'Connecting' high school and university levels seen from the 2025 high school graduation exam

GD&TĐ - The innovation of the 2025 high school graduation exam will promote the entire education system to move towards developing learners' capacity.

The 2025 high school graduation exam is the first exam of the 2018 General Education Program with many innovations, especially in the approach to knowledge and capacity assessment.

Prof. Dr. Bui Van Ga, former Deputy Minister of Education and Training, said that the 2025 high school graduation exam is an important and necessary step; creating an organic and substantial connection between general education and university.

Study hard, take the test hard

- What do you think about the score distribution of the 2025 High School Graduation Exam?

- Looking at the score spectrum of the exam, it can be said that this is a good sign, a successful start for the first generation of students under the 2018 General Education Program. This is shown through the clearly differentiated score spectrum, meeting the dual goals: Graduation and providing reliable data for university admissions.

Prof. Dr. Bui Van Ga, former Deputy Minister of Education and Training.

The most notable point is that the score distribution of most subjects has a normal asymptotic distribution, with the peak not too high and the score range being extended to both sides. This result shows that the test is better calibrated to properly assess students' thinking ability and knowledge application instead of just testing their ability to memorize. Regarding the test structure, subjects such as Math and English, although the difficulty level has increased, have a reasonable score distribution, reflecting the balance between challenge and students' ability to approach.

Da Nang candidates are confident after the elective exam, High School Graduation Exam 2025.

In particular, the change in candidates' choice of subjects clearly reflects the initial success of career orientation in the new program. Students are proactive in choosing subjects that match their strengths and future study orientation, creating a much more "real" score spectrum than in previous years, accurately reflecting the ability of the group of candidates interested in that subject.

Overall, the 2025 score distribution is reasonable, providing a sense of security about a serious, fair exam that truly keeps pace with the spirit of innovation in general education . This is a step in the right direction, creating a solid foundation for innovation in education and training in the following years.

- Having up to 500 10s in Math is unprecedented in recent years, while public opinion after the exam said that the exam was unusually difficult. According to you, is this contradictory?

- The appearance of more than 500 scores of 10 in Math even though the exam was assessed as more difficult, is not a contradiction but reflects the success of the orientation of capacity differentiation in educational innovation as shown through the exam results.

Firstly, the public opinion that the exam was "difficult" is consistent with the fact that the average score for Math this year has decreased compared to previous years. This shows that the exam has performed its role very well in raising the required threshold, requiring students to think more deeply instead of just memorizing sample questions. This difficulty affects the majority of candidates and reduces the average score.

Second, the appearance of more than 500 scores of 10 also shows the remaining aspect of a good exam: Differentiation at the top of the score spectrum. The exam is designed to clearly classify the abilities of groups of students, especially the excellent group oriented towards STEM majors. These students have a solid knowledge base, superior logical thinking and are well prepared for the ability assessment test format. For them, high-level application questions, although difficult compared to the general level, are an opportunity to show their differences. Therefore, the fact that a certain number of candidates achieved absolute scores is inevitable and commendable, showing that we have a group of truly excellent students.

High school students in Da Nang participate in the STEM course "Programming for Mobile Robots" organized for free by the Faculty of Advanced Science and Technology, University of Science and Technology, Da Nang University.

Thus, the exam results paint a complete picture of the score spectrum: a gentle slope for the majority and a sharp peak for the best. This is the manifestation of a successful exam in meeting the dual goal: being difficult enough to ensure the seriousness of the graduation exam, and having sharp differentiation so that top universities can confidently use the results for admission. This result demonstrates the initial success of the exam reform in the direction of "real learning, real testing", creating the premise for higher education to select the right high-quality human resources.

Separate groups of students with superior thinking abilities

- With the question distribution ratio of knowledge, understanding, and application levels being 4-3-3, according to the Professor, can we meet the two goals of using the results to participate in graduation exams and ensuring good differentiation for university and college admissions?

- The distribution of questions in the ratio of 4-3-3 for the thinking levels: Knowing, understanding and applying in the 2025 high school graduation exam is a very reasonable consideration, clearly demonstrating the dual goals of the exam. This ratio both ensures the assessment of students' basic and fundamental knowledge - a necessary condition for high school graduation, while still devoting enough percentage of application questions to differentiate abilities, serving the goal of university and college admission. I think this is a strategic step that meets both goals we are aiming for.

