The Ministry of Education and Training has been considering a new draft regulation on the methods of assessment and evaluation for primary school students that would overhaul the grading system. Assessment and evaluation focus on student abilities and encouragement Pham Ngoc Dinh, Director of the Ministry of Education and Training’s Primary Education Department, said the goal of the draft regulation is to lessen pressure on students, teachers and parents. “Assessment would focus on the student’s capacity, accomplishments and progress instead of comparing them with their classmates. More emphasis would be placed on positive encouragement in order to help students overcome any difficulties and make progress,” said Dinh. According to the proposed regulation, not only teachers but also parents and students themselves would be involved in the assessment and evaluation processes. Teachers would be responsible for closely supervising students in their activities and make precise assessments so they can help each student develop his or her abilities and address any challenges they might face. It would also fall to the teachers to identify their students' strong points and week points and propose the best solutions for any problems. This is to serve as a guide for parents to help supervise their children's studies and apply their knowledge in daily life. The new system would replace the old grading systems based only off results, which were: excellent, good, average or weak. Under the new regulations, students would simply pass or fail. However, passing students would be put into three groups based on their retention of knowledge, memorization and application skills. For students who fail, teachers would have to create plans to help them overcome their difficulties. School principles would be responsible for student assessment and evaluation and reporting these to the offices of education and training. The draft regulation has received great support from many members of the public who say it would be an improvement to the education system. Not all agree however. Others worry that such a new system could lead to ambiguity and possible corruption when it is applied. (http://dtinews.vn/ [1] Jul 15)
