Exams towards comprehensive education

BHG - The 2025 High School Graduation Exam (the exam) is considered the first test for the generation of students studying under the 2018 GeneralEducation Program (GEP 2018), reflecting the efforts of all levels and sectors of education in shifting from teaching literacy to developing learners' capacity, towards comprehensive education.

The 2018 General Education Program aims to develop students according to their qualities and abilities, divided into two stages: Basic education at primary and secondary levels and career orientation at high school level. At this stage, students are differentiated according to their talents and career orientation through self-selection with many subject combinations. To match the curriculum, this year's exam has many new points. The exam no longer focuses on testing the ability to memorize knowledge, but emphasizes the ability to apply knowledge to solve practical problems. The thinking level in the exam is divided into: 40% knowledge level, 30% understanding level and 30% application level. The Literature exam expands on social issues, expressing personal opinions with arguments. Natural subjects increase practical questions, are highly applicable, requiring students to deeply understand the nature of knowledge. These innovations require students to self-study, self-read and practice thinking.

Students of Viet Lam High School (Vi Xuyen) receive admissions and career guidance counseling. Photo: Bien Luan

Candidates will take two compulsory subjects: Literature, Mathematics and two elective subjects from the subjects studied in grade 12, including: Foreign Language, History, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Geography, Economic and Legal Education, Information Technology, Technology. The graduation score will include 50% of the exam score and 50% of the student's average score over the three years of study. Notably, this year the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) has removed the regulation on early admission for university admission. If admission is based on academic records, the entire grade 12 score must be used. This new regulation requires high schools to organize appropriate review sessions, and students must not neglect their graduation exam review as before, when many students were admitted to university early.

This year's exam is strongly decentralized to localities in the organization of the exam, especially the supervision, invigilation and grading. This requires provinces and cities to improve their management capacity, ensure transparency, fairness and prevent cheating in exams. It is expected that the whole province will have about 7,050 candidates studying in grade 12 in the 2024-2025 school year taking the exam. In order to prepare carefully for the exam, the Department of Education and Training has stepped up propaganda work, especially focusing on new points; deployed sample exam questions; disseminated and disseminated the High School Graduation Exam Regulations; organized direct training conferences for managers and teachers on review instructions according to the 2018 General Education Program. At the same time, directed educational institutions to research and analyze the 2024 exam results as a basis for adjusting teaching and learning activities, testing, assessment and classification of students according to regulations; Develop training, review and tutoring plans suitable for each student; strengthen consultation and orientation for grade 12 students in choosing elective subjects, suitable to the actual conditions of the school and the students' abilities.

Career counseling and guidance booths for students at Ngoc Ha High School. Photo: Mai Anh

This year's exam is not only the first exam to be implemented according to the new General Education Program, but also takes place in the context of Circular 29 on extra teaching and learning being vigorously implemented; at the same time, localities are also streamlining the apparatus and rearranging administrative units. However, with the motto of all for the learners, for a safe and quality exam, the education sector is implementing many synchronous, flexible and effective solutions to create peace of mind for students, ensuring that the quality of teaching and learning is not affected, and that the exam and enrollment work are not interrupted; resolutely implementing the principle of "4 rights, 3 no's, 2 promotion": Correct exam regulations and instructions, correct and sufficient procedures, correct positions, responsibilities and tasks and at the right time to promptly handle incidents; no negligence, subjectivity; no excessive stress or pressure; no arbitrarily handling situations; promote the sense of responsibility and professional expertise of the exam organizing force and promote the awareness of self-study and compliance with regulations of candidates.

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Source: https://baohagiang.vn/xa-hoi/202504/ky-thi-huong-den-nen-giao-duc-toan-dien-6451e79/