Math scores "destroy" university dreams: Nearly 340 high-scoring candidates stop going

(Dan Tri) - Nearly 340 candidates, despite achieving a high chance of being admitted to university with a total score, still failed to graduate due to failing in math.

Candidates get more than 8 points/subject but fail graduation

According to statistics from Dan Tri reporters, out of 777 candidates with failing scores (1 or lower) in math nationwide in the 2025 High School Graduation Exam, 339 candidates had a total score of 15 to 24.5 points in the remaining 3 subjects.

This score is within the threshold for admission to many majors and many universities. This means that hundreds of students have tried hard to achieve high scores in other subjects but the university door has closed because of a small mistake in math.

The most unfortunate case is the candidate with exam number 050071xx from Ha Giang . He got 24.5 points in block C00 (literature 7, history 8.75, geography 8.75) but only got 0.4 points in math.

Similarly, 3 candidates from Nghe An , Thai Nguyen, and Quang Ninh also scored 23-23.75 points in the remaining 3 subjects but still failed math.

More specifically, there are 39 candidates who achieved a total score of 3 subjects above 20 but are likely to fail graduation because of their math scores. Of these, 6 candidates scored from 22.5 to 22.85 points, 13 candidates scored from 21 to 21.85 points, and 16 candidates scored from 20 to 20.8 points.

This is the subject with the highest number of failing scores and set a record in the past 5 years.

List of candidates with high university entrance exam scores but failed math (Synthesized by: Huyen Nguyen).

The number of failing math exams in the 2025 high school graduation exam increased compared to previous years (Chart: Huyen Nguyen).

The alarming picture

The 2025 math score distribution results showed a sharp decline compared to the previous year, raising many questions about the quality of teaching and learning.

More than half of the candidates scored below average. Of the more than 1.12 million candidates taking the math exam under the new general education program, 635,102 candidates scored below average (below 5), accounting for 56.39%.

This figure is more than 3 times higher than in 2024 (only 17.49%).

Basic statistical indicators of math scores in 2024 and 2025 (Source: Ministry of Education and Training).

The rate of excellent scores also decreased sharply when candidates achieved 7 points or more, down to only 12.23% (137,741 students), while in 2024 it was 45.23%.

The average math score in 2025 was also a record low, with the highest score a candidate achieved being 4.75 points. Meanwhile, in 2024, the average score was 7.6 points.

The average score "bottomed out" at only 4.78 points, the median score was 4.6. In 2024, this figure was 6.45 points and 6.8 points.

The brightest spot was recorded as 513 candidates scored 10. Meanwhile, in 2024, no candidate scored 10.

Only 5 provinces and cities achieved an average math score above 5.

According to Dan Tri reporter's own analysis, 29/34 provinces and cities have an average math score in the high school graduation exam below 5. Only 5 provinces have scores above average: Hung Yen, Hai Phong, Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi and Ninh Binh.

Ranking 34 provinces and cities by average math score, Ninh Binh is in the top 1 but only achieved an average score of 5.406 points. Next are Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hai Phong and Hung Yen... also only above average and below good.

The remaining 29 provinces and cities had below average math scores. At the bottom of the list were 7 northern mountainous provinces: Lao Cai, Lai Chau, Tuyen Quang, Lang Son, Dien Bien, Cao Bang and Son La.

Ranking of 34 provinces and cities according to average math score (Chart: Hoang Hong).

Expanding further to 63 examination councils (equivalent to 63 old provinces and cities), there are only 13 examination councils with math scores above average including: Nam Dinh, Vinh Phuc, Binh Duong, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hai Phong, Bac Ninh, Da Nang, Thai Binh, Ha Nam, Ninh Binh, Ba Ria - Vung Tau and Hai Duong.

Candidates in the remaining 50 examination councils had an average math score below 5.

The 2025 math results are a wake-up call for the education sector to comprehensively evaluate and review the quality of teaching and student assessment.

A long-time exam preparation teacher in Hanoi frankly expressed many concerns about the structure and difficulty of the math questions in the recent 2025 high school graduation exam.

According to this person, the issue of difficulty will need to be clarified so that schools can make appropriate adjustments in teaching and learning because the number of 777 candidates with failing scores, especially nearly 340 students with quite good test scores but at risk of failing graduation, is an issue that needs to be resolved.

Ranking of 63 old provinces and cities according to average math score (Chart: Hoang Hong).

Explaining further about the sudden increase in 10s, this teacher said that last year there were no 10s in math because the 2024 exam had 5 classic difficult questions that many excellent students and students from specialized schools could not solve.

While the 2025 math exam is considered long and difficult, there are no classic difficult questions, so excellent candidates can still solve them.

According to teachers, the group of candidates who are likely to score 10 points in the 2025 math test are mainly students from specialized schools and excellent students. The reason is that this year, the university admission regulations have undergone important changes, students are no longer considered for early admission and will know their admission results before the high school graduation exam.

This forces students, especially those in specialized schools, to focus their efforts on the high school graduation exam, including math, instead of being subjective like in previous years.

This teacher believes that the sharp increase in the number of 10s in math does not reflect easy math problems, but needs to look at the overall numbers to have a comprehensive view.

In addition to analyzing the difficulty and strategies of the candidates, this teacher also emphasized that the 2025 math exam has many other issues that need to be dissected and discussed more thoroughly to ensure fairness and accurately assess students' abilities in the upcoming exams.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/giao-duc/diem-toan-huy-diet-giac-mo-dai-hoc-gan-340-thi-sinh-diem-cao-dung-buoc-20250721024223340.htm