Suitable for each student's abilities.

At this time, graduating junior high school students are anxiously rushing to complete their curriculum and prepare for the highly competitive entrance exam to grade 10. Although there are many options after junior high school, not all students understand them clearly enough to choose the right path.

Students participate in the "Confidence Day for Entering 10th Grade" event in Hanoi for the 2025-2026 school year. Photo: Chu Van An High School for the Gifted.

Take the initiative to learn more.

In the 2024-2025 school year, approximately 127,000 students in Hanoi are taking the junior high school graduation exam. The projected number of students enrolling in grade 10 for the 2025-2026 school year is as follows: approximately 79,000 students (about 62%) will enroll in public high schools, and approximately 48,000 students will enroll in private high schools, vocational training centers, continuing education centers, and vocational training institutions. Although the Hanoi Department of Education and Training has implemented numerous solutions to ensure sufficient school places for students and meet the educational aspirations of 100% of junior high school graduates, parents generally want their children to be admitted to public high schools for a better learning environment and tuition-free education. Therefore, the competition for a place in grade 10 this year remains very intense for Hanoi students.

Another concern for 9th-grade students is that this is the first year the 10th-grade entrance exam is being held under the 2018 General Education Program, leading to changes in exam orientation, structure, and content. Although the third exam subject this year was announced earlier than the Ministry of Education and Training 's (MOET) regulations (before March 31st), exam preparation hasn't become any less stressful. This is because, according to Circular 29, paid extra tutoring within schools will not be allowed. Each week, schools will conduct two free review sessions for each exam subject, whereas in previous years, this period saw much more intense review sessions with three or four times the duration. Most students voluntarily register for extra tutoring sessions organized by the school, with the teachers usually being their regular school teachers. Parents are willing to pay for extra tutoring to prepare for exams for their children, and in fact, this amount is quite reasonable compared to enrolling in exam preparation courses at other centers.

This concern was also raised by a student from Nam Tu Liem Secondary School (Hanoi) at the "Confidence in Entering Grade 10" event, held at the end of February. The student expressed worry that, as a final-year student, they needed extra tutoring to feel confident enough to pass the entrance exam for grade 10.

In response to this issue, a representative from the Ministry of Education and Training advised students that self-confidence doesn't come from attending extra classes, but rather from how they learn. Extra classes are about proactively studying, reviewing, and supplementing their own knowledge. If they don't understand something, they can ask their teachers for clarification. First, students should complete all the exercises and answer the questions in the textbook, then summarize how many exercises are similar and how many are different to create a suitable study plan for themselves.

Tran Dang Nghia, Deputy Head of the Secondary Education Department (Hanoi Department of Education and Training), also suggested that 9th-grade students should proactively solve the assigned exercises, and then ask their teachers to check if their methods were correct, what needs to be added, and seek further guidance to solve the problems more effectively.

Arrange your preferences accordingly.

Hanoi currently offers a variety of school types for junior high school graduates to choose from, including public schools, private schools, vocational training centers, vocational education institutions, and colleges. Among these, the 9+ system is attracting attention from students and parents due to its shorter study duration, graduation with a high school diploma and vocational skills, making it easier to enter the labor market or pursue further education.

Mr. Tran The Cuong, Director of the Hanoi Department of Education and Training, also emphasized that if students do not meet the eligibility requirements for admission to 10th grade in public schools, or depending on their circumstances, preferences, and abilities, they can register to apply to other types of schools.

Currently, many private high schools have announced their enrollment guidelines for the 2025-2026 school year for students and parents to refer to. A new feature this year is that students can register online, instead of having to queue up at school early as in previous years.

This year, the admission score for 10th grade no longer has a weighting factor of 2 for Math and Literature as before. The Hanoi Department of Education and Training notes that the admission score is the sum of the scores of all exams, calculated on a 10-point scale. Therefore, candidates need to study all three subjects carefully and not let any subject drag down their total admission score.

To increase their chances of admission, candidates should carefully consider their choices of universities. Their first and second choices should not be in the same group of schools. This means the two schools should not have similar cutoff scores or the same number of applicants. If the two schools are equally competitive, failing to get into the first choice makes it difficult to get into the second, as the cutoff score for the second choice must be at least one point higher than the cutoff score for the first choice. Therefore, it's necessary to choose choices with a reasonable difference in cutoff scores to avoid failing both.

Source: https://daidoanket.vn/huong-nghiep-hoc-sinh-lop-9-phu-hop-voi-nang-luc-cua-moi-hoc-sinh-10301462.html