With growing numbers of Vietnamese university graduates earning high honors, educators say the answer is not to force grades down, but to ensure academic results reflect genuine skills and abilities.
Editor's note: Graduating with high honors is a recognition of students' academic efforts. Yet as the proportion of graduates receiving top classifications continues to rise at many Vietnamese universities, concerns are growing over grade inflation and the declining distinction of once-prestigious degrees.
In its series "Do high rates of good and excellent degrees reflect actual academic ability?", VietNamNet examines why graduation classifications vary so widely between institutions and explores how universities can ensure grades accurately measure student ability while maintaining educational standards.
Unusual increases in top grades should trigger reviews
University students attend a graduation ceremony at Hanoi University of Science and Technology. Photo: HUST
In a recent directive to universities and teacher-training colleges, Vietnam's Ministry of Education and Training called on institutions to identify, investigate and address grade inflation. The ministry specifically instructed universities not to impose predetermined quotas for high grades or honors graduates, or lower academic standards in pursuit of impressive performance figures.
Dr. Nguyen Trung Nhan, head of the Academic Affairs Office at the Industrial University of Ho Chi Minh City, said universities should monitor grade distributions every semester, paying particular attention to the proportion of students receiving good and excellent classifications.
When that proportion rises unusually sharply, institutions should review their assessment methods and strengthen evaluation requirements to ensure that high-achieving students genuinely possess the abilities their grades suggest.
At the Industrial University of Ho Chi Minh City, academic performance data is analyzed by individual degree program each semester. Alongside identifying students with weak results who may need additional support, the university examines its highest-performing groups to assess whether grading standards remain appropriate.
Nhan said the university has monitored these indicators for approximately five to six years.
"Program learning outcomes represent the minimum requirements students must meet. If academic results show signs of an increasing proportion of high grades in a particular discipline, the academic affairs office works with the relevant department to adjust assessment methods," he said.
"The aim is to ensure that students receiving high marks meet correspondingly demanding requirements, allowing their abilities to be properly differentiated."
He warned that if university leaders fail to recognize upward grading trends or take steps to improve assessment practices, unusually high proportions of good and excellent graduates could persist for years.
However, other educators caution against applying rigid grading distributions.
Dr. Hoang Anh Tuan, acting head of the Academic Affairs Office at the School of Business and Management under Vietnam National University, Hanoi, argued that the more important priorities are clearly defined learning outcomes and examinations that measure genuine competence rather than simply testing students' ability to memorize information.
Assessment procedures, he added, should also be subject to independent oversight.
For academic programs that repeatedly produce unusually large numbers of high examination scores, Tuan suggested adjusting grades using a normal distribution.
He said similar approaches have been adopted at some universities overseas, including in Australia, to help prevent grade inflation.
Independent education expert Bui Khanh Nguyen also proposed using percentile rankings to show where individual students stand relative to their peers.
For example, a student at the 99th percentile has performed better than 99% of the comparison group, placing them among the top 1%.
Such measures could provide a clearer picture of students' relative academic performance while giving employers additional information to assess candidates' achievements against those of their peers.
Universities must measure real abilities and respond to employers' needs
Pham Thai Son, director of admissions at the Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry and Trade, offered a different perspective.
Before tightening graduation standards by making examinations more difficult, grading more strictly or raising assessment requirements, he argued, universities should first determine what employers actually need.
"Large corporations, foreign-invested enterprises and small and medium-sized businesses may have different expectations. Learning outcomes therefore need to reflect the specific industry and job positions students are preparing for," Son said.
He recommended that universities systematically survey recruitment needs across different categories of employers, industries and job roles, using the findings to design more relevant academic programs.
Businesses should also participate in developing learning outcomes, provide students with real-world assignments and help evaluate their professional capabilities.
Academic quality, he stressed, cannot be measured by grades alone.
Information technology students should be able to develop functioning products. Marketing students should demonstrate that they can execute campaigns. Food technology students should be capable of carrying out the technical processes required in their field.
Son therefore proposed that each discipline introduce a "graduate competency passport" clearly documenting what students know, what they can do and what tangible work they have produced to demonstrate their abilities.
This approach would shift the emphasis away from impressive transcripts toward evidence of what graduates can actually accomplish.
"Only then will high grades have real meaning, rather than simply looking good in statistical reports," he said.
Tuan shared this view, arguing that universities should also recognize students' research achievements, entrepreneurial projects and other accomplishments when evaluating their academic journeys.
Such information would offer a more comprehensive picture of students' learning experiences, efforts and progress, while helping employers assess applicants beyond their examination results.
Universities should also regularly collect feedback from businesses where students undertake internships or secure employment after graduation.
That feedback would help institutions determine whether graduates can meet labor market demands, since strong academic results do not necessarily translate into the ability to solve practical workplace problems.
Experts emphasized that these proposals are not intended to reduce the proportion of good and excellent graduates at any cost.
The real objective is to ensure that academic qualifications are backed by corresponding capabilities.
When assessment systems are transparent, learning outcomes are clearly defined and university education is closely connected to professional requirements, grades can become a more meaningful and reliable reflection of what students have actually learned.
Vietnamnet.vn
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