The story of the difference between the A00, D01 or C00 combinations raises the question: Is fairness in university admissions guaranteed?
Be careful when converting points between combinations.
According to the combined score conversion table announced by the Ministry of Education and Training , a candidate who scores 28.75 points in the A00 combination (Math, Physics, Chemistry) has the same value as a candidate who scores 27.5 points in the D01 combination (Math, Literature, English). Although both achieve near-perfect scores, the A00 candidate is rated 1.25 points higher than the D01 student.
Although this number is not large in absolute terms, in the context of university benchmarks often being set very closely, with only a difference of 0.1-0.25 points being needed to determine whether a student is admitted or not, a gap of 1.25 points is very significant. This reveals a worrying reality: the admission combinations that are considered to be “equal” actually have very different levels of “difficulty” and “ease”.
A candidate who scores 28.75 points in the A00 group (Math, Physics, Chemistry) has the same value as a candidate who scores 27.5 points in the D01 group (Math, Literature, English).
The problem becomes more serious when many universities recruit students for the same major but do not convert scores, or convert them arbitrarily and without clear basis. The expansion of admission combinations is intended to increase opportunities for candidates, but it also leads to controversy about fairness. When a candidate uses a combination of easier subjects to be admitted to the same major as someone who studies a more difficult combination, the competitiveness and admission standards will be affected.
Minh Chau, a 12th grader in Hanoi , also expressed concern: "I got 28.75 points for the A00 combination, but when compared to my friends taking the D01 exam, I found that if converted, my score would be more than 1 point lower, even though the absolute score is the same. If schools use the same quota for A00 and D01 without converting or converting incorrectly, candidates with difficult combinations will be at a disadvantage. Many students turn to choosing combinations because of "safe" scores, not because they love that career."
The difference in scores between groups causes many students to no longer choose groups based on their strengths or career orientation, but instead switch to groups that are considered easy to get high scores. This causes consequences: students study lopsidedly, review incompletely, and may lead to choosing the wrong career, which has long-term effects on personal careers and human resource quality.
What is the solution to ensure fairness?
From the above shortcomings, education experts have warned about the current way of converting scores, and at the same time proposed directions to ensure fairness in admissions - the core of any standardized test.
Associate Professor Dr. Le Viet Khuyen, Vice President of the Association of Vietnamese Universities and Colleges, former Deputy Director of the Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education and Training, commented: “Score conversion is an important issue, directly affecting the opportunities of millions of candidates. However, the Ministry’s current explanation is still unconvincing, and has not shown a solid scientific basis for conversion.”
In particular, Mr. Khuyen warned about the situation where each university is converting scores in its own way, lacking unified control: "If there is no independent professional assessment council but only relies on internal opinions or a few research groups, it is very easy to lead to hasty application, causing unfairness."
He also said that if one wants to choose a main criterion for admission, it should be based on exam scores, because that is the method with the least subjective interference. In some countries, report card scores are a reliable basis when the quality assessment system is widely implemented and a culture of school quality is formed. However, in Vietnam, report card scores are still affected by subjective factors and do not honestly reflect students' abilities like high school graduation exam scores.
Dr. Le Viet Khuyen.
From the perspective of assessment techniques, Dr. Sai Cong Hong, an expert in testing and evaluating education, said that the conversion of scores between groups needs to be done with extreme caution, based on complete data and a scientific approach. He emphasized that the approach using percentile ranks can accurately reflect the relative abilities of candidates, but requires a large and transparent data system.
According to Dr. Hong, if it is necessary to convert scores between groups to consider admission to the same major, a feasible solution is to standardize according to the actual ranking of candidates in each group. Instead of comparing absolute scores, schools can base on the ranking percentage - a method that accurately reflects the level of competition and relative ability of each candidate in each group.
However, he also cautioned that this approach is only effective when there is sufficient data and a large enough number of candidates. For newly opened majors or those with few applicants, standardization will be difficult, and even counterproductive if there is a lack of transparency. “If conversion is required, it must be done carefully, scientifically and transparently with candidates,” he emphasized.
According to experts, there are a number of principles that need to be ensured in the admission process: First, universities need to use a unified, transparent and scientifically based method of converting scores. They can rely on the Ministry's conversion table or use indicators such as standard deviation and ranking percentile to compare relative abilities between groups.
Second, it is necessary to develop online tools to help candidates look up equivalent scores between combinations, thereby making decisions that are appropriate to their actual abilities, instead of "chasing high-scoring combinations".
Third, in the long term, the widespread use of admission combinations should be reduced, and only combinations that are truly relevant to the training industry should be retained. At the same time, it is possible to add an entrance exam or additional criteria to ensure admission quality, close to the characteristics of the industry.
The Ministry of Education and Training’s announcement of the equivalence table between admission combinations with a difference of up to more than 1 point is posing a difficult problem in admissions. This not only creates disadvantages for candidates studying difficult combinations, but the unfairness in the conversion method also makes students choose combinations for “safety of points” rather than pursuing their passion and true ability.
Therefore, to move towards a fair, standardized admission system that accurately reflects students' abilities, perfecting the score conversion mechanism is extremely necessary.
Source: https://vtcnews.vn/quy-doi-diem-giua-to-hop-xet-tuyen-cong-bang-hay-bat-cap-ar956034.html
Comment (0)