Thank you Tuan Anh Le!

Dear Prof. Daniel Clark Orey,

I have read the paper  The Ethnomathematics of Vietnamese Algorithms which  you and Ms.Kieu T. Nguyen wrote. I found this paper very interesting. However, some information about assessment in the paper is not correct. Let me correct them.

1)  The first major exam is at the end of primary school, which is year three (age 9).  It is a comprehensive test that covers the first three years of schooling in the subjects of mathematics and Vietnamese. In fact, pupils who finish primary schools take this exam at the age of 11 (grade 5). (Please see Mr Do's table).

2) The next exam comes at the end of year five when students are in grade 9.  This examination covers six subjects, and is concerned with the mastery of material from grades 6 to 9.   In fact: the exam cover four subjects including mathematics, literature. (two other subjects are seclected from the other subjects). If pupils pass this examination, they receive "Certificate of Lower Secondary School".

2a.) Pupils who finish primary schools take this exam at the age of 10 (grade 5). (Please see Mr Do's table

3)  When students complete grade 12, they take a required comprehensive examination including all materials covered in grades 10 to12.  Once students pass this test, they are granted a Certificate of Lower Secondary School.   In fact, students who pass this exams are given a Certificate of  Upper Secondary School.  Note that this exam cover six subjects including mathematics, literature and foreign language. (Three other subjects are selected from the other subjects).

4)   If students wish to pursue higher education, then they must take either a National Examination to attend college or the Entrance Examination for the National University of Hanoi.   The fact is that each year our Ministry of Education and Training has built examinations for all university including National University of Hanoi or Hochiminh since 2003. From about 1990 to 2002, a college or university built examinations itself.

Tuan Anh Le [mailto:lemathematics@yahoo.com]