The city of Vinh has not yet received feedback from parents regarding the 5th grade exam.

(Baonghean.vn) - Mr. Thai Khac Tan, Head of the Education and Training Department of Vinh City, said that he has not received any feedback from parents regarding the 5th grade end-of-term exam, so no action has been taken yet.

"Fifth-grade students write heartfelt letters about the final exam in Vinh City."

Students in Vinh City 'cried profusely' because the 5th grade math test was too difficult.

Mr. Thai Khac Tan - Head of the Education Department of Vinh City. Photo: archival material.

Reporter: Sir, in recent days, public opinion in the city has been buzzing about the end-of-year math exam for 5th-grade students, with many saying that the exam was beyond the students' abilities. So, what is the Department of Education's stance on this issue?

Mr. Thai Khac Tan:To date, the City Department of Education and Training has not received any official information from parents or teachers regarding the exam questions. However, we have become aware of the information through social media. Currently, we have not taken any action regarding the parents' complaints.

PV: So, what are the results of the end-of-semester exams up to this point, sir?

Mr. Thai Khac Tan:Currently, as planned by the Department, the grading of the end-of-year semester exams was completed on the afternoon of May 20th, and preliminary results are available. Initial assessments show that the scores range from 0 to below 10 points, with no perfect scores of 10 for either Mathematics or Vietnamese Language.

This is unusual, because prior to 2014, the city's annual periodic tests produced approximately 1,800 perfect scores (10/10) in Math and 1,000 perfect scores (10/10) in Vietnamese (accounting for about 60%). However, since last year, after the city implemented a common exam for 5th-grade students, the number has decreased significantly. For example, last year, the city only had 49 perfect scores in Math and 69 perfect scores in Vietnamese. This year, in addition to the common exam, we also organized cross-marking between schools, so the evaluation will be more objective. In reality, we also realize that the previous survey results exceeded reality, did not accurately reflect quality, and did not ensure fairness among schools.

Primary school students in Vinh City participate in the "Primary School Student Exchange Day" - Photo courtesy.

PV: Regarding this year's exam, many opinions suggest that the City Education Department set a difficult exam with the aim of selecting students for Dang Thai Mai Secondary School. Is this fair?

Mr. Thai Khac Tan:Currently, the department has not yet developed a plan for student enrollment at Dang Thai Mai Secondary School. The specifics will only be finalized in July, after which the department will submit a proposal to the City People's Committee for a decision.

PV: Given the current low results, has the department developed any plans to address this issue?

Mr. Thai Khac Tan:With these results, I'm a little concerned because at least some students must have gotten a perfect score of 10. I have to admit that the exam questions from the Department weren't entirely accurate to the students' actual abilities. However, in the process of creating the questions, we also hoped that the students would be able to answer them. The questions were clearly differentiated so that some students could score 5-6 points or 9-10 points; students could achieve scores corresponding to their abilities.

From this incident, we will learn from our mistakes for future exams, ensuring that the questions we create are more relevant to students' real-world experiences. It's incorrect to say that the Department of Education and Training created the wrong exam questions, as we strictly adhered to the exam matrix. To create the end-of-year periodic exam, the department developed a matrix created by core elementary education professionals, including school administrators, teachers, and specialists from the Department responsible for elementary education. After reaching a consensus, this exam matrix was sent to all schools in the city for implementation and to organize review and preparation for students. Then, based on proposals from the schools, the Department of Education compiled a unified exam paper, unique to each school. This paper was then printed, packaged securely, and kept confidential until the exam day.

Currently, due to the expected low scores in the year-end survey, the department's leadership is researching solutions to ensure students' rights are protected, their abilities are accurately assessed, and they are motivated.

My Ha