Haunted by the 10th grade entrance exam

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

0.25 fate points

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 haunts her. Her child had just finished the Math exam, Ms. Ngoc downloaded the suggested answers from the internet for her child to see. The result was not as expected, N lost his spirit and his illness worsened, causing him to lose sleep all night.

That is why, the next day, the child did not do well in the specialized subject exam. "It was not until he was admitted to Thai Phien High School that his condition improved. Now he is almost back to normal ," Ngoc confided.

She said that helping her child prepare for the 10th grade entrance exam was an unforgettable experience that she would never want to repeat. The whole family was worried, confused, 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 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, Ms. Ngoc’s friend, is in a “unique” situation when her child takes the 10th grade exam for two consecutive years, the older child in 2024, the younger child this year. Two years, two 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 non-public schools with quality tuition fees beyond their means. Children lose sleep worrying about studying, 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, Hai Ba Trung ward (Hanoi) said that her daughter's exam result was 23.25 points, 0.5 points short of her first choice (Tran Phu High School, Hoan Kiem) and 0.25 points short of her second choice (Tran Nhan Tong High School, Hai Ba Trung).

These past few days, the couple felt mentally exhausted, worried about their child but still had to encourage him. The consolation was that he passed his third choice exam, although he had to study far from home, he was still luckier than some of his classmates.

Many parents wait for their children to take 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 the tightening of enrollment quotas for public grade 10 in Hanoi has put pressure on some inner-city areas. In suburban areas, students have great opportunities to study. However, due to the current way of registering and considering wishes, candidates and parents are always passive. Each student can register up to 3 wishes, but parents and candidates cannot predict how many candidates will register for the school, nor can they adjust their wishes 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 cannot recruit all, schools cannot find any

According to the announcement of the Hanoi Department of Education and Training, this year the city has enough places in public high schools for 10th grade for about 64% of junior high school graduates. The number of candidates taking the entrance exam this year is lower than last year, so the pressure is reduced.

However, in top schools, the competition rate is low but the chance of admission is still difficult. Because in these schools, the ability of students who register for the exam is not different and they often have good academic performance.

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, there is still a significant difference in admission scores between schools in the inner city and the suburbs. 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 admission scores for all of them are below 15/30 points (below 5 points per subject). Three out of five schools have an admission score of 10/30 points, lower than the school with the highest 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