A stressful exam day.

(PLVN) - Candidates nationwide have completed the first day of the National High School Graduation Examination with two compulsory and challenging subjects: Literature and Mathematics. Unlike the Literature exam, which Hanoi candidates found not too surprising, many candidates expressed disappointment with the Mathematics exam due to its difficulty and many practical elements...

The math exam was highly differentiated, incorporating many elements of real life and science and technology.

At the Nghia Do Secondary School examination center in Hanoi , most students come from top-tier schools such as Yen Hoa High School, Luong The Vinh Secondary and High School, Nguyen Tat Thanh Secondary and High School, etc. Many students said that the Mathematics exam in the 2025 National High School Graduation Examination was quite difficult. At some examination centers, candidates broke down in tears when looking back at the exam paper.

Nguyen Yen Nhi (Yen Hoa High School, Cau Giay District, Hanoi) said that this year's math exam was relatively difficult, with many questions that were more unusual than the math exams she had practiced with, which she had consulted from online sources, reference books, and school exams. Yen Nhi shared: "I only managed to complete about 80% of this year's math exam. There were two very difficult probability questions that I couldn't figure out the answers to within the allotted time."

Candidates enter the final day of the exam.

Candidates taking the exam under the 2006 General Education Program will participate in 4 exam sessions: 1 session for Literature, 1 session for Mathematics, 1 session for an elective subject (Natural Sciences or Social Sciences), and 1 session for a Foreign Language. Candidates studying under the 2018 General Education Program will take the high school graduation exam with 4 subjects: 2 compulsory subjects (Literature and Mathematics) and 2 elective subjects from the 12th grade curriculum (Foreign Language, History, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Geography, Economics & Law Education, Informatics, Technology). Candidates will take the exam in 3 sessions: 1 session for Literature, 1 session for Mathematics, and 1 session for the two elective subjects. Literature is a 120-minute essay exam (Reading Comprehension 4 points, Writing 6 points); Mathematics is a 90-minute multiple-choice exam; and the remaining subjects are 50 minutes multiple-choice.

Nguyen Minh Duc (Da Tri Tue Inter-level High School, Cau Giay, Hanoi) said that this year's math exam had a high level of difficulty. Easy questions accounted for about 40-50%, and candidates aiming for a good score or higher needed a solid grasp of the subject matter and flexible thinking to complete 80-90% of the exam. Minh Duc shared: “I predict I got about 50% of the questions right. The two true/false questions (questions 1 and 3) were quite difficult; I couldn't find a solution for that part.”

Commenting on the exam, the Mathematics teachers at Hocmai Education System stated: The 2025 high school graduation exam in Mathematics was constructed according to the structure and format announced in the sample exam by the Ministry of Education and Training , and is in line with the direction of innovation.

With a duration of 90 minutes, the exam consists of 3 parts with 34 questions. The exam shows clear differentiation and diverse question formats, requiring candidates to have a firm grasp of the knowledge and skills according to the 2018 General Education Program, especially the ability to relate to real-world situations. The knowledge content focuses on the 12th grade curriculum and still includes knowledge from grades 10 and 11; the thinking level is 40% at the knowing level, 30% at the understanding level, and 30% at the application level. A highlight of the exam is the large proportion of questions with integrated elements, using meaningful contexts related to images and practical situations in life, science, and technology (such as economic and engineering problems, etc.), focusing on true/false and short-answer multiple-choice questions. Furthermore, the questions in these two sections are well-differentiated, requiring learners to have a solid grasp of skills and a strong foundation of knowledge, and to know how to connect knowledge within the learned frameworks to solve problems. This is entirely consistent with the objectives of the exam.

The Literature exam conveyed a message about the homeland.

At the exam center at Truong Cong Giai Secondary School, Cau Giay, Hanoi, many candidates commented that this year's Literature exam did not involve rote memorization or memorization. The vast majority of students found it difficult to analyze and find suitable materials for question 2 in Part II (the Writing section).

This morning (June 27th), candidates taking the exam under the 2018 General Education Program will take the elective subject exam, while candidates taking the exam under the 2006 General Education Program will take the Natural Sciences/Social Sciences exam. The exam time starts at 7:35 AM.

On the first day of the exam, 15 candidates were disqualified.

According to a preliminary report from the Ministry of Education and Training, the Literature exam had a total of 1,151,6871 registered candidates. The number of candidates who actually took the exam was 144,477, reaching 99.37%. For Mathematics, the numbers were 1,145,449 and 1,138,108 respectively, reaching 99.36%.

On the first day of the exam, 15 candidates were disqualified (in the Literature exam, 8 out of 10 candidates were disqualified for using mobile phones, and 2 candidates were disqualified for using unauthorized materials. In the Mathematics exam, 5 candidates were disqualified).

