To reduce pressure in a truly effective way.
From a management perspective, Mr. Trinh Van Ngoan, Deputy Director of the Department of Education and Training of Vinh Long province, expressed his agreement and support for the orientation of the entrance exam to public high schools with two subjects: Mathematics and Literature.
According to him, unifying the Mathematics and Literature exams nationwide would provide a more consistent, transparent, and unified framework for university admissions. This unification would not only create organizational stability but also strengthen public confidence in the exam. From a scientific educational management perspective, this step aligns with the philosophy of "reducing technical burdens" to unleash potential.
Instead of forcing students to mechanically memorize a large amount of academic knowledge from too many subjects at once, focusing on two core subjects optimizes social resources. Specifically, it significantly saves the state budget on printing exam papers, invigilation, and grading, and reduces the intangible costs that parents and students have to bear for extra tutoring, especially in grade 9. However, this is not the ultimate goal, but rather a stepping stone to a more comprehensive competency-based assessment method.
The Deputy Director of the Department of Education and Training of Vinh Long Province stated that it is necessary to clearly distinguish between "academic pressure" and "competitive pressure to get into public high schools."
Reducing the number of exam subjects can certainly help students ease the pressure of studying. Families can also reduce some of the financial burden of extra tutoring, transportation time, and organizing their children's studies.
However, the pressure to compete for admission to public schools doesn't simply stem from how many subjects students have to take exams in.
"The pressure in major cities like Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City stems from the mismatch between the enrollment quotas of public schools and the needs of students," Mr. Ngoan observed.
According to him, if the enrollment quotas remain unchanged, the level of competition will still be high. For example, if the system can only accommodate about 60-70% of junior high school graduates into public schools, while the vocational school system has not improved proportionally in terms of capacity and training quality, the race to get into 10th grade will remain fierce.
On the other hand, reducing the number of exam subjects from 3-4 to just 2 also raises another issue.
With only two subjects remaining, the margin of error in the exam will narrow. According to Mr. Ngoan, the difficulty and differentiation levels of the Math and Literature exams may then need to be increased to fulfill the filtering function.
Therefore, reducing the number of subjects in the entrance exam should not be simply understood as solving all the pressure of the 10th grade entrance exam. To truly reduce pressure, the issues of enrollment quotas, post-secondary education streaming, and the quality of other educational options also need to be addressed simultaneously.
Improve the quality of process evaluation.
Another issue that Mr. Ngoan noted was the risk of focusing on only certain subjects or just memorizing answers when there are only two subjects left to take the exam.
According to him, the "study only what's on the exam" mentality is a real obstacle in educational practice. If the management mechanism is not strict, the phenomenon of unbalanced learning and rote memorization at the lower secondary level could increase, especially in the second semester of grade 9.
In that case, students might focus their resources on exam subjects to increase their chances of getting into 10th grade, while neglecting other subjects. Not only students, but the discipline and quality of teaching in non-exam subjects could also be affected.
However, Mr. Ngoan argued that genuine motivation for learning should not and cannot be sustained solely by the "stick" of final exams.
He cited the experiences of several education systems such as Finland and Singapore , where the quality of learning in subjects is monitored through a formative assessment system, rather than relying on an entrance exam.
Each subject and educational activity has its own value. Foreign languages and computer science, in particular, are increasingly linked to the needs of integration and academic orientation, as well as admission requirements at higher levels of education. Therefore, for students with clear goals, motivation to learn does not necessarily depend on whether a subject is included in the entrance exam.
"The key here is the governance capacity of the industry," Mr. Ngoan emphasized.
Accordingly, if the 10th grade entrance exam is reduced to only two subjects, Mathematics and Literature, the education sector needs to simultaneously tighten the procedures for regular and periodic testing at high schools to ensure discipline in teaching and learning.
The goal is to ensure that students still receive a full curriculum, that subjects are still valued, and that the quality of education is controlled through the learning process, rather than using final exams as a tool to "force" students to study consistently.
Source: https://giaoducthoidai.vn/giam-ap-luc-thi-lop-10-khong-chi-bang-viec-giam-so-mon-thi-post794869.html
