Letter to the Minister about the National High School Exam: After sweat comes tears

After the 2018 national high school exam, Hong Hoa (name changed) in Quang Ngai posted a letter to the leaders of the Ministry of Education and Training on a learning forum, attracting the attention of the online community.

The female student said she had just finished taking Math, Literature, English and Social Science exams and planned to apply to Da Nang University.

Hoa expressed her thoughts in the hope that the leaders of the Ministry of Education and Training could read and understand the thoughts of students after the stressful exam period. From there, the Ministry of Education and Training would consider slowing down the pace of changing the exam method so that students and teachers have time to get used to it.

I am a 2000 student, just took the 2018 national high school exam. I feel very confused and worried about this year's exam results.

After the life-defining exam, not only me but about 2/3 of the more than 900,000 candidates are really confused and worried about their future with the predicted very low results. Is the gate to university still open or easier when the exam score is only 17 to 22?

I know that the result depends on each person's knowledge and ability, so I tried my best to review and prepare for the turning point exam. However, what can I do when the exam is so long and difficult, beyond the imagination of even the teacher? I do not blame the situation, but the exam is really beyond the students' ability.

90 minutes to do Math test with 50 multiple choice questions from easy to difficult, candidates only have an average of 1.8 minutes for each question. There are questions that take half a page to solve and still cannot find the answer. There are questions that take 10 minutes to find the result. The test is difficult for teachers, how can students solve it?

The English test is considered "highly classified", what percentage of students can do it? I predict about 30% to 40% will get 7, 8 points or more, the rest will get 4, 5, 6. Even with average academic ability, candidates will only get about 6 points per subject.

Previously, the people at the Ministry of Education and Training stated in the press that just reviewing the knowledge in the textbooks is enough to do the test, or mastering basic knowledge is enough to get 6 points. The truth is not as simple as the "theory" you have presented. Could you please think about us students and our parents?

Do you think about us staying up until 1-2am to review, then waking up at 4am to review again? My schedule for about 2-3 months before the exam was just like that, but in return the result was only anxiety and sadness.

I used to encourage myself that I would rather sweat on my notebook than shed tears in the exam room. But no matter how hard I tried, I still shed tears because the exam was so difficult and long. I know many of my friends have negative thoughts due to exam pressure.

After the exam, I had to avoid all inquiries from my family because I was ashamed, disappointed and afraid of making them sad. Seeing my parents working hard and worrying day and night, I was truly heartbroken.

My parents had high expectations for me. They had to work part-time from morning until night just to earn money for me to go to university. But now I think, not only me but many friends are in the same situation. I feel guilty towards my parents when the results cannot make up for the sweat and tears they sacrificed for me.

How will the next generation of students learn and take exams?

I cried after the exam. I cried while writing these lines, because students every year become "the generation of guinea pigs".

This year, the knowledge of grades 11 and 12 is already difficult and overwhelming, so next year, it is unimaginable what the students will have to go through. Students born in 2001 and 2002 will create their own pressure and confusion when they have to review the knowledge of all 3 years of high school.

Is there any education system where students with 30 points are still afraid of failing university and studying becomes a common obsession for students? I ask you to think about students and parents.

The 2018 National High School Exam has passed. Now, I am really worried about my scores and the benchmark. I know it is useless, but how can I not worry?