Since the afternoon of October 29, there has been a stir on student forums in Ho Chi Minh City about the mid-semester I literature exam for grade 10 at Mac Dinh Chi High School, Mac Dinh Chi (District 6, Ho Chi Minh City).

Specifically, the exam topic: "Write an essay discussing the current promiscuous lifestyle of young people".

The test requires students to do it within 45 minutes.

The test immediately created a lot of controversy and mixed opinions on student and parent forums in Ho Chi Minh City.

Some students expressed that "the school caught on to the trend too quickly, but reading the questions made me cry", "short questions make it harder to get high scores, this question doesn't take 4-5 hours to write, it has to be done in 45 minutes...".

Speaking to a reporter from Nguoi Lao Dong Newspaper , a literature teacher at a high school in District 1 said that using the word "phồng tranh" in the test is not appropriate; the person who created the test should at least have students read an article, or quote a document related to the "phồng tranh" lifestyle. Because the word "phồng tranh" in this test is understood in a slang sense.

On the other hand, it can be said that each student has a different area of ​​social knowledge interest, some are interested in the arts, and some are interested in other fields. Although they are young, not everyone knows the "canvas lifestyle", not everyone knows the meaning of the word "canvas" if there is no clear explanation, or there is a quotation attached.

This teacher added that the above test also does not meet the requirements of a test according to the requirements of the 2018 General Education Program. The test according to the requirements of the new program includes the sections "Reading-comprehension, Vietnamese knowledge and writing". Thus, the above test only meets the writing requirements; the reading comprehension and Vietnamese knowledge sections are not included. This is an emotional test, not professional. It can be said that the length of this question only accounts for about half of the requirements of a mid-term test.

Another teacher commented that the test was limited to only one question, because it was not structured correctly, not to mention that discussing a topic in just 45 minutes was unreasonable and too much for students. "The question must be clear, but this one is not. Students can write freely, but only if it is set in a specific context. Meanwhile, this test is vast and illogical. It does not reflect all the teaching content" - this teacher commented.

Meanwhile, another teacher commented that the "canvas" in this test is understood in a slang sense. The "canvas lifestyle" has emerged recently after many young people were discovered to have falsely boasted about the amount of money they had donated to support people affected by the recent storm No. 3. Although the program stipulates that the mid-term test is conducted in 45 minutes, 60 minutes... depending on the school, in the literature subject, it may only be necessary to test reading-comprehension content, or writing, or a combination of both. However, with the above test lacking scientific basis, maybe the teacher was a bit hasty because he wanted to be creative, innovative, and catch the "trend" but forgot that the test's requirements must always be clear and logical...