Candidates at an examination site in Ho Chi Minh City discuss after taking the 2025 high school graduation English exam - Photo: NGUYEN KHANG
* Candidates can quickly look up their 2025 high school graduation exam scores HERE
Although the Ministry of Education and Training said that this year there is no more "rain" of 10s, in some subjects, 10s have increased dramatically. If in 2024 there were no 10s in math, this year it increased more than 500 times to 513 10s. Last year there were only 55 10s in physics, but this year the number increased more than 71 times: to 3,929 10s.
Similarly, the 10 points for geography this year are also more than double that of 2024. However, overall, good and excellent scores in all subjects have decreased sharply compared to 2024. This may cause the standard scores of universities to decrease.
Score 8 - 9 reduced 10 times
According to experts, this year's high school graduation exam has good differentiation, reflected in the more even distribution of scores in the subjects, no longer skewed to the right as in previous years. Statistics show that in all subjects, scores of 8 and above have decreased sharply compared to 2024. In particular, the average score in math this year is much lower than in 2024 as well as in recent years.
In general, the good and excellent scores this year have decreased sharply compared to 2024. If last year there were more than 200,000 candidates with 8-9 points, this year there are only about 37,000. Thus, the number of candidates with good and excellent scores has decreased by about 6 times. Similarly, in 2024, there were nearly 4,000 candidates with 9.2-9.6 points in math, but this year there are only more than 2,700 candidates.
Other natural sciences are no exception to this trend. This year's physics exam scores are better than last year's, with an average score of 6.99, up from 6.67 in 2024. However, scores of 8 and above in this subject have also dropped sharply. In 2024, there were more than 88,000 candidates with scores of 8-9 points, this year it has dropped to about 60,000. Last year, about 20,000 candidates achieved scores of 9-9.5, this year it has dropped to about 14,000 candidates.
Similarly, in chemistry, this year there were only about 26,000 candidates with scores of 8-9, while the number in 2024 was up to more than 80,000 candidates. The number of candidates achieving a score of 9.5 last year was about 12,000, but this year it has decreased to more than 8,000 candidates.
In biology, the number of candidates scoring 8-9 also decreased from 32,000 last year to about 5,000 this year. The number of candidates scoring 9-9.5 was also only about 800 candidates while in 2024 it was up to 3,500.
In the social subjects, although it is considered easier, the number of candidates scoring 8 or higher has also decreased sharply. In particular, in 2024, the literature subject had more than 450,000 candidates scoring 8-9 points, a 3-fold decrease this year. From more than 40,000 candidates scoring 9.25-9.5 points in 2024, this year there were only more than 15,000 candidates.
In geography, although the score of 10 has more than doubled compared to last year, the score of 8-9 has also dropped, from more than 223,000 last year to about 68,000 candidates this year. The same is true for history, the score of 8-9 has decreased from more than 120,000 last year to more than 57,000 candidates. From more than 9-9.5 years ago, there were more than 33,000 candidates, this year there are more than 21,000.
The two subjects with the largest decrease in good and excellent scores are English and economic and legal education (formerly civic education).
The English exam has a high level of differentiation, with candidates complaining that the exam is long and difficult. The results have proven these comments. If in 2024 there were more than 100,000 candidates with a score of 8-9, this year there are only more than 11,000 candidates achieving this score, a decrease of about 10 times.
From the score of 9 - 9.6 this year, only more than 2,000 candidates achieved it, while in 2024 there were more than 21,000 candidates. This is the subject with the highest percentage of candidates with good and excellent scores compared to the 2025 exam scores. Although the average exam score did not decrease much, the good and excellent scores decreased sharply.
Similarly, more than 226,000 candidates scored 8-9 in the subject of economic and legaleducation in the 2024 exam. This year, the same score level is only about 80,000. In particular, at the score level of 9-9.5 this year, there were more than 16,000 candidates while in 2024, there were more than 140,000 candidates. The score of 10 in this subject this year also decreased by more than 50% compared to last year.
Graphics: TAN DAT
Benchmarks plummet?
With this year's exam score distribution, many opinions say that majors with benchmark scores of 24 and 25 last year may decrease this year. Meanwhile, majors with benchmark scores of 16-18 last year are likely to increase slightly.
Mr. Nguyen Trung Nhan, head of training department of Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry, said that for most majors with a benchmark score of 24 or higher last year, this year's benchmark score is likely to decrease significantly.
Mr. Nhan further explained that because the school recruits engineering and technology majors with combinations of natural sciences and English, while the test scores of the subjects have decreased compared to last year, it is predicted that the benchmark scores will also decrease.
Meanwhile, Mr. Pham Thai Son, Director of the Admissions and Communications Center of Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry and Trade, said that the majors with high benchmark scores last year will have their benchmark scores reduced this year. Meanwhile, majors with low benchmark scores will have their benchmark scores increased.
"This year, the exam scores of all subjects decreased, leading to a decrease in the benchmark scores for majors with high benchmark scores last year, such as marketing. The decrease is from 1 to 1.5 points. This year, the number of candidates registering to consider their transcripts and specialized assessment results increased significantly compared to last year.
The exam scores have decreased but the number of applications is higher, so the decrease in scores will not be too much. On the contrary, the majors with a standard score of 16-17 last year may increase this year," Mr. Son commented.
