Does the survey on the quality of English in Thanh Mien put pressure on primary school students?

According to this parent, the teachers give many tests every day, so her children are very scared. They do not have breaks because the teachers teach during recess. The parents have repeatedly complained to the teachers and the teachers replied, "We are also under pressure because our superiors have forced us to conduct cross-examination between schools in the district."

The reporter worked with a group of about 10 parents in Thanh Mien town, Cao Thang, Chi Lang Nam, Chi Lang Bac communes; the Board of Directors of primary schools in these localities, and the District Department of Education and Training.

According to Mr. LVC, whose child is in grade 5 at Thanh Mien Town Primary School, English is a difficult subject, so many children do not study well and have difficulty doing homework because their parents and grandparents cannot guide them. A difficult subject means having to study a lot, so sometimes the child is upset and rebellious. However, Mr. C's child only has 4 English lessons per week. In addition to the homework in class, the teacher sometimes assigns homework, but the child only completes it in about 15 minutes.

A parent whose child is in grade 3 in Chi Lang Bac commune said that because the grandparents are old and the children's parents work far away, there is no one to tutor their children in English. Their studies depend on the teachers in the classroom. Most of the parents we surveyed encouraged teachers to closely monitor and remind their children in their studies and had no opinion on the issue of teaching English at school.

At Thanh Mien Town Primary School, the reporter surveyed students in classes 3B and 5A. Most of them showed interest in this subject and said that learning English is not difficult, and absorbing knowledge in class is quite easy. Homework is all in the textbook. For grade 5, teachers sometimes give extra homework.

Ms. Vu Thi Hoai Huong, Principal of Thanh Mien Town Primary School, said that the school checks the quality of teaching and learning in classes through observation and random oral surveys. All homework assignments are based on textbooks. The school has not yet organized any cross-sectional surveys in the 2023-2024 school year.

Regarding the information that teachers put pressure on students to study and scold them, Ms. Huong said the school has not received any feedback from parents.

At the two primary schools: Chi Lang Nam and Cao Thang, no cross-assessment has been held since the beginning of the year. From the 2022-2023 school year, when entering the new school year, secondary schools will only organize input quality surveys (grade 5 to grade 6) and organize cross-assessment to ensure objectivity. During the school year, weekly and monthly, English teachers will organize tests for students in grades 3, 4 and 5. Scores will be sent to parents.

Ms. Trinh Thi Huyen, Deputy Head of the Department of Education and Training of Thanh Mien district, affirmed that the district has not yet organized a cross-sectional survey of the quality of English at the primary level. On October 29, 2023, the Department of Education and Training issued a plan to improve the quality of English and IT because these are two compulsory subjects (grades 3 and 4). In the 2023-2024 school year, the department plans to coordinate with primary schools to organize tests and surveys on the quality of English. The survey subjects are a number of students in a number of primary school classes. The department will issue a common test according to the 3 skills of listening, reading, and writing, closely following the program of the Ministry of Education and Training. The principal directs the survey, with supervision from other schools. The expected time to organize the survey at the end of the second semester of the 2023-2024 school year (not yet implemented).

The results of the quality survey are not used to evaluate and classify students and do not participate in the evaluation and classification of collective and individual competitions. These results are only for professional agencies to re-evaluate the quality of mass education in the district, especially English (because for many years the quality of mass English in the district has not been good).

In the plan, the District Department of Education and Training also requires schools to conduct periodic assessments in a gentle manner, suitable for the psychology of the age group and not creating stress for students. Periodic tests must include enough skills and cognitive levels of questions suitable for the teaching and learning of teachers and students... The contents of this plan basically follow the instructions of the Ministry and the Provincial Department of Education and Training.

Thus, the parents' anger about the "cross-check" and the belief that the District Department of Education and Training does not have the authority to issue this plan are unfounded. The opinion that too many English tests are assigned in one day is also a small number. The arrangement of a 4-period English timetable/week at the primary level, testing, and surveying the quality of education is appropriate and in accordance with the instructions.

However, this also shows that teaching and learning English in rural schools still faces many difficulties and the quality is not high. Schools should organize teaching and learning more scientifically, increase appropriate experiential and exchange activities; create a friendly and open atmosphere.