"Loopholes" in the exam marking software that the Ministry of Education and Training is using

Previously, (before the unusual problems occurred in the 2018 national high school exam), the exam scoring software that the Ministry of Education and Training was using was considered a breakthrough in the industry's reform career. Mr. Mai Van Trinh - Director of the Department of Examinations, Ministry of Education and Training once informed the press that the objective test toolkit used for the national high school exam was written by the most optimal algorithm in the world today.

Therefore, when applied and deployed in the exam marking process, it will bring the most accurate, objective and impartial results.

In Ha Giang, 330 exams of 114 candidates had their scores raised, many of them by up to 8.75 points in one exam. Illustration photo: Minh Khanh

Specifically, the "breakthrough" in the national high school multiple choice test scoring process of the Ministry of Education and Training is carried out in 4 steps.

*Step 1: Scan the test, the test is put into the scanner to scan and the scanned images will be automatically transferred to the scoring software. The scanned image data is recorded on 2 CDs, 1 disc is sent to the Ministry of Education and Training, 1 disc is sent to the Chairman of the Examination Council. These 2 data discs are also sealed under the supervision of inspectors and police.

*Step 2: Convert data to a text file and analyze the scan results. The scoring software will convert data from the scanned image to a text file containing the answers the candidate has chosen. Next, the machine will check for errors on the test.

*Step 3: Check for errors. If any errors are found, a record must be made and the correction results saved. This is done under the supervision of the supervisor.

*Finally, step 4, give the results. After completing the above steps, the Examination Council can use the answers to score. The scoring and analysis results are exported to CD2 to report to the Ministry of Education and Training.

According to experts, step 4 in the exam marking process of the Ministry of Education and Training is a "big loophole that even an elephant can crawl through" (!).

Specifically, the Ministry of Education and Training has been subjective to the point of being "lax" when giving the examination councils the right to mark papers and process exam scores after going through the above three "golden" stages.

Because of this, Mr. Vu Trong Luong can "magically" turn yes into no, no into yes on candidates' test papers in just 6 seconds.

The loopholes in the exam marking software that the Ministry of Education and Training is using have invisibly fueled the recent violations. Illustration photo: Minh Khanh

The question here is why, at the final stage of the national high school exam grading process, the Ministry of Education and Training let such a big “loophole” slip through? Obviously, investing in building an objective multiple-choice test grading process for the national high school exam is within the capacity and authority of the education sector, so why is it not fully and strictly implemented from start to finish?

While the violations in Ha Giang have not yet subsided, the initial investigation results of the case of 5 officials involved in correcting exam scores in Son La have once again exposed "huge loopholes" in the national high school exam marking process.

Specifically, according to the investigation results of the Ministry of Public Security and Son La Police, there were initial signs of violations of the Examination Regulations, especially in the marking stage; specifically, there were signs of editing the multiple-choice test papers of some candidates (editing the multiple-choice answer sheet).

By professional measures, analysis showed that the deleted test image and the test image used to export data to the Ministry of Education for grading were completely identical.

Scanned test image data was copied onto a CD without proper authority and taken out of the test storage area without permission. It is not known where it was taken or who authorized it. The computer used for grading the test was not sealed; at the time of inspection, this computer was in normal use in the office of a specialist of the Examination and Quality Management Department, Son La Department of Education and Training...

Some candidates' multiple-choice answer sheets showed signs of being altered. The handover of test papers between the test sites and the Department of Education and Training's Examination Council, the preservation of multiple-choice test papers at the Examination Council, and the handover of test papers between the Secretariat and the Marking Board did not comply with regulations.

Regarding this “loophole” process, Dr. Nguyen Thanh Nam - Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of FPT University asked, who designed the exam grading software, so that the intermediate file in text format could be edited by anyone? Who issued the test, accepted, paid for, and put into use such a flawed software?

It is known that, according to a source of Nguoi Lao Dong newspaper, this software has been used for two years in the national high school exam but has not been accepted.

At the press conference on July 17, Mr. Nguyen Cao Khuong - Deputy Head of Department A83 of the Ministry of Public Security said: "The security process related to the supervision of the Police as well as the Ministry's inspectors and the Department's inspectors (in the exam marking stage) is not strict, allowing Mr. Vu Trong Luong - Deputy Head of the Examination and Quality Management Department (Department of Education and Training of Ha Giang) to handle all the exams of the related candidates and during the entire process, the members did not know.

That is the gap that we see, we need to strengthen and train very carefully in the future exams. Letting Mr. Luong handle the original multiple choice tests is also a gap in the work of ensuring security and safety.