After the high school graduation exam ended, many students and teachers commented that this year's English test was too long and difficult, 'on par' with the IELTS test. Some even said that candidates who scored 9.0 in the IELTS Reading section might not fully understand the test because the vocabulary was too difficult.

Regarding this, Mr. Vo Anh Triet, an English teacher in Ho Chi Minh City, said that this year, English is an optional subject in the high school graduation exam. Thus, only students who have invested in studying, are familiar with the test format and are confident will choose this subject. Therefore, it cannot be said that the test is too difficult for students in remote areas.

Compared to the sample exam that was announced earlier, the structure of this year's exam is similar. Therefore, saying that "the exam is different from last year, students are surprised" is not correct, according to Mr. Triet.

“Most high school teachers teaching the 2018 curriculum give students this type of test. If not, the teachers are not doing their job properly,” said Mr. Triet.

Regarding the fact that the structure of the exam is similar to the sample exam but students are still shocked, Mr. Triet said that it is due to the idea that for many years, "the graduation exam only takes 15 minutes to complete". Therefore, students are not familiar with highly differentiated exams, lack reading comprehension skills, analysis of the exam, and test-taking strategies.

Overall, Mr. Triet said that this was a true entrance exam, with a high level of differentiation. The average number of questions was about 20, the more difficult questions were about 12, and the very difficult questions were about 8.

Thus, average students can achieve 5-6 points. Good students will achieve 6-7 points. Good students will achieve 7-8 points, good students will achieve 8-9 points. Excellent students will achieve 9-10 points.

Regarding the fact that many people think that even if you get IELTS 7.0, it is difficult to do this test, according to Mr. Triet, we need to reconsider, because IELTS is an academic English certificate that is valid for 2 years. Comparing the high school graduation exam with IELTS is unfair, because each test will serve a different purpose.

An exam that shocked many people involved

Teacher Vo Anh Triet said that this year's exam has "alarmed" many stakeholders, including teachers, when he pointed out that students who only learn by rote and do not thoroughly understand the problem will have difficulty in practical situations that require high application.

Therefore, teachers need to teach reading comprehension skills for relatively long texts, with a variety of language materials, and analyze important grammar in reading passages instead of just skimming and selecting. In addition, teachers also need to teach students to recognize and practice how to write coherently, connect ideas, and lead ideas. There is nothing better than learning to write through reading and learning to speak through listening.

This exam also “warns” students born in 2008 and later that knowledge must be understood thoroughly and must be practiced. Language is repetitive and a lack of seriousness in studying will lead to an empty head despite sky-high school scores.

“Students need to understand that a foreign language is a tool, and using that tool proactively and regularly will bring about the necessary proficiency. Don’t think that studying is just for an exam and that’s it. That’s not the case, English will accompany you, helping you open many doors to a wonderful future,” Mr. Triet shared.

This exam also “alarms” parents. Don’t be too concerned about scores, because when parents see scores as everything, schools and teachers will tend to let students get high scores to have good academic records. Parents will happily show off their children to friends and relatives.

“Parents should accept that their children have weaknesses and are not good at certain subjects so that they can support them in a timely manner and help them improve. A class where nearly 100% of the students are good or excellent, even if it is not a specialized school or a selective class, is a problem. In addition, encourage them, do not scold them, learn, do not criticize, and the children will feel less pressured.”

According to Mr. Triet,education must create strong, determined, wise and courageous children, instead of giving them a bunch of certificates, and then immediately looking for someone to blame when faced with a little challenge or difficulty.

“This year's exam has no errors. This year's exam philosophy is correct, bringing everything back to its true nature to review, acknowledge, change and progress.

This year's benchmark scores will decrease and decrease deeply, but there is no need to worry because students will still have schools to study at, with the mindset of knowing who they are, to try harder, work harder, be stronger and to mature," Mr. Triet shared.

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/so-sanh-de-thi-tot-nghiep-mon-tieng-anh-voi-bai-thi-ielts-la-khap-khieng-2416274.html