Positive signals from the educational quality assurance model in Nghe An.

remarkable progress

Over 95% of the students at Ethnic Boarding High School No. 2 are ethnic minorities from the mountainous districts of Nghe An province. Three years ago, when they were admitted to the school, their entrance exam scores were only average or above average, placing them in the middle of the province.

However, in the 2022 high school graduation exam, Ethnic Boarding High School No. 2 rose to second place in the province's rankings, only behind Phan Boi Chau Specialized High School.

According to the school's statistics, this academic year, the school has one runner-up in the C block (science subjects) in the province, Nguyen Thi Ngoc Mai (29 points), and one valedictorian in the province, Luong Cao Truc Linh. It is expected that six students from the school will be included in the list of those honored by the Provincial People's Committee at the 2022 high school graduation exam.

Review session for 12th grade students at Ethnic Boarding High School No. 2. Photo: My Ha

Maintaining a high ranking was not entirely unexpected for the school, as the actual exam scores did not differ significantly from the previously committed scores for each subject, with the difference only increasing or decreasing by 0.1 point.

According to Mr. Nguyen Dau Truong, the school principal: "Comparing the results of the students' academic records and the results of the school's six mock exams, these results accurately reflect the teaching and learning activities of the school's students over the past period."

With low entry requirements, the school has implemented many comprehensive solutions to improve the overall quality of education. In particular, since the 2021-2022 school year, after implementing the educational quality assurance model, the school has made many innovations in its teaching and learning management. Accordingly, to organize effective teaching and learning, the school proactively differentiates instruction for each student group. Based on this, lesson plans are developed to enhance students' initiative, active participation, and self-learning through designing the teaching process into learning activities to be implemented both in and outside the classroom.

Teachers at Ethnic Boarding High School No. 2 provide extra tutoring in Foreign Languages ​​for students before the 2022 high school graduation exam. Photo: My Ha

Prior to this, starting in September, the school directed subject departments to develop content and scripts for organizing self-study clubs in Literature, Mathematics, and English for students. Emphasis was placed on direct interaction between teachers and students to address students' questions and concerns about learning and to develop effective self-study methods tailored to their individual abilities. Based on the curriculum framework, the school directed subject departments to review and adjust the required knowledge and skills for each subject, thereby establishing a unified curriculum distribution suitable for the students in each class. Year-end performance evaluations were also based on students' academic results.

Among the top schools in Nghe An province is the Provincial Ethnic Boarding High School, with an average score of 7.19, far exceeding the provincial average. This is a commendable achievement, as for a school where the majority of students are from the Mong, Khmu, and O Du ethnic groups, raising their average scores from an initial 4-5 points to 7 or 8 points represents a remarkable feat.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Kieu Hoa, Principal of Nghe An Ethnic Boarding High School, said: "This is a very challenging course, as students' studies were interrupted for a period due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. However, to improve the quality of teaching and learning, we assigned responsibility to each subject teacher, each homeroom teacher, and provided individual tutoring to each student, especially those with average academic abilities. Before the high school graduation exam, the school organized many mock exams to assess the students' learning outcomes."

Based on that, appropriate teaching methods were organized for each student group. Therefore, this school year, not only did the school's average score increase, but the number of students with high university entrance exam scores was also very high. With these results, the school achieved its "output" goal in ensuring educational quality.

Difficulties, challengesawakeIt is a driving force for teaching and learning.

The parent and student satisfaction survey is one of the new initiatives of Do Luong 1 High School this school year and a crucial step in the school's quality assurance model implementation roadmap. With over 1,500 questionnaires distributed during the 2021-2022 school year, the school received over 1,500 responses from parents and students regarding each subject teacher and homeroom teacher in 39 classes, ranging from very satisfied, satisfied, to dissatisfied.

Feedback form on parent and student satisfaction at Do Luong 1 High School. Photo: My Ha

The implementation process, carried out by the school, was objective and respectful of each teacher, student, and parent. The vote count results were approved by the entire voting committee, and the school principal was responsible for informing each teacher of the results. Teachers who received many "satisfied" or "very satisfied" votes were encouraged and motivated to further develop their abilities. Teachers who received many "dissatisfied" votes were subtly reminded to adjust their attitude and teaching methods.

Mr. Le Duc Hung, Principal of Do Luong 1 High School, said: "The satisfaction survey is an objective channel for the school to assess the effectiveness and quality of teaching and learning for each teacher. Statistics show that some teachers were rated as unsatisfactory, mainly because they still place too much emphasis on achievements, which puts pressure on students. To ensure the effectiveness of the feedback, we do not publicly announce the results to the entire school but only inform each teacher individually to avoid excessive pressure. This would limit the teachers' ability to excel in their teaching."

Professional meeting of teachers at Do Luong 1 High School. Photo: My Ha

Speaking about the educational quality assurance model in its first year of implementation, the Principal of Do Luong 1 High School also acknowledged that there were many difficulties.

However, according to Mr. Le Duc Hung, the school principal, "if we say it's difficult but don't do it, we haven't fulfilled our responsibilities. Instead, we must turn difficulties into motivation."

In fact, at Do Luong 1 High School, despite being in its first year of implementation, the school has developed a well-structured plan, from assessing the school's overall capabilities and analyzing the input of each student to determining the output standards for each class, designing the educational program, and creating detailed plans to ensure the quality of teachers and each student. During the past academic year, alongside focusing on 10th-grade students, the school also prioritized the output of 12th-grade students to achieve high results in exams. Throughout the implementation process, the school used the results of semester exams and mock exams to assess each student's abilities and, based on that, developed appropriate teaching methods. Thanks to these efforts, from 5th place (in the 2020-2021 academic year), the school rose to 3rd place in the high school graduation exam results this year, one of the school's best results in recent years.

At Nguyen Canh Chan High School (Thanh Chuong), to achieve a 100% graduation rate for the third consecutive year, ranking 24th out of 198 schools in the province, the school's management board has persistently implemented a quality education assurance program.

Students from the Provincial Boarding High School for Ethnic Minorities participate in the 2022 high school graduation exam. Photo: My Ha

According to Principal Nguyen Van Thuan: "Our school's entrance requirements are significantly lower than those of other schools in the area, making it very difficult to improve the overall quality of education. Therefore, in the past academic year, to fulfill our commitment to ensuring educational quality, our teachers volunteered to teach over 250 free classes for students, focusing primarily on average and above-average students. The results achieved are the product of the dedicated and responsible work of both the teaching staff and the students."

Nghe An province's ranking has also improved, rising 14 places compared to the results of the 2021 high school graduation exam.

According to Mr. Thai Van Thanh, Director of the Department of Education and Training: Since the beginning of this school year, the Department has issued a plan for implementing quality assurance in general education institutions in Nghe An province, making it the first province in the country to implement this model. During implementation, the focus has been on monitoring and managing the quality of teaching and education, raising criteria, standards, and the responsibility of the heads of educational institutions; organizing commitment signing and evaluating the quality of educational institutions based primarily on the quality of student outcomes. This is considered a breakthrough in educational management, improving the quality of teaching and learning with the ultimate goal of promoting student progress.