Timeline for the 2025 HSA

Gradually increase the difficulty level of the exam

Prof. Dr. Nguyen Tien Thao, Director of the Examination Center of Hanoi National University, said that the test to assess high school students' capacity is built in the direction of assessing the core capacities required of high school students to achieve according to the General Education Program and in accordance with standards and capacity assessment trends in the world.

Through the knowledge content of the general education program, the test assesses three main groups of competencies that students achieve after graduating from high school.

The difficulty of the questions in the exam increases from level 1 to level 3 and is divided according to the following ratio: Level 1: 20%, Level 2: 60%, Level 3: 20%.

The Competency Assessment Test (CAT) is designed to individualize and assess the competence of high school students according to 3 main competency groups: Creativity and problem solving; Math, Vietnamese, language thinking, reasoning, logic, calculation and data processing; Self-study and discovery and application of science (natural - social)/technology. The CAT consists of 3 parts: qualitative thinking (60 minutes), quantitative thinking (75 minutes), and science (60 minutes).

The VNU Examination Center has developed a plan to organize the HSA exam from 2025 with 06 exam sessions from March to June and serve 85,000 exams/year in a new exam format: Compulsory exams include Mathematics & Data Processing and Literature - Language; Optional exams include Science (choose 3 out of 5 topics: Physics, Chemistry, Biology, History, Geography) or English (for foreign language training majors).

Prof. Dr. Nguyen Tien Thao said that the format, questions and exam papers were adjusted to suit the General Education Program issued in 2018, without disrupting teaching and learning at high school level; and without changing the quality of student assessment exam questions.

The test scores are automatically graded by the Competency Assessment software. The test results are displayed on the computer screen after the candidate finishes the test or after the prescribed test time has expired. The total score of the entire test is 150 points based on the total number of correct answers of the candidate.

Each correct answer is worth 1 point, incorrect answers or no answers are not counted (test questions are not counted). The test score is the sum of the three test parts, each test part is worth a maximum of 50 points.

The result score sheet includes the total score (maximum 150 points) and 3 component scores: Mathematics and Data Processing (quantitative thinking), Literature - Language (qualitative thinking), Science or English.

The 2025 Competency Assessment Exam is expected to be held in the following provinces and cities: Hanoi, Thai Nguyen, Hai Phong, Nam Dinh, Hung Yen, Hai Duong, Thai Binh, Thanh Hoa, Ha Tinh, Da Nang... It is expected to organize for about 85,000 candidates to take the exam each year.

The registration portal for the National High School Exam accepts candidates to register at least 30 days in advance from the first exam session of the year. Candidates can register for a maximum of 2 exams per year and the registration period between 2 consecutive exams is 28 days (including holidays, days off, weekends) depending on the candidate's wishes.

Add a set of questions to the exam in 2025

On August 9, 2024, the VNU Examination Center announced the sample test on the mass media. The questions in the HSA exam are more than 75% objective multiple choice questions with 4 options, the rest are fill-in-the-blank questions.

From 2025, the competency assessment test will add cluster questions in all sections and topics. Cluster questions include general questions and specific questions to develop and assess candidates' competencies from low to high levels. Cluster questions will exploit rich data sources, assess students' thinking in each field and across fields. These are qualitative changes in building a question bank for competency assessment tests.

The sample test provides the question format and test structure for students to build a study plan that meets the requirements of the exam. Candidates can access https://tk.cet.vnu.edu.vn/ or https://hsa.edu.vn/ to take the test on a computer from September 1, 2024. In the sample test as well as the official test, the questions are not arranged from easy to difficult but are randomly shuffled according to a fixed matrix. Candidates take the sample test to get used to the test format, review additional knowledge and skills, and practice time control when taking the test.

Source: https://daibieunhandan.vn/giao-duc--y-te1/cac-moc-thoi-gian-to-chuc-ky-thi-danh-gia-nang-luc-hsa-nam-2025-i385126/