Le Minh Khoi (Luong The Vinh High School, Hanoi) said that this year's Literature exam was relatively manageable for him, however, Khoi had difficulty with the second question in the Writing section (Part II). He shared: “For the 600-word essay question, I spent the most time reading, understanding the question, and applying my knowledge from school and social understanding to answer it. With the 2025 National High School Literature exam, I am about 70% confident that I will achieve my desired score.”

Nguyen Duc Duy (Hermann Gmeiner School, Hanoi) shared that the Reading Comprehension section (Part I) of the 2025 Literature exam was suitable for the majority of candidates. According to Duc Duy, mastering basic knowledge is enough to complete this section. Similar to Minh Khoi, Duc Duy found question 2 in the Writing section the most difficult. He said: “The theme 'Every homeland's sky is the sky of the Fatherland' is a good topic, but it made me think for a long time to avoid going off-topic. I only completed about 70% of what I could.”

Nguyen Ngoc Mai (Cau Giay High School, Hanoi) shared that for the Reading Comprehension section (Part I), the text used was "Different Skies" by writer Nguyen Minh Chau. This is a good, easy-to-understand text, suitable for students' abilities. Regarding the Writing section (Part II), the essay question was relatively difficult. Ngoc Mai said: "Compared to the practice exams and questions I've taken at school, the essay question was quite unusual. I spent more than half the time just on this question. I'm not confident I'll get the best score I expect." However, Ngoc Mai shared that she did her best in the Literature exam.

Candidates have completed the first day of the 2025 National High School Graduation Examination.

Commenting on the exam, Ms. Nguyen Thi Quynh Anh, a Literature teacher at Tuyensinh247.com, said: "The 2025 high school graduation exam generally follows the structure of the sample exam published by the Ministry of Education and Training. However, this year's exam has many innovations compared to the 2024 exam, especially in the content of the questions. This year's exam is in line with the spirit of the 2018 general education curriculum, with questions following a system of genres. This addresses the issue of rote memorization and requires students to have a firm grasp of the characteristics of each genre, assessing each student's reading comprehension, appreciation, and analytical abilities. In terms of difficulty level, the exam is highly differentiated, accurately assessing students' abilities. Regarding the overall score distribution, Ms. Quynh Anh predicts the average score for Literature in 2025 will be 6.5 - 7. The most common score achieved by candidates will be 7.5 points."

Meanwhile, Ms. Vuong Thuy Hang, a teacher at the Hocmai Education System, expressed that the Literature exam presented many interesting opportunities and challenges for candidates. She noted that the biggest difference in the 2025 Literature exam is that the reading comprehension and writing sections do not use texts from any of the three current textbooks. With this exam, Ms. Hang predicts that the average score this year will be between 7 and 7.25 points.

From the perspective of parents on the first day of their children's exams, they all hope their children will perform to the best of their abilities. Ms. Thuy, the parent of Nguyen Yen Nhi, shared that, given the many changes in the exam format and the broader range of knowledge required, she doesn't place too much emphasis on her child's scores. She confided: "The 2018 general education program has many changes in the exam structure. Today's Literature and Mathematics exams have shown that children need to further develop their thinking skills and how to apply their knowledge. But no matter the results, as long as the children try their best, that's the best thing."

Ho Chi Minh City: Many students are confident with their Literature exam results.

In Ho Chi Minh City, from early morning, candidates traveled to their examination centers to prepare for the first day of exams. Many said that even though their homes were only about 6km from the examination center, they still left early, at 5:45 AM, because they were worried about traffic jams or other incidents. Upon arrival, they were warmly guided by the exam support team and teachers to complete the necessary procedures. Many parents accompanied their children and waited outside the school to encourage them to do well in the exam.

After finishing the first exam, many students expressed their anxiety, saying the questions were a bit difficult for them, even though the Literature exam was similar to the sample exam released by the Ministry of Education and Training. Conversely, some students smiled brightly, saying they did quite well, the questions were relatable, and included a question that evoked patriotism, which was exactly what they had studied.

“I reviewed quite thoroughly, so I did well on this subject. I think I'll get over 6 points, maybe even 7. The reading comprehension passage, excerpted from a work by writer Nguyen Minh Chau, was relatively easy to understand. The ideas in the passage were expressed quite clearly. I did well on this part,” said Nguyen Minh Bang, a student in class 12C2 at Binh Chieu High School (Thu Duc).

At the gate of Truong Chinh High School (District 12), many parents arrived early to pick up their children, encouraging them to stay cheerful so they could be relaxed for the next exam. Here, the exam support team distributed water to the candidates, and provided guidance and advice for the next exam session.

Nguyen Truong Giang

Uyen Na - Ngoc Huong

Source: https://baophapluat.vn/mot-ngay-thi-cang-thang-post553172.html