Lowering Literature Exam Scores in Lang Son: Director of the Department of Education and Training Gives a Surprising Reason.

According to the Director of the Department of Education and Training of Lang Son province, the "reduction in exam scores" of some candidates in Literature has many causes, including the possibility of examiners incorrectly adding up the scores.

Speaking to the press, Mr. Tran Quoc Tuan, Director of the Department of Education and Training of Lang Son province, said that currently, the local Steering Committee for the High School Graduation Examination is focusing on tasks such as: announcing the re-evaluation scores for candidates, printing temporary graduation certificates and examination result certificates for candidates whose scores have changed, and delivering them to candidates promptly.

In addition, a review and lessons learned process will be conducted to clarify the responsibilities of the individuals involved in the Literature exam grading committee.

According to the test results, eight candidates had their high school graduation exam scores reduced (with the largest reduction being 1.75 points).

The Lang Son Provincial Examination Council seriously reviewed the shortcomings and weaknesses in the organization of the 2018 National High School Examination. They are urgently implementing the recommendations of the Task Force, completing the review and evaluation of the organization of the 2018 National High School Examination, and reporting to the Provincial Party Committee, the Provincial People's Committee, and the Ministry of Education and Training before August 1, 2018.

Mr. Tuan further explained that the "reduction in exam scores" of candidates, as concluded by the Ministry of Education and Training's working group, was due to the unique characteristics of the Literature subject, which is diverse and rich in terms of understanding, perception, and interpretation; and the application of open-ended grading guidelines for Literature means that the grading process may be influenced by the individual perceptions of each examiner.

Although the grading guidelines are detailed, the students' expressions in the exam and the teachers' actual perceptions are sometimes inconsistent. Furthermore, the grading abilities of some examiners are limited and their expertise is uneven. Another reason is that examiners may incorrectly add up the scores.