The level of differentiation should be evenly distributed across the exam subjects.

After nearly two weeks of waiting, candidates who took the entrance exam for 10th grade in public high schools in Ho Chi Minh City for the 2024-2025 school year have received their results. However, the anxiety and apprehension for candidates will last for another 20 days to find out whether they have secured a place in a public school or must pursue other options. The suspense is further heightened by the prediction that the cut-off scores for public high schools will fluctuate across all categories compared to last year.

It's safe to say that the entrance exam for 10th grade in public high schools is the most stressful exam at the secondary level. From the hesitation when registering for preferred schools, to the pressure of participating in an exam where only 70% of candidates know they will be admitted, to the anxiety of waiting for the announcement of the cut-off scores after receiving the exam results. If a candidate unfortunately fails to get into any of their three preferred public high schools, they must wait for the second round of supplementary admissions.

Looking back at the recently announced exam results, besides positive aspects such as the distribution of English scores being considered "better" by many teachers than last year; and the percentage of below-average scores in Literature decreasing compared to last year, the distribution of Math scores is causing public concern due to the percentage of below-average scores increasing by more than 10% compared to last year. In addition, although Literature and Foreign Languages had relatively high average scores, there were still 56 exam papers scoring below 1 point.

Unlike the high school graduation exam, the entrance exam for public high schools is a race to secure a place and will determine the type of school students will attend at the high school level, thus the competition is much higher. In all three subjects, although the questions have different levels of difficulty, they all follow a comprehensive "matrix" of four levels: recognition, comprehension, application, and advanced application. Therefore, if students study seriously and set clear goals when participating in the 10th grade entrance exam, they will be able to answer questions at the recognition and comprehension levels, achieving a minimum score of 3-5 points, depending on the subject.

From another perspective, the exam also raises questions about the direction of an entrance exam. If the goal of an entrance exam is to differentiate candidates, then the level of differentiation should be uniform across subjects, avoiding situations where some subjects are easy while others are difficult, creating disappointment and even confusion for parents and students. Historically, public opinion has often compared this year's exam score distribution with last year's for each subject. However, a comprehensive assessment of the score distribution across all three subjects in the same academic year to review teaching practices in secondary schools has not received adequate attention. In addition to statistical analysis of scores by subject, an assessment based on suburban and urban areas is needed to develop solutions for improving educational quality tailored to the specific characteristics of each region.

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