Allowed to retake the exam based on the curriculum studied.

anhbaitren(1).jpg — Students taking the 2023 high school graduation exam in Hanoi . Photo: Quang Vinh.

Accordingly, from 2025, students who did not pass the high school graduation exam in 2024 and previous years will be allowed to take the graduation exam based on the general education curriculum they have already studied, while ensuring their full rights are protected. This will be included in the transitional provisions of the Circular promulgating the Regulations on the High School Graduation Exam from 2025.

The 2024 high school graduation exam is the last graduation exam under the 2006 General Education Program. 2025 will be the first high school graduation exam under the 2018 General Education Program. Therefore, students preparing for the 2024 high school graduation exam are very worried that if they fail, they will have to retake the exam in 2025 using the 2018 General Education Program exam, even though they have studied for 12 years using textbooks from the 2006 General Education Program.

Previously, at the end of 2023, the Ministry of Education and Training announced a decision on the high school graduation exam plan starting in 2025. Candidates will take four subjects: two compulsory and two elective. Deputy Minister of Education and Training Pham Ngoc Thuong affirmed that the "unwavering" principle is to ensure the legitimate rights and interests of students. For students who failed the high school graduation exam under the 2006 General Education Program, the Ministry of Education and Training will consider organizing the exam in 2025 but with two different exam formats. One exam will follow the 2018 General Education Program, and the other will follow the 2006 General Education Program.

According to Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Ha, Deputy Director of the Quality Management Department (Ministry of Education and Training), the general principle is that students will be tested according to the curriculum they follow. Therefore, students can rest assured that they will not be tested according to the 2006 General Education Program but rather the 2018 General Education Program.

Regarding the concerns of many candidates about the content and curriculum of the 2024 high school graduation exam, Professor Huynh Van Chuong, Director of the Quality Management Department of the Ministry of Education and Training, stated that the exam structure will not change this year because it is the final year of the exam under the 2006 general education program. Maintaining a stable structure aims to avoid disruption and reassure students. However, according to Professor Chuong, the 2024 graduation exam will have some additional points to note. Specifically, some application-based questions will focus on practical situations and have a higher level of differentiation to help universities differentiate candidates and potentially use them for university admissions. Some questions will gradually approach competency assessment and be geared towards the 2025 high school graduation exam.

Candidates should note that the high school graduation exam needs to achieve three objectives: Firstly, it serves to determine graduation eligibility; secondly, it allows schools to assess the teaching and learning process over the three years and potentially use the results for university, college, and vocational school admissions. In recent years, nearly 60% of universities and colleges have used the results of the high school graduation exam for admissions. The Quality Management Department is advising the Ministry of Education and Training to continue using the high school graduation exam results as a basis for university admissions, in line with the autonomy of educational institutions.

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The Ministry of Education and Training will study the roadmap and criteria for building a common exam question library/bank when conditions are met to decentralize the organization of quality assessment exams at the high school level to localities and educational institutions, replacing the current method of a single national exam held in the same location.

Regarding the roadmap for the high school graduation exam under the new general education program, from 2025 to 2030, the paper-based exam method will remain stable. After 2030, a pilot program for computer-based testing will be implemented for multiple-choice subjects in localities that meet the necessary conditions (a combination of paper-based and computer-based testing may be possible). Once all localities nationwide meet the conditions, the high school graduation exam will be conducted on computers for all multiple-choice subjects.

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