2019 National High School Exam: High-scoring essays will be re-graded

On the afternoon of February 21, Mr. Mai Van Trinh, Director of the Department of Quality Management (Ministry of Education and Training) informed that the 2019 national high school exam basically kept the same methods as in 2017 and 2018. However, a number of new solutions, mainly technical, were proposed at all stages to overcome the negative phenomena that occurred last year.

The first is the arrangement of the examination rooms. The draft examination regulations issued on January 31 clearly state that each examination council will select a number of examination locations where independent candidates, 12th grade high school students and students studying the regular education program will sit the examination together. Mr. Trinh emphasized that at those examination locations, candidates are mixed alphabetically and arranged into examination rooms with the help of computers. This is completely different from last year when independent candidates were concentrated in one location.

The second is the exam printing stage, the person in charge will be the leader of a Department of Education. The exam printing area is isolated and organized into three independent rings.

Third is the transportation of exam papers and exam papers. The Draft Regulations clearly state the responsibilities of the relevant parties, emphasizing that this transportation must always be under police supervision.

Regarding the exam supervision stage, the Ministry of Education and Training has made some adjustments such as strengthening supervision and inspection of exam areas in a more substantial direction, and changing the sealing method.

"The sealing of the test bag will be regulated in more detail. Specifically, we will use a common type of sealing stamp according to the model and made of easily tearable material; on it will be the signatures of the first and second invigilators and the deputy head of the test site from the university or college. After sticking the sealing stamp on the test bag, another step is to use transparent tape to cover the stamp to ensure that any interference is detected," said Mr. Trinh.

The place where the exam papers and test papers are stored must have 24/7 police and camera surveillance. The deputy head of the test center or secretary from the university or college will sleep there. Similarly, the test marking area also has 24/7 security surveillance. The cutting of test papers is done in isolation, ensuring that there is no connection between student information and the test taker's test.

In the essay marking stage, this year's regulations provide more clarity on how the papers are divided by lot and how the two rounds of marking are done. Checking is still carried out with at least 5%.

"However, we stipulate that in addition to random marking like last year, this year high-scoring papers will be selected for marking to detect any cheating, if any," Mr. Trinh emphasized.

The Director of the Department of Information Quality Management added that a major adjustment this year is that the multiple-choice test scoring will be assigned to qualified universities. The multiple-choice test scoring process will be clearer and more detailed. The test scoring software has also been adjusted, tested and is basically ready to operate. The target users of the software are clearly defined and all operations on the software are recorded for review when necessary. All test scoring data from the scan of the multiple-choice test to the data are encrypted for security..

Although pointing out many technical solutions, Mr. Trinh affirmed that the decisive factor for a safe and serious exam is still human. Therefore, in this year's regulations, the Ministry of Education and Training emphasizes the selection of personnel.

To avoid negativity from educators themselves, Mr. Trinh affirmed that the role of deputy heads of examination sites from universities has been strengthened. The Ministry has also considered installing cameras in examination rooms but has not implemented it this year.

"We are thinking about organizing the exam on computers at some point, when the question bank is large enough, students nationwide are ready and some other conditions are guaranteed. However, taking the exam on computers does not mean everything will be solved because new problems will arise," Mr. Trinh said, once again emphasizing the human factor.

The leader of the Quality Management Department informed that the guidance document with the exam regulations will be issued soon so that in March, the Ministry will organize training for localities and universities and colleges. From April 1, students can start registering for the 2019 National High School Exam..