After the Ministry of Education and Training announced the percentiles of 7 traditional groups A00, A01, B00, C00, C01, D01, D07, many people asked about the percentiles and used this system to convert scores for university admission. Some people also did not understand why 29 points for this group of exams were only equal to 27 points for another group of exams.
What is percentile?
According to Associate Professor Dr. Do Van Dung, former Principal of Ho Chi Minh City University of Technical Education, percentile is a simple statistical concept but has great application value, especially in education .
According to the conversion table of the Ministry of Education and Training, 28.75 points of combination A00 is equivalent to 28.25 points of combination A01 and B00. Photo: Khuong Nguyen.
Rather than just looking at an absolute score (e.g. an 8/10), a percentile tells you where you stand in relation to the entire group of test takers. In other words, it tells you by how many percent of the other test takers you “outperform.”
Associate Professor Dung gave an example: if you get a 90th percentile, it means you score higher than 90% of other candidates and only 10% of candidates are above you. If you are at the 50th percentile, you are average.
"This method does not depend on absolute scores but focuses on the score distribution of the entire group, helping to evaluate more fairly, especially when scores can fluctuate due to the difficulty of the exam," the Associate Professor explained.
With the above characteristics, in the 2025 high school graduation exam, percentiles are applied to ensure fairness and transparency in university admissions.
This year, the high school graduation exam has many different forms of exams, including the traditional high school graduation exam, the thinking assessment exam of Hanoi University of Science and Technology, the capacity assessment exam of Hanoi National University and Ho Chi Minh City National University...
Accordingly, the percentile can be used to convert and compare scores between these exams. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Do Van Dung gave an example: if a candidate takes the competency assessment (HSA) and gets a high score, that score will be converted to an equivalent score in the high school graduation exam combination for general admission.
The goal of this is to avoid “distortion” due to different exam questions, ensuring that all candidates are evaluated on the same “playing field”. Associate Professor Dung also quoted the explanation of the Ministry of Education and Training, stating that this method helps stabilize the admission process, reduce controversy over the difficulty of the exam questions and encourage candidates to choose the exam method that suits their strengths.
Furthermore, candidates can also think of percentiles as a ranking scale in online games. In addition to achieving high scores, players also need to see how they rank compared to others.
What is the percentile conversion framework?
Continuing to explain the aspect of converting scores according to percentiles, the former Principal of Ho Chi Minh City University of Technical Education explained that the score conversion framework is a table or system for converting scores between individual exams (such as HSA, TSA) and high school graduation exam subject combinations, based entirely on the percentile method.
The core idea of this conversion framework is to ensure that scores from different exams will be of equal value when considering university admissions, avoiding a situation where an easier exam leads to an unfair advantage.
If calculated by percentile, the conversion frame will have corresponding score ranges such as top 0.5%, top 1%, top 3%, top 5%... For example, if your score is at the 95th percentile in the HSA exam (meaning the top 5%), it will be converted to the equivalent score at the 95th percentile of the A00 combination in the 2025 high school graduation exam.
Regarding the process of building a score conversion framework between separate exams and the high school graduation exam, Associate Professor Dung said the process is based on an analysis of the score distribution of candidates participating in both forms of the exam. This data allows universities to create appropriate conversion tables, ensuring equivalence in terms of rankings between admission methods.
For example, assuming the admission score according to the A00 combination (T_A00) is between A2 (the high score of the 2nd percentile) and A3 (the low score of the 3rd percentile), the converted score to HSA (T_HSA) will be: T_HSA = HSA3 + (T_A00 – A3) × (HSA2 – HSA3) / (A2 – A3)
Note: HSA2 and HSA3 are scores at the 2nd and 3rd percentiles of the HSA exam, respectively. This formula ensures that scores are adjusted smoothly, avoiding sudden jumps.
Associate Professor Dr. Do Van Dung likened this conversion to comparing height. Specifically, a 1.8 m tall person can be in the top 90% of Vietnamese people, but only average in the group of basketball players.
Similarly, conversion helps to “standardize” scores according to context, which is especially useful when the score distribution between groups is different, for example, group A is usually about 1-2 points higher than group D at the same percentile level.
Responsibilities of schools
When the Ministry of Education and Training announced the method of converting scores according to percentiles, Associate Professor, Dr. Do Van Dung said that training institutions that organize their own exams such as Hanoi University of Science and Technology, Hanoi National University... need to play an important role in ensuring the fairness of the 2025 high school exam. Schools not only organize exams but also have to coordinate closely with the Ministry of Education and Training to convert scores, helping candidates easily use their own exam results for university admission.
Accordingly, the first task of the training institution is to determine the combination of high school graduation exam subjects corresponding to the school's own exam. This is the basis for converting scores, avoiding indirect conversion in the "staircase" style, that is, converting from a separate exam score to one combination and then to another combination, which can cause errors.
The second task is to coordinate the announcement of the score conversion framework. After the Ministry of Education and Training announces the results of the high school graduation exam, training institutions must coordinate to announce the conversion framework within 3 days. Associate Professor Dung emphasized that schools need to be responsible for explaining the scientific basis of the exam method, ensuring transparency and compliance with the ministry's regulations.
" To make it easier to understand, think of training institutions as organizers of their own games in a major competition. They must report the results in a general way (percentile), coordinate with the main organizing committee (Ministry of Education and Training) so that everyone plays fairly. In 2025, with the large scale of the exam, this responsibility will be even higher. To avoid complaints, schools must strengthen supervision and train exam invigilators to ensure safety and accuracy," the former Principal of Ho Chi Minh City University of Technical Education emphasized.
Source: https://vtcnews.vn/bach-phan-vi-la-gi-ma-khien-23-75-diem-d01-bang-26-75-diem-c00-ar955973.html
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