Recently, many experts have had conflicting opinions about the math exam and score distribution. Dr. Dang Quang Vinh, an artificial intelligence (AI) researcher and lecturer at the Faculty of Computer Science and Technology, British University Vietnam (BUV), also shared with Thanh Nien Newspaper an interesting suggestion from the perspective of AI, hoping that the Ministry of Education and Training will change the math exam in the near future.
Math score distribution in 2025 approaches normal distribution
However, Dr. Vinh also gave positive comments on the score distribution of this year's math exam. The score distribution of the high school graduation exam math exam is closest to the normal distribution, compared to the score distribution of math in recent years. This shows that this year's math exam has high differentiation.
Although the score distribution seems lower than last year, this year's score distribution is closer to the concept of a normal distribution in statistics. Theoretically, this is what we can expect from a standardized test, especially when applied to a large data set like the number of candidates taking the high school exam. In such cases, the ideal score distribution should be close to a normal distribution. Therefore, it can be judged that this year's score distribution is reasonable.
The lower score distribution is actually a positive signal for education . If the exam is too easy and many candidates get full marks, the exam will lose its function of classifying and assessing real abilities.
Dr. Vinh said: "We all understand that scores only reflect relative ability, but a clear difference, such as between an 8 and a 3, still reflects a difference in preparation and learning mindset. In addition, if too many students get perfect scores, it also shows that the test is not difficult enough to exploit their full ability, it shows that there are students who can achieve a higher level, 11 - 12 or 15 points, if the grading scale allows.
Therefore, an evenly distributed score spectrum, not concentrated on high scores, helps us classify candidates better and create conditions for them to demonstrate their maximum ability. That is the positive point of this year's math exam and score spectrum."
Don't ask so that candidates only need to choose an answer.
However, according to Dr. Vinh, from an AI perspective, completely multiple-choice math questions like the current high school graduation exam are not suitable for the goal of mathematics education.
In recent years, many people have been concerned that AI can come up with answers very quickly but cannot explain why it thinks that way. This makes AI unreliable in areas that require rigorous reasoning. Therefore, the current development direction is to integrate reasoning capabilities into AI, so that it can not only give correct results, but also explain the process of reaching conclusions.
And that's what makes reasoning such a unique human advantage, to the point that AI is working to achieve it.
"So, there is no reason for us to give up that advantage. On the contrary, education needs to encourage and promote reasoning ability, especially through essay tests," said Dr. Vinh.
According to Dr. Vinh, in the history of mathematics, we have seen that the reasoning process often brings greater value than the final result. Only caring about the answer and ignoring the reasoning is contrary to the spirit of mathematical thinking.
At the current rate of development, AI will certainly surpass humans in the ability to produce results, especially with purely computational problems or historical data retrieval. But AI cannot replace humans in interpreting and presenting logical thinking processes, at least at the present time.
Dr. Vinh shared: "I fully support the construction of essay-based exams to assess students' ability to reason and think clearly. This is also the approach we apply at BUV.
In many school exams, even in the Department of Computer Science and Technology, a field that seems to focus on dry calculations, students are required not only to give an answer, but also to explain it, either through writing or in class presentations. No one is asked what 1 + 1 equals and then just writes 2.
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/thay-doi-de-thi-toan-the-nao-trong-thoi-dai-ai-185250719210628563.htm
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