Ho Chi Minh City’s English proficiency survey for high school teachers faces criticism over fairness, organization

Many teachers who spoke with Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper reported technical issues, delays, and mounting frustration during the first two days.

Some said they struggled to access the online test platform, experienced frequent disconnections, and found the test unnecessarily difficult.

A high school teacher identified as T. recounted her experience on the afternoon of April 23.

Despite arranging her schedule to take the online survey at 1:30 pm as instructed, she could not log in until after 2:00 pm.

After only a few minutes, her Internet connection dropped.

"I called the support hotline repeatedly but couldn't get through. When I finally did, I only had five minutes left to complete the test. I couldn't finish, so I failed," T. said, expressing her frustration.

Sharing a similar ordeal, another teacher, A., said, "The survey was supposed to take two hours, but I spent the entire afternoon waiting. The Internet connection kept dropping, and I couldn't reach the support hotline. This not only affected my work but also caused me a lot of stress."

A. called the experience "exhausting and disruptive," as it clashed with the final exam period at his school.

Echoing this sentiment, many others said the survey, scheduled during the busy exam season, added pressure and disrupted grading and proctoring duties.

Online teacher forums buzzed with discussions about the difficulty of the English proficiency survey.

M., a teacher, complained, "Looking at the reading section gave me vertigo!"

Other teachers also criticized the difficulty of the test, which they said resembled a C1-level academic English exam, with heavy content in psychology, biology, and literature.

Alarmingly, even English language teachers found the survey exceptionally challenging. 

In one instance, the head of the English department at a school reportedly only achieved an average score. 

To deal with such difficulty, many teachers reportedly resorted to asking others to take the test on their behalf, raising concerns about the survey’s integrity.

"At my school, some subject teachers asked students with good English skills to take the test for them. Others sought help from native English teachers. As a result, some English teachers scored lower than those who had someone else take the test," a teacher called N. told Tuoi Tre.

Explaining the motivation behind seeking proxy test-takers, one teacher admitted to "fearing embarrassment and also fearing having to retake the test."

Critics also pointed out that allowing teachers to complete the test remotely without supervision enabled dishonest practices, making the results unreliable.

Many called for future assessments to be conducted in controlled environments to ensure fairness and accuracy.

Lots of teachers told Tuoi Tre that the Department of Education and Training should collect and compile data on standardized international certificates that teachers have independently obtained to assess their English proficiency, thereby avoiding costly testing.

They also cautioned against a one-size-fits-all approach that prioritizes English, noting that many teachers may excel in other foreign languages such as Chinese, Japanese, or Korean.

In response, Ho Tan Minh, chief of office of the Department of Education and Training, clarified that the survey, designed by Cambridge Assessment English, is solely to collect overall English proficiency data for future planning.

Individual results will remain confidential and will not impact promotions or evaluations.

Minh explained the survey is part of a broader effort to build a roadmap for introducing English as a second language in schools.

Future assessments will also cover students, infrastructure, and teaching programs before any policy is finalized.

Nevertheless, many teachers questioned the necessity of testing all teachers, especially those teaching subjects unrelated to English, and called for clearer communication on the survey’s objectives and next steps.