Ho Chi Minh City's 10th grade entrance exam after the merger: How differentiated will it be?

According to the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training, the assessment level of the first entrance exam in Ho Chi Minh City after the merger will be adjusted to suit the reality and general educational context of the three former localities.

The math and literature exam questions are similar to previous years.

Mr. Nguyen Bao Quoc, Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training, stated that all students, regardless of whether they are from Zone 1 (formerly Ho Chi Minh City), Zone 2 (formerly Binh Duong), or Zone 3 (formerly Ba Ria-Vung Tau), will take the common exam. The exam content will still focus on testing students' ability to apply knowledge to solve real-world problems. Regarding the difficulty level of the differentiating questions, the department will adjust it to suit the actual situation after the merger.

According to Mr. Nguyen Bao Quoc, the exam questions for Literature and Mathematics were basically stable and similar to last year.

In the Literature subject, the 10th grade entrance exam will include two parts: reading comprehension of literary texts and writing a paragraph; and reading comprehension of argumentative or informational texts and writing a social commentary essay. Of these, 40% will test reading ability and 60% will test writing ability, with 20% of the questions focusing on recognition, comprehension, and application, each accounting for 40%.

Ninth-grade students in Ho Chi Minh City are preparing for the 10th-grade entrance exam in early June.

PHOTO: DAO NGOC THACH

A member of the literature exam drafting committee of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training shared that the exam was designed to integrate the assessment of reading comprehension and writing skills, with the content in the writing section related to the text in the reading comprehension section. There was a question about Vietnamese language in the literary text reading comprehension section.

The editorial board members also pointed out some Vietnamese language knowledge that students need to pay attention to during their studies and review, including: rhetorical devices such as metaphor, metonymy, hyperbole, understatement, euphemism, inversion, rhetorical questions, alliteration, and rhyme; onomatopoeia and descriptive words; independent clauses in sentences; explicit and implicit meanings of sentences; imperative sentences, exclamatory sentences, shortened sentences, and special sentences; the difference between direct and indirect quotation; and the use of punctuation marks when quoting directly and indirectly.

For mathematics, the exam will consist of 7 questions, including 4 practical math problems. The content of the test aims to assess mathematical abilities such as: thinking and reasoning, mathematical problem-solving, mathematical modeling, focusing mainly on content from grades 8 and 9.

Members of the mathematics curriculum development committee stated that the assessment scope covers the following knowledge areas: geometry and measurement; numbers and algebra; statistics and probability. The exam will consist of 30% questions at the recognition level, 40% at the comprehension level, and 30% at the application level.

The exam will be geared towards assessing students' ability to apply learned knowledge to solve real-world problems. It encourages self-study and creativity, avoiding rote learning and memorization. The assessment content aims to help students identify essential knowledge and skills needed for high school.

ENGLISH EXAM QUESTIONS WITH DIFFERENTIATION LEVELS APPROPRIATE TO REGIONS

Regarding English, according to Mr. Nguyen Bao Quoc, the level of thinking will be adjusted to suit different regions.

In terms of orientation, the English exam will assess language proficiency not only based on students' rote memorization of grammar and vocabulary but also their ability to understand and apply language knowledge in appropriate contexts, especially real-life situations.

The Ministry of Education and Training has proposed that Ho Chi Minh City select a combined subject test for the 10th grade entrance exam in 2027.

During a meeting with Ho Chi Minh City on the preparation for the 2026 high school graduation exam on the afternoon of May 21st, based on data on the subjects chosen by candidates for the high school graduation exam, Deputy Minister of Education and Training Pham Ngoc Thuong suggested that Ho Chi Minh City could consider including a combined subject exam in the 10th grade entrance exam in 2027.

According to a report by the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training, the trend of students choosing subjects for the 2026 high school graduation exam, aligning with career orientations, university admissions, STEM education , and international integration requirements, continues to increase in the city. At the meeting, the Ministry of Education and Training assessed that the fact that foreign languages ​​led in the number of registered candidates among all subjects once again affirms Ho Chi Minh City's strength in foreign languages, ensuring the requirement to make English a second language in schools.

