Ensuring fairness for students

The structure of the National University of Ho Chi Minh City's aptitude test from 2025 onwards will be adjusted to align with the 2018 General Education Program. Independent candidates who graduated from high school in 2024 or earlier are still eligible to take the exam, while 11th-grade students are not eligible.

Candidates participating in the aptitude test of the Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: VNUHCM.

Changes to align with the new program.

The Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City (VNU-HCM) has just signed a decision promulgating the structure of its aptitude test, to be applied from 2025. According to the Center for Testing and Quality Assessment of Training at VNU-HCM, the structure and content of the 2025 aptitude test have many similarities with international standardized tests such as the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) of the United States, the Psychometric Entrance Test (PET) of Israel, and the General Aptitude Test (GAT) of Thailand…

The exam aims to accurately assess students' overall abilities, helping universities and colleges select suitable candidates. Simultaneously, it ensures fairness and provides equal opportunities for all candidates to access higher education, even if they chose different subjects in high school. This approach to the exam aligns with the blended learning admissions approach of the member units of the Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City.

Specifically, the structure will retain the Language and Mathematics sections, while increasing the number of questions in these two sections to enhance the reliability and discrimination of the exam. The Logic - Data Analysis and Problem Solving section will be restructured into the Scientific Thinking component to assess candidates' ability in logic and scientific reasoning when solving real-world situations in the fields of science, technology, economics , and society.

The questions in the Scientific Reasoning section are designed to provide information, data, facts, experimental planning, and experimental results. Through this, candidates are required to demonstrate their ability to understand and apply information, determine experimental results, and predict patterns.

From 2025 onwards, the competency assessment exam will still consist of 120 multiple-choice objective questions with a 150-minute time limit and will be conducted on paper. Exam results will be determined using modern testing methods based on question response theory. Each question will have a different weighting depending on its difficulty.

Candidates will choose only one correct answer for each multiple-choice question with four options. The Vietnamese section has 30 questions; the English section has 30 questions; the Logic and Data Analysis section has 12 questions; and the Scientific Reasoning section has 18 questions.

In 2025, the Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City will continue to organize the competency assessment exam with two rounds scheduled for March 30th and June 1st in 25 provinces/cities, similar to 2024.

More opportunities for students to get into university.

2025 will be the first year of the high school graduation exam under the 2018 General Education Program. The competency and thinking skills assessment exams organized by universities will also be promptly changed and adjusted to assess the core competencies necessary for high school students to achieve according to the 2018 General Education Program and to align with global competency assessment standards and trends. This has been emphasized by universities when announcing the exam structure to be applied from 2025, allowing students and schools to prepare early. For candidates graduating in 2024 or earlier, there will be no distinction in exam questions for the competency assessment exams compared to candidates studying under the new General Education Program, unlike the 2025 high school graduation exam which will have separate questions for candidates studying under the 2006 program.

According to Dr. Nguyen Quoc Chinh, Director of the Center for Testing and Evaluation of Training Quality (Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City), the goal of the competency assessment test is to select learners with good abilities, suitable for the specific characteristics of training programs, in line with the educational philosophy and the requirements of comprehensive training. Through the questions, the essential core competencies that high school students need to achieve will be specifically assessed instead of just testing knowledge through memorization.

Furthermore, with the goal of taking the aptitude test to increase their chances of being admitted to a suitable major and university, candidates need to prepare thoroughly by reviewing the sample test papers published by the universities. The Center for Testing and Quality Assessment of Training (Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City) notes that it does not organize test preparation courses, nor does it have any affiliation with any organizations or individuals involved in test preparation activities. Therefore, candidates should be wary of the widespread advertisements for test preparation courses currently circulating to avoid wasting time and money.

Furthermore, candidates should carefully consider which universities and colleges will use the results of the competency assessment exam for admission, as changes are expected in 2025 compared to the 2024 admissions season. For example, from 2025, the Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City will reduce the number of admission methods, unifying them into three methods: direct admission, admission based on the results of the competency assessment exam organized by the university, and admission based on the results of the high school graduation exam. Previously, member universities of the Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City used 5-9 admission methods depending on the institution.

Source: https://daidoanket.vn/thi-danh-gia-nang-luc-dam-bao-cong-bang-voi-hoc-sinh-10294436.html