For many years, half of the 10th grade Math exams in Ho Chi Minh City scored below 5 points.
This morning, more than 76,000 students in Ho Chi Minh City took the 10th grade Math exam in 120 minutes. Compared to Literature and English, Math is considered the hardest subject to score points.
Ho Chi Minh City began to innovate the Math exam in 2015, with practical application questions - this is close to the 2018 GeneralEducation Program. However, for the same number of years, the Math score for the 10th grade entrance exam in Ho Chi Minh City was not high, although it was considered suitable for the admission goal of recruiting excellent students to top schools.
Math scores for the 10th grade entrance exam in Ho Chi Minh City last year were clearly differentiated. Of the more than 98,400 candidates who took the exam, over 55,000 scored below 5, including 123 candidates with 0.25 points; 142 candidates with 0.5 points; 188 candidates with only 0.75 points; and 256 candidates with 1 point. In Math, only 49 candidates scored 10 points; 31 candidates scored 9.75 points; 132 candidates scored 9.5 points; 123 candidates scored 9.25 points; and 276 candidates scored 9 points.
In 2023, out of 95,952 candidates taking the Math exam, 44,126 candidates scored below 5, of which 809 scored below 1. In 2022, out of 92,074 candidates taking the Math exam, 41,775 scored below 5.
In 2021, due to the Covid-19 epidemic, Ho Chi Minh City will not organize the 10th grade exam.
Thus, in just 3 years 2022-2023-2024, approximately 50% of candidates taking the 10th grade entrance exam at Ho Chi Minh City High School have a score below 5 in Math.
Why are the 10th grade math scores in Ho Chi Minh City always low in previous years?
The 10th grade Math exam in Ho Chi Minh City in previous years always had 8 questions, with practical, creative applications, but quite difficult.
In 2024, when the exam ended, many candidates burst into tears. On the teachers' side, there were two opinions. Some said the exam was interesting and fun, while others said it was a bit too much.
The Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City explained that the 10th grade entrance exam must classify students with higher and better qualifications into top schools, and students with lower qualifications into middle and next top schools.
"Before the 10th grade entrance exam took place, the exam council created a test matrix, which determined the levels of understanding, application and high application. Since 2014, every year, the math subject in Ho Chi Minh City has increased in the level of applying life knowledge. Students must choose the math knowledge they have learned to apply to solve the problems posed in the questions," said a representative of the Department of Education and Training.
In previous years, the 10th grade Math exam in Ho Chi Minh City was assessed to have a certain structure and difficulty. It included 2 algebra problems in the functions and theorems section, 4 practical problems, 1 word problem, and 1 plane geometry problem. Some questions had new points, such as solving numerical equations to find integers... requiring students to rack their brains.
Mr. Tuan Anh, Math teacher at Thu Duc High School, commented that the exam classified students well because it had practical application exercises, requiring students to read and understand, use broad Math knowledge, and combine to solve problems. The exam was not simply a familiar format.
Mr. Tuan Anh believes that when the education program is in the process of transitioning from old to new, there will be a certain gap between the learning content and the form of the entrance exam for grade 10, causing students to encounter difficulties and low test results, especially in Mathematics. In addition to understanding knowledge and solving exercises to practice calculation skills, students must also know how to proactively connect to reality. Teachers, from teaching pure mathematical knowledge, now need to add orientation to develop problem-solving and mathematical modeling skills, connecting knowledge to reality.
In the process of converting the educational program, the system of documents and teaching and learning experiences of teachers and students is not enough. The learning and teaching methods also need time to change to suit the new requirements of the new educational program.
Teacher Tuan Anh supports the 10th grade entrance exam style of Ho Chi Minh City because of the importance of this entrance exam, avoiding selecting students who memorize, passively study Math, and do not know how to use Math to handle life situations...
"The goal of the exam is to select students who truly understand math knowledge, not just because they memorized the lesson, but because it is an analytical and creative process of thinking, demonstrating intelligence," the teacher said.
Looking back at the math test scores of previous years, Mr. Tuan Anh said that the fact that nearly 50% of the tests had scores below 5 is an indication to review students' learning methods, improve and change teachers' teaching methods, so that learning math brings real value and more and more good students will later become experts who can bring solutions to social problems.
“If we want to have good statistics, we just need to make the questions more familiar and easier, but that means lowering the admission requirements, leading to top schools having difficulty recruiting good students. Therefore, the fact that 50% of students have test scores below 5 needs to be viewed positively, avoiding the sentiment that those who have those scores are poor students," said Mr. Tuan Anh.
Mr. Lam Vu Cong Chinh, Math Teacher, Nguyen Du High School, said that for many years, about 50% of the 10th grade Math exams in Ho Chi Minh City scored below 5, which is a fairly stable rate since Ho Chi Minh City changed the way questions are set to assess students' abilities and knowledge application. This way of setting questions is different from in-class tests, semester tests, and also different from the types of exercises in current textbooks.
Math exam 2025 changes, will it break the "curse" of half of the exam scores below 5?
The 10th grade exam in 2025 will be the first according to the 2018 General Education Program. The math exam will include the following knowledge streams: Geometry and measurement; numbers and algebra; statistics and probability. The test content aims to assess mathematical abilities: Mathematical thinking and reasoning; mathematical problem solving; mathematical modeling.
The exam will require students to apply their knowledge to solve practical problems; encourage self-study and creativity, avoid rote learning; and help students orient themselves on some necessary knowledge and skills when entering high school.
According to the previously announced structure, the exam will have only 7 questions, one question less than before.
This year is the first year of applying the 2018 General Education Program for 9th graders. The 10th grade Math exam in Ho Chi Minh City still has many questions related to practical factors. With such changes, will the 10th grade Math exam in Ho Chi Minh City break the "curse" of half of the candidates getting below 5?
Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/de-thi-mon-toan-vao-lop-10-tphcm-nam-2025-thay-doi-co-pha-dop-diem-thap-2408925.html
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