The fear of the 10th grade entrance exam.

TP - The entrance exam for 10th grade is a terrifying ordeal for millions of parents and students, and everyone hopes this situation will end soon.

0.25 points of destiny

A month ago, NPN ( from Hai Phong ) was constantly tormented by pain due to acid reflux. Her mother, Le Thi Hien Ngoc, said that before the 10th grade exam, her daughter experienced persistent nausea and occasional stomach pain. At the hospital, doctors concluded that her daughter's acid reflux was psychologically induced. Out of love for her daughter, Ms. Ngoc only wished for the exam to end quickly.

Ms. Ngoc also made a mistake that still troubles her to this day. After her child finished the math exam, Ms. Ngoc downloaded suggested answers from the internet for her child to see. The results were not as expected, N became discouraged, and her health problems worsened, causing her to lose sleep all night.

That's why she didn't do well on the specialized subject exam the next day. "It wasn't until she was accepted into Thai Phien High School, her first choice, that her condition improved. Now she's almost back to normal ," Ms. Ngoc confided.

She said that preparing her child for the 10th grade entrance exam was an unforgettable experience, one she would never want to repeat. The whole family was worried, anxious, and stressed for the past few months. For her, just having her child get into a public high school would be enough, because this is a much more challenging and stressful intellectual battle than getting into university.

Ms. Pham Thu Ha, Principal of Ngo Si Lien Secondary School in Hoan Kiem Ward ( Hanoi ), shared that every time the results of the 10th grade entrance exam are announced, her emotions are "divided into two halves." One half is happy for the students who achieved their goals, the other half is downcast for those who were less fortunate. "Yesterday, a parent still called to ask me to encourage their child. That student was still crying because they were 0.25 points short of getting into Viet Duc High School," Ms. Ha said.

Ms. Nguyen Thanh Hang, a friend of Ms. Ngoc, is in a rather unusual situation: for two consecutive years, her child is taking the 10th grade entrance exam – in 2024 it was the older child, and this year it's the younger one. Two years, two fluctuating feelings of anxiety, hope, and anticipation.

According to Ms. Hang, most people want their children to have the opportunity to study at public high schools, or private schools with tuition fees that are beyond their means. Children lose sleep worrying about their studies, and mothers lose sleep worrying about their children's future.

Hanoi has just announced the exam results and admission scores for 10th grade in public high schools for the 2025-2026 school year. Observations show that the pressure is weighing heavily on some parents. "It's true that even with 24.5 points, you still fail to get into 10th grade," confided one mother whose child was just 0.5 points short of getting into Yen Hoa High School. With that score, her child could have been admitted to many other schools, but Yen Hoa High School was chosen as their first choice, as if by fate.

Ms. Tran Thanh Huong, from Hai Ba Trung ward (Hanoi), said that her daughter's exam score was 23.25 points, 0.5 points short of her first choice (Tran Phu High School, Hoan Kiem district) and 0.25 points short of her second choice (Tran Nhan Tong High School, Hai Ba Trung district).

These past few days, the couple has been emotionally exhausted, worried about their child but still trying to encourage her. Their consolation is that their child got accepted into their third-choice university; although she'll be studying far from home, she's still luckier than some of her classmates.

Many parents wait for their children to finish the exam. Photo: Hoang Manh Thang

Mr. Nguyen Van Hung from Thuong Phuc commune (Hanoi) reported that his son did not get accepted into any of his three preferred schools. The family is now considering two options: vocational training or continuing education. The son dislikes both and wants to retake the entrance exam next year. However, Mr. Hung explained that retaking the exam would be very difficult, and a year of self-study, if not properly supervised by the family, could easily lead the son astray. Therefore, the family is trying to persuade their son to choose one of the two options presented.

Ms. Pham Thu Ha, Principal of Ngo Si Lien Secondary School in Hoan Kiem District (Hanoi), shared that every time the results of the 10th grade entrance exam are announced, her emotions are "divided into two halves." One half is happy for the students who achieved their goals, and the other half is downcast for those who were less fortunate. "Yesterday, a parent still called to ask me to encourage their child. That student was still crying because they were 0.25 points short of getting into Viet Duc High School," Ms. Ha said.

Thus, it can be seen that tightening the enrollment quota for public high schools in Hanoi has created pressure on some inner-city areas. Students in suburban areas have great opportunities to study. However, due to the current registration and selection process, candidates and parents are always in a passive position. Each student can register a maximum of three preferences, but parents and students cannot predict the number of applicants to a school, nor can they adjust their preferences after registering for the exam.

Over 96% of the school's junior high school graduates take the 10th grade entrance exam, so even though she knew it beforehand, Ms. Ha couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness witnessing the students' success or failure. Sometimes it's a feeling of guilt. The children do well in class, but due to a slight misstep in the exam, some students fail to get into their two favorite schools and have to study for a "safety net" option. The children are sad, the parents are stressed, and the teachers don't have complete joy either.

Schools are overstaffed, and universities are struggling to find the right candidates.

According to the Hanoi Department of Education and Training, this year the city has enough places in 10th grade at public high schools for approximately 64% of students graduating from junior high school. The number of candidates taking the entrance exam this year is lower than last year, thus reducing pressure.

However, at top schools, the competition ratio is low, but the chances of admission are still difficult. This is because at these schools, the abilities of the applicants are not significantly different, and they are generally academically strong.

Observations show that the cut-off scores for many schools in the inner city have decreased compared to the previous year. For example, in Zone 3, which includes the districts (before the transition to a two-tiered government system): Dong Da, Thanh Xuan, and Cau Giay, 7 out of 10 public high schools saw a decrease in their cut-off scores compared to 2024. This includes top-tier schools such as Yen Hoa High School (down 0.17 points/subject); Cau Giay High School (down 0.08 points/subject); and Nhan Chinh High School (down 0.25 points/subject)...

In Area 2 (Tay Ho, Ba Dinh), 2 out of 4 schools saw a decrease in their admission scores: Nguyen Trai High School (down 0.95 points/subject, equivalent to nearly 3 points/3 subjects); Tay Ho High School (down 0.30 points/subject)... Many schools in suburban areas also saw decreases. For example, Ung Hoa B High School decreased by 1.27 points/subject; My Duc A High School decreased by 1.18 points/subject; Thanh Oai B High School decreased by 1.3 points/subject…

This year, the cut-off scores between schools in the inner city and the suburbs still show a significant difference. This is partly due to the quality of education, but more importantly, there is a lack of competition in terms of the number of applicants. For example, in the former Ung Hoa district, there are 5 high schools, and the cut-off scores for all of them are below 15/30 points (below 5 points per subject). Three out of five schools have a cut-off score of 10/30 points, lower than the school with the highest cut-off score of 15.5 points. The competition ratio for these schools is all below 1 (based on first-choice applications).

Bac Luong Son High School set its cutoff score at 10/30 points, with the number of applicants for first-choice admissions being less than the allocated quota (396 applicants for 495 slots). Minh Quang High School also had a cutoff score of 10/30 points with a competition ratio of 1/0.73… Even in the inner city area, such as Phuc Loi High School, this year's cutoff score dropped by 2.72 points per subject compared to last year because the quota exceeded the number of applicants, resulting in a competition ratio of 1/0.9.

NGHIEM HUE

Source: https://tienphong.vn/am-anh-ki-thi-vao-lop-10-post1757959.tpo