Teacher explains 10th grade math problem in HCMC that makes people laugh and cry

(Dan Tri) - The 10th grade math exam in Ho Chi Minh City is considered to be within the range of ability and well differentiated. Furthermore, each student's ability to do the test will determine whether they laugh or cry.

There were no longer many candidates crying in front of the exam school gate like last year, but at the end of the math exam in the 10th grade entrance exam in Ho Chi Minh City on the morning of June 7, two opposite moods appeared: "some cried, some laughed".

Students at the exam site of Dong Da Secondary School, Binh Thanh, Ho Chi Minh City after the math exam on the morning of June 7 (Photo: Hoai Nam).

After the exam, many candidates felt comfortable and confident when they assessed that the math exam in Ho Chi Minh City was not as difficult as last year. Because of the mentality that "last year's exam was very difficult", many candidates breathed a sigh of relief when the exam was easier and easier to handle.

"This year's exam was easy because last year's was too difficult," said a candidate at the exam council of Phuoc Binh Secondary School, Thu Duc City, Ho Chi Minh City.

According to this candidate, the "difficult math problem" mindset makes students feel more relaxed when encountering a test that is within their ability and allows them to complete the test well.

However, at some testing sites, there were also many cases of candidates bursting into tears after the math test when they did not do as well as expected.

A candidate burst into tears after the math exam (Photo: Huyen Nguyen).

Mr. Lam Vu Cong Chinh, math teacher at Nguyen Du Secondary School, District 10, Ho Chi Minh City, assessed that this year's math test in Ho Chi Minh City was suitable for students and relatively suitable for the 2018 GeneralEducation Program.

The structure of the exam is similar to the sample exam that the Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City previously announced. The exam provides data that is close, easy to read, and easy to understand for students.

In terms of differentiation, the test is neither too easy nor too difficult. The test incorporates practical elements into the problem, forcing students to apply their acquired knowledge to solve the problem's requirements.

The differentiating questions in this test are in questions 6b and 7 of the geometry section, especially 7b and 7c, which are clearly differentiating questions.

This year's exam follows the 2018 General Education Program, so there should be an additional probability statistics section in lesson 3.

Math questions for grade 10 in Ho Chi Minh City, school year 2025-2026 (Photo: Thuy Huong).

In question 3b, candidates need to pay close attention to the question of the problem, which is “Calculate the probability of the event: The customer chooses not to buy insurance type B”. Candidates must pay close attention to the word “not” because if they skim through it and miss the word “not”, they will get the wrong result.

Teacher Lam Vu Cong Chinh assessed that, in general, this is a good exam for admission to grade 10, with good differentiation ability.

“The average score for 10th grade math in Ho Chi Minh City this year is around 5.5-6 points. The percentage of below average students this year will be higher than last year,” Mr. Chinh predicted.

Regarding the fact that some students laugh and some cry after the math exam, Mr. Chinh said that it is completely normal in each exam and depends on the mood and emotions of each student.

Those who did well on the test were happy, while those who did not do well or had higher expectations were more emotional. As for the questions, this year's tests were generally within the students' ability.

Mr. Dang Hoang Du, a math review teacher in Ho Chi Minh City, said that the 10th grade math exam in Ho Chi Minh City consists of 7 questions, with practical, creative, and appropriate applications.

Many candidates expressed their joy when they easily scored in math (Photo: Thuy Huong).

In which, question 6 is a practical math question combining geometry knowledge when solving math problems. This is the strangest question compared to previous years. The strangest question in this exam is also the question to classify students.

In question 5, the spatial figure requires students to reason and think carefully to meet the problem's requirements.

“Overall, with this year’s math exam in Ho Chi Minh City, few candidates will be able to get a score of 10, but there will be more than last year because the exam format is quite familiar. In my opinion, students will have high scores on this exam and the percentage of scores below 5 will be low,” said Mr. Du.

More than 76,000 candidates in Ho Chi Minh City have completed the 10th grade entrance exam for the 2025-2026 school year with three subjects: literature, English, and math. With a total target of more than 70,000 students, this year's admission rate is about 92%, the highest in many years.

If we calculate the number of candidates participating and the quota, there will only be about 6,000 candidates failing this exam.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/giao-duc/giao-vien-ly-giai-de-toan-lop-10-o-thcm-gay-khoc-cuoi-20250607135947168.htm