Imprints of a cycle of implementing the 2018 General Education Program

GD&TĐ - The results of the high school graduation exam are a positive signal of the initial adaptation of teachers, students, and schools in teaching and developing capacity.

It also provides an opportunity to review and draw important lessons for better implementation of the 2018 General Education Program.

Professor Huynh Van Chuong, Director of the Quality Management Department, Ministry of Education and Training : Building on the experience and lessons learned from the 2025 exam.

Professor Huynh Van Chuong.

In 2025, the first exam for students studying under the 2018 General Education Program with the new exam format will take place in a special context: coinciding with the implementation of a two-tiered local government system; and simultaneously organizing exams for candidates studying under both the 2018 General Education Program and the 2006 General Education Program who have not yet graduated or need to retake the exam for university admission, with two exam regulations and two sets of exam questions.

Historically, the High School Graduation Examination has always had a significant impact and received considerable attention from the public, individuals, and families. This attention is even greater given the special nature of the 2025 examination. Aware of this, all preparations for organizing the examination have been implemented early and proactively, with the utmost care and a high sense of responsibility. Directives and guidelines for organizing the examination, the structure and format of the exam questions, and sample questions have been issued earlier than in previous years.

Although the exam has undergone many changes to meet new requirements and ensure greater objectivity, transparency, and security, the common thread is that the management agencies and teachers have taken on the burden and difficulties themselves to reduce pressure and create maximum convenience for candidates. The Prime Minister's directive, with the motto "no student should have to miss the exam due to economic or transportation difficulties," has been thoroughly implemented in this year's exam.

In the high school graduation exam, the exam questions are always the most important issue. The exam question drafting council, established by a decision of the Minister of Education and Training, carried out its task according to plan, creating exam questions that met the requirements of the exam organization. The Ministry mobilized more than 230 teachers and experts from 48 out of 63 provinces and cities (formerly), and a question library system was tested in 11 provinces and cities and at 51 high schools with more than 13,000 12th-grade students participating in the trial. Accordingly, the exam question drafting council simultaneously developed two sets of exam questions: one set based on the 2006 General Education Program and one set based on the 2018 General Education Program.

The high school graduation exam has three important purposes: accurately assessing students' learning outcomes; using exam results to determine high school graduation eligibility and evaluate the quality of teaching and learning in general education/continuing education institutions; and providing reliable and truthful data for higher education and vocational education institutions to use in admissions in the spirit of autonomy.

To fully meet these three objectives, the 2025 high school graduation exam will undergo several adjustments. Accordingly, the exam will be designed to assess competence, integrating many practical questions and interdisciplinary knowledge; ensuring appropriate differentiation to serve both the purpose of recognizing high school graduation and providing reliable data on candidates' abilities for use in admissions by higher education and vocational education institutions.

After the exam results were released, the Ministry of Education and Training analyzed the data and published the score distribution for each subject. This included the average score, median, standard deviation, median absolute deviation (MAD), scores below average, scores greater than or equal to 7, the most common score achieved by candidates, the number of candidates scoring 10 and 0, the number of candidates scoring 1 or less, the percentage of 10 scores per 1,000 candidates, etc.

Simultaneously, provide a score distribution for each subject from 2022 onwards for comparison; construct a chart of exam scores for each subject from 2022 onwards; and compile statistics on the top 10 provinces and cities with the highest average scores and the most perfect scores (10/10) for each subject.

Students taking the 2025 high school graduation exam. Photo: Van Anh

Due to the large number of candidates, using only the score distribution may not fully assess all important indicators. Therefore, the Ministry of Education and Training has directed that the percentiles of each subject and adjusted scores be included in accordance with the theory of testing and evaluation. This information provides a deeper understanding and more useful information for educators, high schools, and universities. This work will continue to be implemented at the Departments of Education and Training in accordance with the regulations of the High School Graduation Examination Regulations.

