Circular 22 on student assessment in Vietnam

What are regulations on student assment according to Circular 22 in Vietnam?

Circular 22 on student assessment is Circular 22/2021/TT-BGDDT, the assessment of lower secondary school and upper secondary school students is issued by the Minister of Education and Training.

Based on Article 1 of Circular 22/2021/TT-BGDDT:

- Circular 22/2021/TT-BGDDT stipulates the assessment of the learning and practice outcomes of lower secondary school and upper secondary school students (hereinafter referred to as students), which includes assessment of learning and practice outcomes; usage of assessment results; responsibilities of agencies, organizations, and individuals.

- Circular 22/2021/TT-BGDDT applies to lower secondary schools, upper secondary schools, schools with multiple educational levels, specialized schools, and other educational institutions that implement the General Education Program issued by the Minister of Education and Training (hereinafter referred to as the General Education Program), agencies, organizations, and related individuals.

Circular 22 on student assessment in Vietnam​ (Image from the Internet)

What is the purpose of student assessment under Circular 22?

Based on Article 3 of Circular 22/2021/TT-BGDDT, Circular 22 aims to:

Assess to determine the level of completion of the practice and learning tasks of students according to the requirements specified in the General Education Program.

Provide accurate and prompt information for students to adjust their practice and learning activities; for educational administrators and teachers to adjust teaching activities.

What are the forms of student assessment according to Circular 22 in Vietnam?

Based on Article 5 of Circular 22/2021/TT-BGDDT, the forms of student assessment according to Circular 22 include:

* Assessment by Comments

- Teachers use spoken or written forms to comment on the implementation of students' practice and learning tasks; comment on the progress, outstanding strengths, and main limitations of students during their practice and learning process; assess the results of students' practice and learning.

- Students use spoken or written forms to self-assess the implementation of their practice and learning tasks, progress, outstanding strengths, and main limitations.

- Parents, agencies, organizations, and individuals participating in the education process of students provide feedback on the implementation of students' practice and learning tasks.

- Assessment by comments on students' practice and learning results is used in regular assessments and periodic assessments through forms of testing, evaluating the implementation of students' practice and learning tasks suitable to the specifics of each subject.

* Assessment by Scores

- Teachers use scores to assess students' practice and learning outcomes.

- Assessment by scores is used in regular assessments and periodic assessments through various forms of testing, evaluating the implementation of students' practice and learning tasks suitable to the specifics of each subject.

* Forms of Assessment for Subjects

- Assessment by comments for subjects: Physical Education, Arts, Music, Fine Arts, Local Education Content, Experiential Activities, Career Orientation; learning outcomes by subjects are assessed by comments according to one of two levels: Pass, Not Passed.

- Assessment by comments combined with scores for subjects in the General Education Program, except for the subjects specified in point a of this clause; learning outcomes by subjects are assessed by scores on a 10-point scale. If another scale is used, it must be converted to a 10-point scale. Assessment scores are integers or decimals rounded to the nearest first decimal place.

Circular 22 also stipulates regular assessment (according to Article 6 of Circular 22/2021/TT-BGDDT) as follows:

- Regular assessments are conducted through: Q&A, writing, presentations, practice, experiments, learning products.

- For a subject, each student is tested and assessed multiple times, selecting a number of checks and assessments appropriate to the teaching progress according to the professional group's educational plan. The assessment result is recorded in the student tracking and assessment book (by class) for use in assessing the learning outcomes according to Clause 1 Article 9 of Circular 22/2021/TT-BGDDT, as follows:

+ For subjects assessed by comments (excluding learning thematic clusters): 2 times each semester.

+ For subjects assessed by comments combined with scores (excluding learning thematic clusters), the number of regular assessment scores (hereinafter abbreviated as RAS) each semester is:

++ Subjects with 35 periods/year: 2 RAS.

++ Subjects with over 35 periods/year to 70 periods/year: 3 RAS.

++ Subjects with over 70 periods/year: 4 RAS.

+ For learning thematic clusters of subjects at the upper secondary school level, each student is tested and assessed for each learning theme, selecting the result of one test and assessment as the learning thematic cluster assessment result.

The assessment results of learning thematic clusters are counted as one regular assessment of that subject and recorded in the student tracking and assessment book (by class) for use in assessing learning outcomes according to Clause 1 Article 9 of Circular 22/2021/TT-BGDDT.

Additionally, Article 7 of Circular 22/2021/TT-BGDDT also stipulates periodic assessment as follows:

- Periodic assessments (not applied to learning thematic clusters) include mid-term and end-term assessments, conducted through: tests (on paper or on computer), practical exercises, learning projects.

+ The duration for tests (on paper or on computer) for subjects (excluding learning thematic clusters) with up to 70 periods/year is 45 minutes, for subjects (excluding learning thematic clusters) with over 70 periods/year is 60 to 90 minutes; for specialized subjects, a maximum of 120 minutes.

+ For tests (on paper or on computer) assessed by scores, the test is constructed based on a matrix, specification description, meeting the requirements of the subject as stipulated in the General Education Program.

+ For tests (on paper or on computer) assessed by comments, practical exercises, learning projects, there must be guides and assessment criteria according to the requirements of the subject as stipulated in the General Education Program before implementation.

- Each semester, each subject assessed by comments has one mid-term and one end-term assessment.

- Each semester, each subject assessed by comments combined with scores has one mid-term assessment score (abbreviated as MAS) and one end-term assessment score (abbreviated as EAS).

- Students who do not participate in the required number of assessments according to Clauses 2 and 3 of Article 7 of Circular 22/2021/TT-BGDDT for reasons beyond their control are allowed make-up assessments corresponding to the missing assessments. The make-up assessments are conducted each semester.

- In case students do not participate in make-up assessments according to Clause 4 of Article 7 of Circular 22/2021/TT-BGDDT, they are assessed as Not Passed or receive a score of 0 (zero) for the missing assessments.