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Vietnam has experienced significant social, economic, political, and educational changes during the last two decades since the "Doi Moi" policy was implemented. To respond to new requirements required by the global economy, Vietnamese education has undergone remarkable reforms. This article critically examines these reforms in three areas: teaching and learning, curriculum, and governance. New reforms have, to a great extent, demonstrated incredible ingenuity in responding to market requirements and helped to develop a strong labor force for Vietnam. However, pressures to update the education system quickly have brought about severe problems. The article discusses failures in advancing learning practices, and it raises concerns about both the low quality and the poor cohort of teaching staff as main issues facing Vietnamese education. This discussion provides policymakers with useful hints to develop healthy educational policies in the future.

Peer assessment has recently been widely recommended in Vietnamese classrooms. However, there are argumentative opinions about this assessment because it has many conflicts with the learning culture of Vietnamese students. To date, there has not been any study addressing this issue. The present study investigated how Vietnamese students participate in peer assessment and how peer assessment should be designed to interest local students. In sum, 145 second-year students participated in a one-semester study. The results show that the students refused to participate in intragroup peer assessment because they were not confident in exchanging feedback directly and face-to-face. By contrast, intergroup peer assessment interested the students more because they could avoid direct conflicts with their friends and were guaranteed to save face by their group mates. (Contains 3 tables.)