Difficult to predict 10th grade entrance exam scores in Nghe An

Waiting anxiously for the benchmark

For nearly a week now, Mr. Tran Trung's family (Vinh city) has been in a state of shock after receiving their child's 10th grade entrance exam results, even though the total score of the three subjects was nearly 22 points and he only applied to Le Viet Thuat High School. This score, compared to previous years' benchmark scores, makes admission quite easy. However, this year, compared to the general level, the admission rate is only 50/50. Not to mention many other changes that can affect the school's benchmark scores.

Talking about this, Mr. Trung said: Looking at the general level of entrance exam scores this year for grade 10, it is much higher than last year. What I am worried about now is not knowing exactly how many students have registered for the school, after there has been a change in the number of students registering for the school.

At Huynh Thuc Khang High School (Vinh City), among 1,294 candidates registered for the entrance exam, 1,152 candidates had a score of 24 points or higher. This score is nearly 1 point higher than the standard score for admission to the school last year. However, this year, even if the total score of the 3 subjects of the candidates reaches 24 points, the chance of admission is not high, as the school only has 630 quotas. If we subtract the number of students admitted to specialized schools, the competition for an official place at Huynh Thuc Khang High School is still very difficult.

With a score of only 23.45 points, the parent of a candidate who registered for the school said: My family is really worried and seems to have lost all hope. The most hopeful thing now is that many students who are admitted to Huynh Thuc Khang High School will not enroll and increase the chances of admission for the remaining students.

We have also submitted an appeal for our children, hoping to improve their scores. If they do not pass the public school entrance exam, I think it would be a real loss for them because with this score, apart from Huynh Thuc Khang High School, if they register, they can be admitted to any other public school in the province. Meanwhile, with their current situation, they may have to study at a non-public school or an advanced system with high tuition fees compared to their family's circumstances.

Forecasting this year's benchmark scores, the leader of Huynh Thuc Khang High School also said that "it is very difficult to set the school's benchmark scores, because this year, after the Department of Education and Training decided to change the wishes, the number of students going and coming has fluctuated. Not to mention, the school's enrollment also depends on the number of students who are admitted but do not enroll but will enroll in specialized schools in the province."

A similar situation is also happening in many schools in Vinh city. Discussing this, teacher Cao Thanh Bao - Principal of Ha Huy Tap High School said: The number of candidates currently registering for admission to the school is 1,120, 50 less than the number of students initially registered. But we are also expecting about 100 candidates to transfer their wishes to the school and we do not have their score data yet. Therefore, up to this point, it is not possible to predict the school's benchmark score this year.

Meanwhile, teacher Hoang Minh Luong - Principal of Le Viet Thuat High School said: The school's benchmark score this year is expected to be from 21 to 22 points, about 1.5 points higher than previous years. This also depends on the number of students changing their wishes and the number of students transferring to specialized schools. This year, the benchmark score is also expected to be higher because the candidates' base score is nearly 2 points higher than previous years.

Difficult to predict because candidates change their wishes

2023 is the first year Nghe An has changed the way of transferring wishes intoGrade 10Accordingly, if in the past, candidates were allowed to change their wishes after the schools announced the admission rate; now, candidates have 4 days to change their wishes after completing the exam. This change, in theory, will benefit candidates in the top or bottom groups. But for candidates with a 50/50 admission probability, it is truly a "puzzle" and the results may be disappointing and regretful.

A student from Cua Nam Secondary School (Vinh City) once registered his first choice at Thai Lao High School (Hung Nguyen). However, after finishing the exam, because he was not confident in his test results, he changed his choice to Pham Hong Thai High School (Hung Nguyen) even though he knew the distance from home to school would be longer than 5-6km.

Unfortunately, when receiving the exam results, this candidate got nearly 22 points, a score considered safe if applying to Thai Lao High School. However, at this point, his chance to transfer schools is gone and this candidate confessed, "I regret changing my wish. I should have been more confident in my test results."

Another student in Vinh city, because he was not sure about his test results, transferred his application from Ha Huy Tap High School to Nghi Loc 4 High School. Currently, with a score of over 21 points, this candidate is confident that he will be admitted to a public school. However, calculating the daily commute of more than 15 km is indeed not an easy story for the whole family. In case of force majeure, this candidate's family is planning to send their child to the advanced program if he gets enough points to pass the exam to facilitate his studies and travel.

Across the province, hundreds of candidates are in a "half-crying, half-laughing" situation when changing their wishes. Talking about this, the Principal of Ha Huy Tap High School (Vinh City) also said: It is difficult to determine whether changing wishes is beneficial or harmful to candidates, because it depends on each group of candidates. Therefore, when the total score remains unchanged, changing wishes will benefit one candidate, but will be disadvantageous to another. For example, in our school, after the exam, there will be a group of candidates with scores above 25 points who will move away. However, there will be a group of candidates with scores from 23 to 25 points who will move in. And so, unintentionally, the remaining group of candidates with scores below 22 points will have difficulty being admitted.

Although there are no statistics yet, but in general, after completing the entrance exam for grade 10, there is a large shift of candidates and the immediate benefits can be seen in the top schools in districts and cities. Because, candidates with good test results, their goals will all be to move to the top schools of the province and district. For that reason, the benchmark score will also have many fluctuations. For example, at Thai Lao High School, last year the benchmark score was only over 13 points. However, this year it is expected that the benchmark score can be over 19 points.

The principal of a high school in a mountainous district expressed concern that after the admission season, capable students with high entrance scores from the school had transferred to lowland districts. In addition, some other departments with similar scores had transferred from other districts. In this situation, the most disadvantaged students were those in the local district because when standing on a common ground, they had difficulty competing with students from other districts. This principal also said: All changes have advantages and disadvantages. Therefore, after the exam, there needs to be a full assessment to create fairness for candidates and also create fairness for schools.