Students 'turn around' to focus on high school graduation exam

TP - The news that the Ministry of Education and Training plans to tighten early admission quotas for universities has increased pressure on students. Many may have decided to change course and focus seriously on the high school graduation exam.

TP - The news that the Ministry of Education and Training plans to tighten early admission quotas for universities has increased pressure on students. Many may have decided to change course and focus seriously on the high school graduation exam.

Phan Thi Hien Anh, a student in class 12D6 at Viet Duc High School (Hanoi), said that she aims to be admitted to the National Economics University. Since the beginning of the school year, Hien Anh has been studying for the IELTS exam while also preparing for the aptitude test, which is a prerequisite for early admission.

However, upon learning that the Ministry of Education and Training plans to tighten the early admission quotas for universities, I am somewhat worried because the chances of being admitted early will decrease.

"Previously, I only focused on the conditions to get admitted early, but now I have to divide my efforts among many options, including the high school graduation exam next year," Hien Anh said.

According to Tran Duc Kien, a student in class 12A1 at Viet Duc High School, tightening the quota for early admissions will significantly impact the career paths of 12th-grade students this year. This means they will have to invest more time and effort into the high school graduation exam.

Kien chose the combination of Mathematics, Physics, and Chemistry to pursue his goal of entering Hanoi University of Science and Technology, so he prepared for the university's aptitude test while simultaneously studying for the IELTS certificate and preparing for the high school graduation exam.

We hope to have an admissions plan soon.

12th grade students at Viet Duc High School (Hanoi) during a morning class on November 28. Photo: Ha Linh

Ms. Nguyen Ngoc Hue, a mathematics teacher at Dong Anh High School (Hanoi), believes that the new 2025 high school graduation exam format for multiple-choice subjects will have new question formats and increased difficulty in the differentiating questions.

For example, in Mathematics, the sample exam included two additional question types: true/false and fill-in-the-blank, making it impossible for students to study carelessly or guess randomly and still get high scores. The true/false questions provided four answer options; a student received 0.1 point for answering one question correctly, 0.25 points for two, 0.5 points for three, and 1 point for four.

Thus, with a test containing four questions of this type, a student only needs to make one mistake in all of them to lose 2 points. Similarly, fill-in-the-blank questions requiring students to calculate on scratch paper and then fill in the result also carry the risk that, even if the method is correct, the result will be wrong, and the student will receive no points.

Previously, in essay-based exams, students who solved a problem following all the correct steps but arrived at an incorrect result would still receive a reasonable score.

"For those reasons, since the beginning of the school year, many 12th-grade students have not wanted to gamble on the 'last chance' of the high school graduation exam, but instead wanted to focus on early admission methods to feel more secure. However, with the planned tightening of early admission quotas to no more than 20%, students are forced to 'change course' and concentrate on exam preparation," Ms. Hue shared.

Ms. Nguyen Boi Quynh, Principal of Viet Duc High School (Hanoi), said that the draft Circular amending and supplementing some articles of the University Admission Regulations, which includes regulations aimed at tightening the quotas for early admissions at universities, has somewhat affected the psychology of students.

The school encouraged students, emphasizing that regardless of the chosen option, the most important thing is for them to continue studying to build a solid foundation of knowledge for the graduation exam, as well as to prepare for other requirements when universities announce their admission plans.

Ms. Quynh hopes that with only one semester left until the end of the school year, universities will soon announce their 2025 admission plans so that schools and students can prepare and avoid the situation of "not having enough time to react when the water reaches your feet".

Ha Linh

Source: https://tienphong.vn/hoc-sinh-quay-xe-don-suc-cho-thi-tot-nghiep-thpt-post1695743.tpo