Nghe An: Many students with extremely high scores still fail the university entrance exam, why?

High score still failed university

Candidates take the university entrance exam at the exam site of Ethnic Minority Boarding High School No. 2. Photo: Duc Anh

This year, due to the impact of the epidemic, instead of enrolling at school, successful candidates went to the post office to submit their applications to universities. Photo: MH

Compared to the previous exam, the 2021 high school graduation exam, the candidates' test scores have made remarkable progress and the score range is also higher than previous years. However, as predicted, when the score range is high, the admission scores of the schools are also much higher and cause many candidates to lose their opportunities, if they lack a little luck.

Teacher Le Duc Hung - Principal of Do Luong 1 High School shared: "Up to this point, through initial statistics, our school has over 70% of candidates passing their first choice. Those who did not pass include those who achieved quite high scores and this is really regrettable. This has many subjective reasons but also objective reasons such as this year the admission scores of many schools increased, some students registered their wishes incorrectly, higher than their scores, causing them to lose the opportunity to pass the exam".

Anxiously "waiting" for additional

Reality also shows that although this year the average exam scores of many candidates are higher than previous exam seasons, there are still concerns about quality. Compared to 10 or 15 years ago, if a candidate had an admission score of 21 - 23.24 points, it was considered high and had a good chance of being admitted to top schools, but now this score seems to have fallen into a "narrow alley". The increasingly high admission scores also make candidates more worried every time the exam season comes. This is also the reason why, before the high school graduation exam takes place, instead of expecting the exam to be "easy", many candidates will expect the real exam to be more difficult than the mock exam or sample exam to differentiate candidates and the boundary between candidates with good and excellent results will be clearer.

Candidates taking the 2021 High School Graduation Exam. Photo: Duc Anh

Previously, when the high school graduation exam had just ended, although the Ministry of Education and Training had not yet announced the exam scores, announced the admission scores, and passed the entrance exam, thousands of candidates had been admitted by direct admission or admission based on academic records. This was also the reason why "the entrance to university for candidates admitted by exam scores is increasingly narrowing because the quota for this group is not much. This method also makes it increasingly difficult for lower-ranking universities to recruit students and it is very difficult to recruit quality candidates.

Ms. Le Thi Van Ha - Deputy Head of the Department of Analytical Accounting - Nghe An University of Economics said: "This year's exam, there are students who have registered for 14 wishes but still do not have the opportunity to be admitted to university even though their admission scores are quite high. This makes us think a lot about the admission form and admission methods of universities. Maybe, high admission scores are a good thing because the students' exam results are very good. But we can also ask why there are so many students with such high scores and what score truly reflects the quality of teaching and learning?".

For the past 3 years, the standard score to enter the SchoolVinh Medical UniversityThe following year is higher than the previous year, in which there are years that are 3 points higher. However, Dr. Nguyen Canh Phu - Principal of the school still has concerns: “In the past 2 years, teaching and learning in high schools have encountered many difficulties due to the impact of the Covid-19 epidemic and that has also greatly affected the organization of the high school graduation exam. With the organization of an exam for 2 purposes, the exam scores are higher than previous years, which is understandable. However, if the number of candidates with high exam scores is high but the passing rate is not high, we also need to consider the candidates' abilities properly. If the exam differentiates good and excellent candidates well, university admissions will also be easier and will help candidates accurately recognize their abilities".

In the context of increasing admission scores and a series of candidates with high scores but not passing the university entrance exam, the Ministry of Education and Training has also requested a number of universities to recruit additional candidates with high scores. However, it is also necessary to see that there are not many opportunities for candidates if there is no separate priority mechanism. Regarding this, the Principal of Vinh Medical University added: "Currently, majors such as medicine, pharmacy, and preventive medicine have basically registered for admission after the announcement of the admission scores and the school has no more quotas. Therefore, it is very difficult to recruit more candidates for these majors."

Candidates come to enroll at Vinh Medical University. Photo: MH

At Vinh University, although the admission scores have increased quite high this year, up to this point, the majors in the Pedagogy Block and some technical majors such as automobile engineering and automobile technology have recruited enough candidates. For the remaining majors, the admission opportunities are still being considered and weighed. Dr. Hoang Vinh Phu - Head of Training Department, UniversityVinh Universityadded: "Currently, some non-pedagogical majors have not recruited enough candidates and the school's Admissions Council will have to meet and consider additional enrollment based on enrollment targets."

Because there are not many opportunities for additional enrollment, schools mainly prioritize enrollment for the first choice, so at this time, many candidates have chosen the option of considering admission based on academic records or choosing non-public universities... Whichever option is chosen, this is only a "situational" option and that will certainly greatly affect the students' studies as well as future career opportunities.

The situation that occurred during the university entrance exam season this year also requires the Ministry of Education and Training as well as related sectors to consider the organization of the high school graduation exam and the current university admission method. Therefore, regardless of the circumstances in which the exam is organized, it must achieve the set goals, which are to recognize graduation but also have a clear basis for university admission. More importantly, the exam must accurately reflect the quality of teaching and learning and ensure the rights of all candidates.