How will the 2025 university benchmark change?

How will the 2025 university benchmark change?

According to experts, this year's high school graduation exam has good differentiation, reflected in the more even distribution of scores in the subjects, no longer skewed to the right like in previous years. Statistics show that, in addition to the average score decreasing and the 10-point increase, in all subjects, the number of candidates scoring 8-9.5 also decreased sharply compared to 2024, especially in Math and English.

Candidates need to have strategies in registering for admission.

Sharing with CAND Newspaper reporters, Dr. Le Viet Khuyen, Vice President of the Association of Vietnamese Universities and Colleges, said that, in principle, the score distribution of the high school graduation exam shows whether the exam is suitable for the exam integrating 2 goals, suitable for the generaleducation program or not. According to Mr. Khuyen's analysis, in general, the score distribution this year, including subjects that the public is worried about such as English and Math, is relatively balanced, not too much to the left or right, proving that the exam basically meets the requirements. In particular, the score distribution of English is considered quite good because the distribution has a peak and is evenly distributed on both sides.

“Last year, English was a compulsory subject so there was a difference in test scores between regions, but this year, English is an optional subject so most students with good and fair academic performance chose it. If English were still a compulsory subject this year and all students took the exam, the score distribution would not be as good. This proves that this year's exam is suitable for students with good English skills, not for all general high school students,” said Mr. Khuyen.

Dr. Dang Quang Vinh, lecturer at the Faculty of Computer Science & Technology, British University Vietnam (BUV), also commented that the score distribution of Mathematics has moved closer to a normal distribution, an important feature for exams with the function of assessment and classification. According to Mr. Vinh, scores should not be concentrated too much at one level but should be evenly distributed to reflect the diversity of abilities among candidates. This is a factor that shows that the exam has played a good role in screening and creating conditions for students to demonstrate their true abilities.

“If the test is too easy and many candidates get full marks, the exam will lose its function of classifying and assessing real abilities. Therefore, an evenly distributed score range, not concentrated on high scores, will help classify candidates better and create conditions for them to demonstrate their abilities. That is the positive point of the test and the Math score range this year,” Mr. Vinh shared and predicted that the university admission standard score based on high school graduation exam scores may decrease compared to 2024, but will not decrease too much.

The reason is that many schools have now applied many parallel admission methods such as considering academic records or using competency assessment exam scores. This helps reduce the pressure of competition for university admission based on high school graduation exam scores alone, but at the same time, it also narrows the quota for traditional exam score methods.

Dr. Nguyen Duc Nghia, former Vice President of Ho Chi Minh City National University, also said that the score distribution of this year's high school graduation exam subjects showed good differentiation, which is favorable for university admission. Except for Physics, the average score of the remaining subjects decreased compared to 2024, of which Math decreased the most with 1.7 points. If the university admission is similar to 2024, it is predicted that the standard score for combinations with Math may decrease by 0.5-2 points.

According to Prof. Dr. Nguyen Dinh Duc, University of Technology, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, this year's university admission scores will be lower than last year's due to many reasons, including better differentiation of the exam questions, a decrease in the average score, and a lower percentage of excellent scores compared to previous years. Therefore, the admission scores may be 2-3 points lower than last year, depending on the major and field.

In the context of university admission scores expected to fluctuate, admissions experts note that candidates need to take advantage of knowing their graduation exam scores to choose a combination and major that matches their abilities, avoiding putting all their wishes into top schools without a safe plan.

An important strategy suggested by experts is to divide preferences into three levels: Level 1 is preferences 1-3, which will include majors that candidates love, are passionate about, and have many development opportunities. These could be key majors, with high benchmark scores, and are suitable for the country's development trend in the coming period. Level 2 is preferences 4-8, which will include majors that are suitable for actual abilities, have high applicability, and have clear career opportunities, and have benchmark scores equal to the candidates' scores. Level 3 is from preference 9 onwards, which will include majors with lower benchmark scores and a high chance of admission. This level plays a role in ensuring that candidates are sure to pass university when the previous preferences do not have enough points.

In addition, candidates should also note that in 2025, all methods will be considered for admission in one round, from July 16-28, and these methods will all be converted to a common score scale. Technically, when registering for admission, candidates do not need to register for the method or subject combination, the system will automatically select the method and subject combination with the highest result for consideration to increase the chance of admission.

Source: https://cand.com.vn/giao-duc/diem-chuan-dai-hoc-2025-se-bien-dong-the-nao--i775134/