Through this year’s high school graduation exam, it is clear that many students choose subjects based on strategy: easy, less competitive, high scores. In the first year that foreign languages became optional, more than 60% of students did not choose foreign languages. In addition, more than 40% of students focused on history and geography in the 2025 high school graduation exam.
This reflects a worrying message: Easy learning and easy exams are the safe path. If this continues in the future, we are unintentionally supporting a short-term mindset, moving away from the mission of education which is to develop a well-rounded person with independent thinking, creativity and practical problem solving. Not to mention, it will lead to a shortage of high-quality human resources for key fields of science and technology.
From this reality, it is necessary to adjust so that the exam is designed not to be difficult but to be done correctly. An essay puts students in a social situation to present their personal views, a math problem simulates a hypothetical economic situation, or a foreign language problem is associated with a real communication context. That is the way to make the exam a living lesson, helping students practice critical thinking, application and creativity.
In addition, the structure of the exam subject combinations should also be reviewed. Freedom of choice is necessary, but absolute freedom can easily lead to deviation. Students avoiding fundamental subjects such as foreign languages, natural sciences or information technology is causing the structure of future human resources to become unbalanced.
The exam should also become a career compass. Each subject, if linked to specific career groups such as physics with engineering, biology with medicine, foreign languages and geography with tourism - diplomacy, information technology with technology... will help students have a clearer direction for the future. When students know that today's choices can open the door to tomorrow, the exam will not be a race for scores, but become a journey to discover their own abilities.
The role of teachers is also indispensable in the reform of examinations. As Chairman of the Committee for Culture and Society Nguyen Dac Vinh once emphasized: If the examinations are fundamentally reformed, teachers will change their teaching methods, students will change their learning methods, parents will change their expectations, and society will change its view of education. Studying is not only for exams, but also for accumulating knowledge, developing capacity, perfecting personality and integrating internationally. That is the goal that every examination must aim for.
In the digital age and artificial intelligence, if exams only test memory, they will quickly become obsolete. But if they are a place to touch life capacity, thinking ability and development aspirations, then exams will become a real driving force for life. We need to abandon the mindset of "taking exams to finish" or "taking exams to be considered for admission"; instead, we should "take exams to mature", "take exams to look back on the learning journey", "take exams to prepare for the road ahead".
A true exam will not only assess ability but also awaken the candidate's potential, passion and courage.
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/de-thi-tro-thanh-dong-luc-185250719220002887.htm
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