With a highly detailed, transparent, scientific, and independent analysis, the score distribution shows that this year's exam basically met the set objectives, effectively differentiating students and fulfilling the goals of high school graduation and university entrance examinations. In particular, for English, before the score distribution was released, many opinions suggested the exam was difficult and unsuitable. However, the score distribution for this subject is quite appropriate and somewhat reflects the current reality of English learning among high school students.

The English exam addressed the "two peaks" issue seen in previous years, demonstrating a positive shift in exam design towards standardization and increased differentiation, ensuring accurate and realistic assessment of students' abilities. Naturally, fewer candidates took the English exam because it was an elective subject, unlike previous years when it was compulsory. Similarly, the Math exam showed a left-leaning score distribution, a normal distribution, and a sufficiently large percentage of students scoring above 5 points, meeting the requirements for high school graduation. While there were no perfect scores (10 points) in Math in 2024, this year saw 513 perfect scores…

Exam scores and score distributions simultaneously help identify the "picture" of education in different regions and the adaptation of teaching and learning to develop competencies according to the 2018 General Education Program in each school. With the exam format reformed to assess competencies, enhancing practical elements and logical thinking, teaching and learning in schools must be more proactively changed; requiring students to learn effectively, understand the essence of knowledge, and possess reading comprehension and analytical skills, in line with the spirit of the 2018 General Education Program.

The 2026 high school graduation exam will continue to be organized according to the plan approved in Decision No. 4068/QD-TTg dated November 28, 2023, of the Prime Minister. Based on the experience of the 2025 high school graduation exam, the Ministry of Education and Training will take early and proactive steps to ensure next year's exam is safe, serious, objective, honest, in accordance with regulations, and convenient for candidates.

Alongside preparations for the 2026 High School Graduation Examination, the Ministry of Education and Training will also immediately begin implementing the necessary steps to prepare for a pilot program of computer-based testing in 2027; and move towards a roadmap to enable computer-based testing by 2030, as directed by the Prime Minister and outlined in the announced examination plan for the 2025-2030 period.

Dr. Nguyen Viet Huy - Deputy Head of the Department of General Education, Hung Yen Department of Education and Training: The exam shows positive results in the implementation of the 2018 General Education Program.

Dr. Nguyen Viet Huy.

Over the past years, society has paid great attention to the 2018 General Education Program. The results of the 2025 high school graduation exam are also being closely watched, with anticipation of the "output" after a new program implementation cycle. Regarding this, several aspects can be considered:

Firstly, the analysis of the score distribution has alleviated concerns about the difficulty of the exam (especially English and Mathematics), shifting from testing knowledge to assessing students' abilities at different levels of thinking. The number of perfect scores (10 points) in the subjects means that a significant number of students have quickly adapted to the 2018 General Education Program and the trends of the times.

Secondly: In the context of the first exam under the new curriculum, widespread private tutoring was controlled with Circular No. 29/2024/TT-BGDĐT. The exam results showed clear differentiation, with top scorers emerging from rural areas without access to extensive private tutoring. This demonstrates that students' self-study under the guidance of their teachers yielded positive results.

Thirdly: The exam results are one of the important parameters for the education sector to assess the effectiveness of carrying out a large volume of professional work over the past years; from policy planning, curriculum development and implementation, directing teaching and assessment, to analyzing the results achieved on a broad scale. From this, solutions can be developed to further improve the quality of education in the future.

The 2025 high school graduation exam has achieved its main objectives: using exam results to certify high school graduation; evaluating the quality of teaching and learning in educational institutions; and providing sufficiently reliable and truthful data for higher education institutions to use in admissions in the spirit of autonomy. Therefore, the exam plays an important role in guiding teaching and learning methods in secondary education.

Specifically, teachers need to continue innovating teaching methods and assessment techniques. For students with exceptional abilities who adapt quickly to the curriculum, teaching elective subjects related to career orientation requires preparation at higher levels of thinking, guiding them in self-learning, self-exploration, and discovery.

