Confused in reviewing for the 2017 national high school exam by subject group

(Baonghean) -The 2017 National High School Exam has many innovations, especially in applying 8/9 subjects in the test format. Up to this point, teachers and students of many high schools in the province are still facing difficulties in reviewing and preparing for the exam.

Worry about the results

The most noticeable thing since the Ministry of Education and Training switched from essay to multiple choice for subjects in the social science subject group (including History, Geography, Civic Education) is that the number of candidates registering for these subjects is higher than in previous years. This is objectively a positive sign.

At Nam Dan 2 High School, if in previous years the number of candidates registering for social subjects only accounted for about 30%, this year it has increased dramatically with 144/396 students registering for the Natural Science subject group and 252/396 students registering for the Social Science subject group. Tran Thi Quynh Anh (12th grade student C3) said: “In the past, students were often hesitant to choose social subjects because they had to memorize a lot. Now, if the test is multiple choice, social subjects can be easier because if they don't memorize the lesson, students can figure it out on their own based on their understanding. Meanwhile, natural subjects require accurate results, making it difficult to get points...”.

Class time of students at Nam Dan 2 High School.

While students are quite excited about the new exam format, teachers and schools are still having a “headache” with the way of teaching and learning in the form of multiple choice tests. From this school year, to help students get used to the new exam format, the first semester tests and exams of Nam Dan 2 High School are all in the form of multiple choice tests. The final assessment results of the semester show that only 242/396 students have four subjects with a score of 5 or higher.

As a history teacher of class 12C1 - Nam Dan 2 High School, teacher Nguyen Thi Thu Huyen said that in the recent trial exam, although it was a selective class, only about 60% of students scored above average, the number of students who scored 7.8 was very small.

Teacher Le Van Quyen - Vice Principal of Nam Dan 2 High School said: "The multiple choice test helps us evaluate students more practically, limiting the situation of students cheating. However, the results have not been as expected. Partly because teachers do not have much experience, especially in the way of creating questions. Students have a subjective mentality, thinking that multiple choice tests are easy to score points...".

At Le Hong Phong High School (Hung Nguyen), the final exam results of the first semester were also lower than expected. Teacher Truong To Hoai - Geography teacher said: "Many students subjectively think that multiple-choice tests will have higher scores, but I personally don't think so. There will even be very few candidates with high scores because it requires a lot of knowledge. Particularly for Geography, in the past, the teaching process had separate topics and themes, students had many questions that were very easy to score, especially questions related to skills. Currently, knowledge is spread out, requiring students to read a lot, study a lot, and when doing the test, they must know how to allocate time reasonably, it is difficult to narrow down to memorize...".

Find a solutioneffective teaching and learning

Le Hong Phong High School has 287 12th graders this year. Of these, 2/3 are taking the exam to be admitted to universities and colleges. According to teacher Ho Thi Ha - Vice Principal of Le Hong Phong High School: To help students review effectively, from the beginning of the year, the school has informed parents and students about the new features of the 2017 National High School Exam. At the same time, it also helps students with career orientation and choosing and reviewing subjects suitable to their abilities. During the teaching process, the school adheres to the textbook program, teaches students additional test-taking skills, and organizes many mock exams to help them get used to the new exam format...

A Math class of students at Nam Dan 2 High School. Photo: My Ha

In fact, for 12th graders, the change in the exam format that the Ministry of Education and Training proposed in 2017 was quite urgent. Therefore, recently, all high schools in Nghe An are trying to find the most effective teaching and learning methods so that students have enough knowledge and skills to enter the exam. However, because this is the first year of taking the exam based on a combination of subjects (Social Sciences and Natural Sciences), the first time taking the exam in the form of multiple choice (Math, History, Geography), the first year of including Civic Education in the exam, the preparation process has encountered many difficulties.

The most common is that there are not many reference materials, the sample test questions provided by the Ministry of Education and Training do not cover the entire program, so teachers are often confused when setting questions. On the students' side, in addition to having to try to cover the knowledge, they also have to practice the skills of doing the test quickly, so there are still many confusions.

Mr. Le Van Quyen - Vice Principal of Nam Dan 2 High School said: “From the results of the first semester exam and tests, the school has also analyzed the strengths and weaknesses and agreed to adjust the teaching method in the direction of not only focusing on core knowledge but also improving students' test-taking skills. The school also requires teachers to strengthen innovation in teaching methods and forms, apply active teaching methods and techniques, innovate content, testing and assessment methods in the direction of combining essay and objective multiple choice. Thereby helping students to be equipped with solid knowledge and skills; apply knowledge and skills flexibly and creatively”.

Regarding teaching and learning for 12th grade students in the 2016-2017 school year, recently, the Nghe An Department of Education and Training has issued many documents requesting schools to teach the full curriculum, ensuring knowledge and skills standards; organize teaching and review in accordance with the students' subjects and exam purposes, focusing on learning methods, review and practice test-taking skills according to the characteristics of each exam subject; strengthen the compilation of questions and exercises with content and form suitable for the National High School Exam for use in the teaching, testing and assessment process; review and evaluate reference materials to provide appropriate advice to students; the implementation process does not create pressure, stress, or expense for parents and students...

My Ha