishes to be promoted as the original purpose, during the process of changing wishes, schools need to communicate and promptly inform about the changes in candidates coming and going so that parents are not passive in the adjustment process. In addition, secondary schools and education departments need to do a good job of consulting and supporting students to make the right choice and adjust their wishes appropriately. That also helps high schools have a quality source of students, ensuring the right goal of a 10th grade entrance exam.