For the remaining group of students, it is necessary to create a friendly learning environment; encourage them to actively participate in learning activities to discover their abilities and aspirations; and advise them on choosing a career that suits their interests, abilities, and family circumstances. Similarly, testing and evaluation should be designed to accurately assess the abilities of the aforementioned groups of students.

Students need to be proactive and actively learn theory in class; conduct experiments and practical work when studying subjects in the natural sciences; be dynamic and creative when participating in experiential activities; and practice self-study methods under the guidance of teachers.

Students need to regularly apply what they have learned to identify and solve practical problems, focusing on applying information technology and artificial intelligence to support their learning activities. Based on this, they can discover their abilities and strengths to accurately orient themselves and choose subjects, studying in depth to prepare for university entrance exams and admissions.

Ms. Phan Hoang Tu Nga - Principal of Luu Van Liet High School (Vinh Long): Students are gradually getting used to exam questions that assess competence.

Ms. Phan Hoang Tu Nga.

The results of the high school graduation exam reflect the quality of education under the 2018 General Education Program, as well as the adaptability of teachers and students. The 2025 high school graduation exam will be reformed to assess competence and be linked to real-world situations.

Prior to the exam reform, the score distribution remained relatively consistent and showed some differentiation. This indicates that the new curriculum has achieved initial success in orienting teaching towards competency development. Students are no longer simply memorizing but are now required to apply their knowledge to solve practical problems.

The practical elements in the exam help students recognize the importance of learning, encourage critical thinking, and problem-solving. The good score distribution indicates that students have embraced more active learning methods.

It is evident that students have been exposed to more active and proactive teaching methods from lower levels of education. Therefore, upon entering high school, they are better adapted to learning oriented towards developing competencies, critical thinking, and applying knowledge to practice. From school experience, it is observed that students have gradually become accustomed to the high school graduation exam's competency-based assessment approach.

Regarding teachers, they have participated in numerous training sessions on the new curriculum, competency-based teaching methods, and assessment methods aligned with the new guidelines. Despite challenges, a large number of teachers have proactively sought out and learned to meet the program's requirements. Experiences from pioneering and proactive teachers have been shared and disseminated throughout the education community. The pressure from the curriculum's reform requirements has also motivated teachers to proactively adapt, meet job demands, and improve the quality of their teaching.

In the future, it is necessary to continue reviewing and adjusting the content of the curriculum and textbooks if there are any points that are not truly suitable, not optimal for developing students' abilities, or are overloaded. More diverse and abundant guidance and reference materials should be provided for both teachers and students, especially those related to the implementation of practical activities and learning projects.

Training needs to be conducted more regularly and in-depth, focusing not only on theory but also on specific pedagogical situations and sharing practical experiences. Emphasis should be placed on developing teachers' ability to create assessment questions that foster competency-based learning, so that internal school assessments align with the national exam format.

To promote competency-based learning, it is also necessary to have sufficient practice rooms, laboratories, libraries, and modern teaching equipment. At the same time, it is important to encourage and support the development and use of digital learning materials and online learning platforms to support students' self-study and innovate teaching methods in the current context.

The English exam addressed the "two peaks" issue seen in previous years, demonstrating a positive shift in exam design towards standardization and increased differentiation, ensuring accurate and realistic assessment of students' abilities. Naturally, fewer candidates took the English exam because it was an elective subject, unlike previous years when it was compulsory. Similarly, the Math exam showed a left-leaning score distribution, a normal distribution, and a sufficiently large percentage of students scoring above 5 points, meeting the requirements for high school graduation. While there were no perfect scores (10 points) in Math in 2024, this year saw 513 perfect scores…

Source: https://giaoducthoidai.vn/dau-an-mot-chu-trinh-trien-khai-chuong-trinh-giao-duc-pho-thong-2018-post740922.html