Ho Chi Minh City National University plans registration time and structure of the 2026 capacity assessment exam

GD&TĐ - It is expected that the Ho Chi Minh City National University's capacity assessment exam will take place in two rounds, in April and May 2026, with a stable exam structure, following international standards.

On the afternoon of December 5, Ho Chi Minh City National University (VNU) held a conference to summarize the virtual filtering work in the South and organize the 2025 capacity assessment exam, and plan for implementation in 2026.

In 2025, the Competency Assessment Test (CAT) administered by VNU-HCM continues to affirm its pivotal role in the admission strategy with more than 152,000 candidates, over 223,000 registrations at 55 testing sites in 25 localities nationwide. The validity and reliability of the test continue to be consolidated and improved, demonstrated through a stable score range and high differentiation ability.

In 2025, 111 higher education institutions will use exam results in admission; in the Ho Chi Minh City National University system alone, this method accounts for about 56.32% of the target.

According to Dr. Nguyen Quoc Chinh, Director of the Center for Testing and Training Quality Assessment (VNU-HCM), the 2026 National High School Graduation Exam is expected to continue to be held in two rounds on April 5 and May 24, before the high school graduation exam at the same time in many localities.

Previously, candidates could register for the first round of the exam from January 24 to February 23, with results announced on April 17. The second round of the National High School Exam could be registered from April 18 to April 25, with results announced on June 6.

Regarding the exam structure, according to Dr. Nguyen Quoc Chinh, Ho Chi Minh City National University maintains the exam in a stable manner using objective multiple-choice paper-based testing methods. The exam structure remains unchanged, with an increase in the number of questions in the Vietnamese, English, and Math sections to help increase reliability and differentiation.

The scientific thinking section has adjusted the form and way of asking questions with the aim of assessing candidates' ability in logic and scientific reasoning to solve real-life situations in the fields of science, technology, economics and society.

“The structure and content have many similarities with international standardized tests such as SAT (USA), PET (Israel), GAT (Thailand),” said Dr. Chinh.

Regarding the exam locations, the 2026 National High School Exam will be held in 15 localities from Hue City to the South. The exam locations will remain stable as in previous years and there are expected to be some new exam locations to meet the needs of candidates.

Associate Professor Dr. Tran Cao Vinh, Vice President of VNU-HCM, spoke at the conference. Photo: Organizing Committee.

According to Associate Professor Dr. Tran Cao Vinh, Vice President of Ho Chi Minh City National University, the National High School Exam continues to affirm its role as an important pillar in the enrollment strategy of Ho Chi Minh City National University and is a method trusted and accepted by society.

The test structure has been adjusted to be more suitable with the 2018 General Education Program, enhancing the assessment of thinking ability, analysis, synthesis and problem-solving ability.

The Scientific Thinking section is designed with a new approach, focusing on placing candidates in real-life situations, thereby measuring reasoning ability and encouraging critical and creative thinking.

VNU-HCM deploys authenticated electronic exam result certificates, along with an online registration and result lookup system. This helps shorten time, reduce paperwork, increase transparency and convenience for both candidates and schools using the results.

The 2025 National High School Exam recorded the largest scale ever in virtual screening for admission in the South, with 87/87 higher education institutions participating, more than 1.59 million wishes processed through 15 virtual screening groups. The average virtual rate reached 172%, reflecting the large workload and high coordination requirements of relevant parties.

Source: https://giaoducthoidai.vn/dhqg-tphcm-du-kien-thoi-gian-dang-ky-cau-truc-de-thi-danh-gia-nang-luc-nam-2026-post759461.html