Firstly, with 70% of the questions at the level of awareness and understanding (4-3 ratio), the exam creates a 'safe threshold', ensuring the goal of graduation recognition. This is the basic knowledge and skills that any student completing the general education program must achieve. This year's score distribution shows that, although the exam is difficult and highly differentiated, the percentage of students scoring above average to qualify for graduation is still at a reasonable level. This shows that the basic exam has done its job well.

Second, and also the key point, lies in the 30% application questions, including high-level application questions. This part is the sharp "measure" to classify and screen candidates for universities, especially schools and majors with high competition.

Looking at the score distribution of Math this year, we can see this very clearly. The average score may not be high, showing that the test is difficult, but there are still a certain number of students who get full marks. That proves that this structure has done a good job of differentiation: Separating the group of students who have a solid grasp of basic knowledge and the group with outstanding thinking ability. This is an important input source for training high-quality human resources at the university level.

As we have seen, the application of artificial intelligence in professional activities and handling problems in life is an inevitable trend. Artificial intelligence helps workers reduce cumbersome detailed knowledge and skills that take up a lot of human memory, so that they can focus their energy on building ideas, developing thinking, designing solutions, etc. Students with outstanding thinking ability will certainly adapt well to the working environment, in which artificial intelligence plays an increasingly important role.

High school students in Da Nang participated in the Da Nang Robotics Competition organized by the University of Technical Education, Da Nang University.

However, for the exam structure to be truly effective, the key lies not only in the ratio, but also in the quality of each question. Application questions need to break away from the rut of trick problems and unnecessary complexity, but must aim to assess students' ability to solve problems related to reality, requiring interdisciplinary thinking and creativity. Therefore, in my opinion, it is necessary to train students with diverse application questions that are integrated and related to reality instead of simply trick problems. In addition, the difference in average scores between subjects shows that the exam matrix needs to be reviewed to ensure uniformity. Addressing these issues, the 4-3-3 ratio will become an effective tool to promote comprehensive educational innovation.

- According to the Professor, from the 2025 high school graduation exam, has there been a connection between high school and university in the methods and goals of assessing the teaching and learning process?

- Definitely yes. The 2025 high school graduation exam, with a clear shift from testing pure knowledge to assessing the ability to apply, has demonstrated a fundamental innovation in the method of making questions. Thereby, students not only need to remember knowledge but also develop important skills such as analysis, data processing, quick reading comprehension and choosing appropriate problem-solving strategies. These are practical requirements, closely linked to the competencies required at university level.

I think that the change in the way the high school graduation exam is designed in 2025 is an important and necessary step, creating an organic and substantial connection between general education and university.

Looking at this year's score distribution and the above analysis, we can clearly see that the exam is no longer a race of pure knowledge memorization. Instead, it requires candidates to have the ability to synthesize thinking, the ability to read and understand deeply, analyze data and apply interdisciplinary knowledge to solve practical problems. These are the core competencies that the university environment requires of a student: the ability to self-study, self-research and critical thinking. When high schools train and evaluate these skills, universities will receive a more qualified and suitable source of input, reducing the "gap" between the two levels of education that we often worry about. The exam has become a more effective "filter", not only filtering out students with good background knowledge but also a group with potential thinking, ready for active learning methods at a higher level.

However, for this "connection" to be truly sustainable, it cannot come from just one side, the exam. It requires synchronous movement. High schools must truly innovate teaching and learning methods, breaking away from the rut of teaching according to "model texts" and "model lessons" to focus on developing students' abilities.

Universities need to continue to innovate their programs and teaching methods to welcome and maximize the potential of new students equipped with different thinking right from high school.

Thank you, Professor!

The 2025 exam has laid a solid foundation for the bridge connecting high school and university. This is not just an exam, but an important lever, promoting the entire education system to move towards capacity development, meeting the requirements of the digital age.

Source: https://giaoducthoidai.vn/khop-noi-bac-pho-thong-va-dai-hoc-nhin-tu-de-thi-tot-nghiep-thpt-nam-2025-post744243.html