Does this make things difficult for students?

From 2025 onwards, the materials used in the high school graduation exam for Literature may be outside of the textbook. This new exam format will require students to change their learning methods and approaches to the subject matter.

Instead of memorizing sample essays as before, Trinh Quynh Duong, a student at Bac Kan High School (Bac Kan province), believes that the literature exam will have more open-ended questions, requiring students to strengthen their reading comprehension skills and apply social knowledge to their essays.

Nguyen Hong Diep, a student from Pham Hong Thai High School ( Hanoi ), supports the new exam format. Diep believes that students will be able to express their individuality and opinions in their essays. Students will no longer have to rely on rote memorization as before, but will instead focus on learning and practicing question-answering and essay-writing skills to effectively develop their ideas.

Candidates taking the 2024 high school graduation exam. Photo: Le Khanh.

Literature is the subject that will see the biggest changes in the high school graduation exam starting in 2025. The materials used in the exam may be from different textbooks or completely "open," outside of the textbooks.

This helps assess students' reading comprehension and understanding of texts in real-life situations, avoiding rote learning and memorization. The materials may include passages, poems, or situations related to current events and social life.

Compared to the exam format of the old curriculum, the new exam format under the 2018 General Education Program is attracting public attention. The inclusion of materials outside of textbooks is predicted to put an end to the practice of guessing exam questions and to prevent students from focusing only on certain topics.

Commenting on the sample exam for Literature in the 2025 High School Graduation Exam published by the Ministry of Education and Training, Ms. Nguyen Thi Huong Giang - a teacher at Tran Quang Khai High School (Hung Yen) said that the exam has many innovations in the requirements of each section, differentiating between good and excellent students, meeting the requirements for improving the quality of teaching in the subject.

According to Ms. Giang, the sample exam ensures that it meets the criteria for selecting materials and question matrices, and is appropriate for the students' level and understanding. The changes in the writing section significantly contribute to reducing pressure on the first candidates participating in the High School Graduation Exam under the 2018 General Education Program.

The amount of text in the official exam may increase compared to the sample exam. Therefore, Ms. Giang noted that students need to focus on practicing their speed and accuracy reading skills to ensure effective test-taking.

To achieve a high score in the Literature exam, Dr. Pham Huu Cuong – a teacher at the Hoc Mai Learning System – advises students to strive for maximum points in the reading comprehension section, as this section has 5 questions worth 4 points. Even with materials outside the textbook, students with good reading comprehension skills and the ability to answer questions well can absolutely achieve the maximum score in this section.

In the literary analysis essay question requiring a 200-word paragraph, if students possess strong literary appreciation skills and diligently practice their paragraph writing abilities, they can absolutely achieve around 1.75-2 points, which is the maximum score for this section.

In the 4-point social commentary essay question, which requires a 600-word essay, students aiming for a high score need to understand the social issue and express their viewpoints, thoughts, perspectives, and evaluations of that issue. According to Dr. Pham Huu Cuong, students should demonstrate a sense of civic responsibility and their attitude towards social issues such as community life, nation, and country.

Along with changes to the Literature exam, the high school graduation exam questions for other subjects from 2025 onwards will also undergo changes, focusing not only on testing knowledge but also on assessing the ability to apply knowledge to practical situations.

The 2025 high school graduation exam also has several noteworthy new features. Accordingly, the exam will be held in three sessions: one session for Literature, one session for Mathematics, and one session for an elective subject. Candidates will be arranged according to their chosen subject combinations to optimize exam rooms and scores.

Compared to previous years, the exam has been reduced by one session and two subjects, thereby reducing pressure and social costs while still ensuring the quality of the exam.

Source: https://daidoanket.vn/de-thi-van-khong-dung-ngu-lieu-trong-sgk-co-lam-kho-hoc-sinh-10297658.html