In addition, Deputy Minister Pham Ngoc Thuong assessed that the trend in exam subject selection among students in Ho Chi Minh City not only reflects the students' strengths but also proves the correct direction of the city's education and training sector in organizing teaching and learning.

"Based on the selection results, I highly appreciate the teaching and learning process in Ho Chi Minh City. The number of subjects chosen for the high school graduation exam in natural sciences by students in Ho Chi Minh City is much higher than the national average," Deputy Minister Pham Ngoc Thuong said.

Therefore, he suggested that in the 2027 10th grade entrance exam, in addition to the two compulsory subjects of mathematics and literature, the third subject in Ho Chi Minh City should be a combined subject.

The exam consists of 40 questions across four sections: phonetics; vocabulary; grammar and communication; writing the correct form of words and phrases based on given information; and reading comprehension, including reading and filling in blanks, and answering questions based on reading comprehension.

This includes two new questions about writing appropriate phrases based on given information to test the ability to read dictionary annotations to find linguistic information and apply knowledge.

Regarding the specific scope of assessment, a member of the English exam committee stated that the phonetics section will test students' ability to pronounce basic vowels and consonants correctly, and to place stress marks appropriately.

The vocabulary and grammar sections require students to have a diverse range of vocabulary types and word meanings according to the curriculum framework. Grammar points follow the curriculum framework, focusing on communication, relating to real-life situations, and the ability to understand and respond to simple language scenarios.

In the writing section, students are required to write words in the correct form to complete meaningful sentences, write simple sentences based on given information, and write sentences using their grammatical structure and word combination skills.

The test will assess students' reading comprehension skills through texts of 180-200 words, information retrieval, and reading and filling in the blanks in a text of 80-100 words.

Candidates in Ho Chi Minh City taking the 10th grade entrance exam in 2025

Photo: Nhat Thinh

THE METHOD OF SHIPPING EXAM PAPERS AND TESTS WILL CHANGE.

Mr. Nguyen Van Hieu, Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training, said that after the reorganization of administrative units and the expansion of Ho Chi Minh City's administrative boundaries, the scale of 10th grade enrollment has increased significantly. The planning of examination sites is carried out in a way that maximizes convenience for students, especially in areas far from the city center, border areas, and areas with specific characteristics. The city continues to maintain a number of small-scale examination sites in areas far from the city center to reduce travel pressure and create favorable conditions for candidates to participate in the exam. At the same time, it ensures that all conditions regarding facilities, security, safety, and examination organization are fully met according to regulations.

Specifically, the department has planned 242 examination sites for the 10th grade entrance exam, including 226 sites for regular 10th grade classes and 16 sites for specialized 10th grade classes, with a total of 6,443 examination rooms. Ho Chi Minh City expects to mobilize approximately 17,742 officials and teachers to serve as invigilators and support staff for the exam.

According to the Department of Education and Training, this year the city will change the method of transporting exam papers and answer sheets for the 10th grade entrance exam to suit the largest scale of organization ever. Exam papers will be delivered to the examination centers one day before the exam, instead of being delivered early in the morning for each exam session as before. Answer sheets will also be collected on the last exam session, instead of after each exam day.

This is the first time Ho Chi Minh City has applied this method of transporting exam papers for the 10th grade entrance exam. Following the merger with Binh Duong and Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Ho Chi Minh City's exam organization scale has significantly increased, spanning across 168 wards, communes, and special zones. Therefore, delivering exam papers early in the morning as in previous years would pose many risks given the vast area and large number of exam locations.

The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training has requested the Ho Chi Minh City Police to cooperate in ensuring absolute safety for all stages of exam question preparation, printing, transportation, and storage; and to protect exam centers, grading centers, and exam question printing areas.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/de-thi-lop-10-tphcm-sau-sap-nhap-muc-do-phan-hoa-the-nao-185260522222555898.htm