Towards 'Genuine teaching, genuine testing, and genuine quality'
The 2024-2025 school year marks the end of the textbook implementation cycle under the 2018 General Education Program. In anticipation of exams under the new program, schools have proactively changed their teaching methods, learning approaches, and assessment practices.
Developing learners' qualities and competencies.
The lessons at Quang Trung Secondary School (Vinh City) are no longer confined to the classroom. Instead, students are given opportunities to experience different environments, leading to more interesting and engaging learning experiences. These activities encourage and guide students to be proactive and engaged in their studies, contributing to the development of their character and abilities. Most recently, during their history lessons, students from Quang Trung Secondary School visited the Soviet Nghệ Tĩnh Museum, Vinh Prison (Vinh City), and Đồng Lộc Crossroads (Hà Tĩnh).
Furthermore, with the strong support of internet connectivity, students from Quang Trung Secondary School also had interesting collaborative lessons with students from two schools in Vinh City and Que Phong District; and students from a secondary school in Japan.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Lan, Principal of Quang Trung Secondary School, shared: "The new program, aiming to develop students' abilities and shift the teaching method from knowledge transmission to holistic development education, requires schools and teachers to change their teaching methods, lesson delivery, and the application of artificial intelligence and information technology in daily educational activities, information retrieval, and the creation of questions and tests… This will create a rich and diverse range of exercises and lessons for all students."
Vinh City is one of the leading units in the implementation.General Education Program 2018Innovation in teaching and learning is emphasized as schools encourage teachers to use active teaching methods and techniques, apply information technology; lessons are structured into activities with flexible goals, content, learning products, and implementation methods for students to carry out in the classroom, outside the classroom, at school, at home...
Thanks to the implementation of the new program, students' academic and behavioral performance has shown many positive changes. Thus, the program's goal of developing students' qualities and abilities has been initially affirmed, building confidence among teachers, students, parents, and society.
Ms. Hoang Phuong Thao - Head of the Education and Training Department of Vinh City
In Do Luong district, to maintain its top-ranking educational quality in the province, the district's Education Department has proactively issued directives on teaching methods to adapt to the new circumstances. Accordingly, educational institutions have proactively developed school education plans in accordance with the requirements of the 2018 General Education Program, suitable to the school's conditions. At the same time, they focus on developing students' qualities and competencies; flexibly organizing educational activities and experiential learning... so that students can accumulate knowledge from life, and teaching is closely linked to practical application.
The challenge of the "new" exam
Along with positive changes, 2025 will also be the first year of implementing exams under the 2025 General Education Program. Of these, the two most anticipated exams are the entrance exam for grade 10 and the high school graduation exam.
Prior to these two exams, the Education sector conducted a trial run by organizing a provincial-level gifted student competition for 9th and 12th-grade students, with exam questions closely following the guidelines of the Ministry of Education and Training. Following this exam, many teachers and students highly appreciated the innovations in this year's exam, especially in the question design. The exam questions aligned with the objectives of the new general education program, focusing on developing students' abilities. The questions were practical, highly applicable, and not heavily reliant on calculations, thus engaging students during the exam.
The initial results of the gifted student competitions also serve as a basis for the Nghe An Department of Education and Training and its specialized departments to gain more experience in preparing for upcoming competitions. During the organization of the competitions, teachers, students, and schools also had the opportunity to interact, exchange ideas, and learn from each other.
In anticipation of the new curriculum exams, the Department of Education and Training has requested subject departments and teachers to proactively develop teaching and review plans suitable to the conditions of each school and student group, classifying students' abilities to organize appropriate review sessions. In addition, diverse forms and increased frequency of regular tests and assessments are necessary to evaluate the learning process and progress of students.
The Nghe An Department of Education and Training also requested that subject departments gradually implement the compilation of objective multiple-choice questions based on competency assessment in the form of "true/false" and "short-answer" questions, following the structure of the 2025 high school graduation exam set by the Ministry of Education and Training, for use in teaching and assessment. The Department has invited the Ministry to provide training for all teachers to familiarize them with question-setting methods and guidance on building question systems to serve teaching and learning.
With the aforementioned proactive measures, schools in Nghe An have prepared themselves for the exams under the new general education program. The biggest challenge currently is that the Ministry of Education and Training has not yet finalized the selection of subjects for the 10th grade entrance exam.
For 12th-grade students, in addition to the pressure of the first high school graduation exam based on the new textbooks, they also face pressure from separate university entrance exams such as aptitude tests, critical thinking tests, and exams for foreign language certificates and international certificates.
Examinations are a measure used to assess the quality of teaching and learning in schools.
From the education sector's perspective, this year will see the implementation of quality assurance assessments at both the high school and middle school levels, thereby improving the quality of teaching and learning in schools and preparing for exams that ensure "genuine teaching, genuine testing, and genuine quality."
Prof. Dr. Thai Van Thanh – Director of the Department of Education and Training