Similarly, Ms. Hoang Thanh Tu, Deputy Head of the Information and Communication Department of the University of Natural Sciences (Ho Chi Minh City National University), said that the admission scores for the school's hot majors could decrease by 0.5 points while the remaining majors would decrease more.
Ms. Tu said that all majors of the school recruit groups that include math. This year, the math questions are more difficult, the scores have decreased, but the remaining subjects have decreased less. Moreover, the school has expanded the selection to include more than 4 groups, and the groups have 1 standard score, so the opportunities for candidates are also more diverse.
Math: average score decreased by 1.67 points
At the score distribution information session organized by the Ministry of Education and Training, the ministry's representatives and experts avoided commenting deeply on the difficulty of the math test and cited the number of 513 scores of 10 (while last year there were no scores of 10) as a good sign showing that the math test was not "super difficult" as public opinion had been stirring up.
But looking at the score spectrum of the two years, there are significant fluctuations. The average score for math in 2024 was 6.45, while this year it was only 4.78. Notably, over 56% of candidates scored below average. For the first time, math had an average score below 5 (4.75 points), and this was also the only subject among the subjects in this year's exam to have a score below 5.
After math, English had the second lowest average score among the subjects (5.38 points). In many previous exams, subjects such as history or biology often had low average scores, but this year the average scores for these two subjects were 5.78 and 6.52 respectively.
With the above data, some teachers shared with Tuoi Tre still maintain the opinion that "math problems are too difficult compared to the level of high school students, the program they are studying and compared to the high school graduation exam goals".
Good differentiation, suitable for university admission
According to Dr. Nguyen Duc Nghia - former Vice President of Ho Chi Minh City National University, the score distribution of the exam subjects shows good differentiation, favorable for university admission. The score distribution of all subjects is better than last year, especially English, no longer strange with 2 peaks.
Except for physics, the average scores of the remaining subjects decreased compared to 2024. Of which, math decreased by nearly 1.7 points and was also the only subject with an average score below 5 in this year's exam. If the university admissions process is similar to 2024, it is predicted that the benchmark scores for combinations with math may decrease by 0.5 - 2 points.
What do experts say about the score spectrum?
Look up the score distribution of the 2025 high school graduation exam on Tuoitre.vn - Photo: BE HIEU
During the information session on score distribution, the Ministry of Education and Training invited a number of experts and teachers to share their assessment of this year's exam score distribution.
Prof. Dr. Nguyen Dinh Duc, Chairman of the Council of the University of Technology, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, when giving a general assessment of the exam scores of this year's subjects, said that the differentiation of this year's exam was good.
Although math and English are difficult, fortunately, looking at the score distribution, one is not "shocked" because the scores are too low, but there is no subject with a "rain" of 10s. Specifically mentioning English, one of the two subjects that receives a lot of public attention, Mr. Duc said that the beautiful score distribution of English accurately reflects reality.
According to Ms. Nguyen Boi Quynh - Principal of Viet Duc High School (Hanoi), the 2025 high school graduation exam method for candidates studying the 2018 General Education Program has advantages because in addition to 2 compulsory subjects, candidates can choose 2 elective subjects which are the subjects they are strong in and study best. Therefore, the exam results will be better than in previous years when candidates had to choose 1 of 2 combined exams (along with compulsory exams) including subjects that are not the candidates' strengths.
"From the exam questions and this year's exam, teachers must also review their teaching methods to support and accompany candidates in the following years," said Ms. Quynh.
Mr. Thai Van Thanh, Director of the Department of Education and Training of Nghe An, also assessed that this year's exam had high differentiation, looking at the score spectrum, creating favorable conditions for universities to use the results for admission.
Dr. Hoang Ngoc Vinh (former head of the Department of Vocational Education, Ministry of Education and Training):
Beautiful scores are not necessarily fair
I see that the English score distribution in the 2025 high school graduation exam looks "nice" at first glance - balanced distribution, clear bell shape. But when I get into the essence, I can't help but wonder: the average score is only 5.38, the median score is 5.25 and nearly half of the candidates are below average. Meanwhile, the average score for physics is 6.99, chemistry is 6.06 - which means that these subjects are clearly "easier" in terms of scores.
I think this poses a big paradox: with the same academic ability and effort, if you choose the wrong subject, the result can differ by 1 - 1.5 points. With the university admission mechanism mainly based on exam scores, this is a silent injustice that many candidates cannot see.
Personally, I also ask: Of the nearly 50% of candidates who scored below average in English, how many come from disadvantaged areas such as the Northwest, Central Highlands, and Southwest? If those areas account for a large proportion, it is clear that this exam is exacerbating inequality instead of narrowing it. Until the data on zoning and grouping of subjects is published, I think any praise about "standardized score distribution" or "reasonable exam questions" is too early.
A national exam not only needs to differentiate, but also needs to ensure fairness - between regions, between exam subject choices. If there is no adjustment, no standardization according to the difficulty of each subject, the situation of students being disadvantaged because of choosing English will continue.
And I want to emphasize this: when the percentage of students below average is too high, especially in a fundamental subject like English, it can easily lead to a counter-effect, which is that students will be discouraged and reluctant to learn a foreign language, especially in places where conditions are already difficult. We want to encourage students to study, not discourage them because they feel "no matter how hard they try, they can't get better".
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/mua-diem-10-thi-tot-nghiep-thpt-nhung-diem-chuan-du-kien-giam-20250716085525905.htm
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