Work hard for the 10th grade entrance exam

Race to revise

Every day, after the regular morning classes at school, THD - a 9th grade student at a secondary school in Nha Trang is busy with a tight schedule of extra classes for the 10th grade entrance exam: Math, Literature, English. D. even takes extra Math with 2 teachers, and English with 2 teachers, all in the form of "one teacher, one student" with the hope of passing the first choice to enter Pham Van Dong High School. Mr. TVD - D.'s parent said: "He has been taking extra classes like this all year, but the results of the recent mock exam at a tutoring center only reached 8 points for all 3 subjects. For a long time, the family has been urging, reminding, and closely monitoring the child, investing a lot of time and money in extra classes, but with these mock exam results, the door to entering public grade 10 is getting narrower and narrower."

A class of 9th grade students at Trung Vuong Secondary School (Nha Trang City).

With the goal of passing the entrance exam to the Math major at Le Quy Don High School for the Gifted (Nha Trang), BTTT - a 9th grade student at a secondary school in Nha Trang - is also studying at a high intensity, especially during the "final stretch". T. shared: "Every day I spend a lot of time reviewing lessons, practicing questions, and taking extra classes with teachers, but I am still worried before the important exam". Ms. NKO - T.'s parent said: "There are many good students around me who are invested in studying intensively, so my child is somewhat pressured. If my child worries about one thing, I worry about ten. Even though I am busy, I still try to arrange time to take my child to study Math with 3 teachers, and study Literature and English at the center. These days, the whole family seems to be studying with my child. I also often encourage my child to try hard, stay healthy and in the best spirit".

Faced with the pressure of exams, secondary schools have increased support, consolidated knowledge for students, implemented psychological counseling for exam season, organized mock exams for students to get used to the pressure of the exam room and recognize the mistakes that need to be corrected. Based on the structure of the questions and reference questions announced by the Department of Education and Training (GD-DT), the professional teams of the schools have researched, implemented, and collected more similar questions for students to practice their test-taking skills. The principal of a junior high school in Nha Trang shared: “The 10th grade entrance exam is a turning point for high school students, even affecting their future career orientation. The 2025-2026 school year is the first year of taking the exam under the new program (2018 General Education Program), so both students and teachers cannot help but worry. The school has instructed teachers to both teach and review for students right in the main class; classify students to have appropriate teaching methods; take advantage of online channels to correct assignments, give feedback, and help students consolidate their knowledge. In addition, the school organizes for 9th grade students to register for extra classes at the school on a voluntary basis...”.

According to some teachers, the change in the way of calculating admission scores for grade 10 in the 2025-2026 school year (3 subjects Math, Literature, English are all calculated with a coefficient of 1, instead of Math, Literature with a coefficient of 2, English with a coefficient of 1 like last year) means that students will have to focus on reviewing all 3 subjects. For Literature, the exam is open-ended, the reading comprehension section will give new text materials that are not in the textbook, so it requires students to research, learn more and practice well their skills and methods of doing the test...

Nha Trang area is still "hot"

It is known that the number of students graduating from grade 9 in the 2024-2025 school year in the whole province is expected to decrease by 4,500 students compared to the previous year; the enrollment target for grade 10 of public high schools in the 2025-2026 school year is 10,525 students (of which Le Quy Don High School for the Gifted will enroll 280 new students), a decrease of about 1,100 students compared to the previous year. Compared to the number of students graduating from grade 9, the enrollment rate for grade 10 is 70%. According to preliminary statistics of the Department of Education and Training, in the first registration round, a total of 11,898 students registered their first choice directly at public high schools and 541 students registered for Le Quy Don High School for the Gifted with their first choice to return to a public high school if they were not admitted to a specialized school. Thus, there will be about 1,900 students who fail to pass the public school entrance exam, of which Nha Trang alone accounts for about 830 students.

Students take a mock exam at a tutoring center in Nha Trang City.

Specifically, 5 public high schools in Nha Trang have a total enrollment target of 3,015 students, while 3,621 students registered their first choice directly at the schools and 459 students registered at Le Quy Don High School for the Gifted who wish to return to public public high schools if they are not admitted to the specialized schools. Fear of competition makes students tend to avoid top schools, leading to the fact that in the first registration round, Ly Tu Trong High School had an estimated number of registrations approximately equal to the enrollment target, Nguyen Van Troi High School had a number of registrations lower than the enrollment target, and the majority flocked to high schools: Hoang Van Thu, Ha Huy Tap, Pham Van Dong. In the localities: Dien Khanh, Ninh Hoa, Van Ninh, Cam Ranh, Cam Lam, the number of registrations was only approximately equal to or higher by about 100 to 200 students compared to the total enrollment target of high schools in that district, town, or city. Currently, although there is no official registration data, the above numbers somewhat reflect the heat of Nha Trang City during each 10th grade admission season.

It is known that, according to the original plan of the Department of Education and Training, May 3 is the deadline for registering wishes for grade 10. However, because this year there is a holiday from April 30 to May 4, on May 5, the Department of Education and Training issued a document allowing to postpone the deadline for registering the second wish for grade 10. Accordingly, after May 9, students are not allowed to change their registered wishes.

According to Mr. Do Huu Quynh - Deputy Director of the Department of Education and Training, the 2025 - 2026 school year is the first year of implementing the entrance exam for grade 10 according to the 2018 General Education Program, so since March, the Department has issued the exam structure, introduced reference questions for the subjects of Math, Literature, and English. The reference questions have a level of differentiation, suitable for the nature of the exam. On that basis, the Department of Education and Training of districts, towns, and cities has directed expertise and deployed to schools for students and teachers to refer to during the review process, preparing for the upcoming entrance exam. At this time, students need to keep a relaxed spirit, allocate review time reasonably and scientifically, avoid excessively cramming to study, which affects their health and psychology before the exam.

The entrance exam for grade 10 for the 2025-2026 school year will take place on June 3 and the morning of June 4 with the subjects: Literature, Math, English. Students taking the exam for Le Quy Don High School for the Gifted will take an additional specialized subject exam on the afternoon of June 4.

HOANG NGAN

Source: https://baokhanhhoa.vn/xa-hoi/202505/docsuc-cho-ky-thivao-lop-10-9fb6b1a/