Converting international language certificates to exam scores: Need for consistency to ensure fairness

Although it is affirmed that the conversion is necessary when candidates with international language certificates are no longer directly admitted as before, some opinions are still concerned about ensuring fairness when the conversion is currently being carried out according to each school's own scale without consistency across the entire system, causing confusion for candidates.

According to the Ministry of Education and Training , in recent times, there has been a situation where some training institutions have abused the use of international foreign language certificates in the admission process, even using foreign language certificates as a criterion to determine the admission chances of candidates, while the opportunity to access international foreign language certificates is currently different between students in different regions, raising concerns about the lack of fairness for a group of students with limited economic conditions. Therefore, the 2025 University Admission Regulations stipulate that schools can convert foreign language certificates into foreign language subject scores to include in the admission subject group, but the foreign language subject scores converted from foreign language certificates have a weighted score that cannot exceed 50%.

Candidates need to follow the university's admission plans to understand the score conversion rules. Illustrative photo.

In addition, the Ministry of Education and Training also stipulates that the incentive points and bonus points for candidates with foreign language certificates must not exceed 10% of the maximum score on the scale. With this regulation, the Ministry of Education and Training believes that candidates can make the most of their foreign language strengths to increase their chances of being admitted to university.

Currently, many universities have announced the conversion formula from international foreign language certificates to foreign language test scores applicable for 2025. Most schools accept conversion for certificates from 5.0 and above. In particular, many schools convert 10 English points for candidates with IELTS from 6.5-9.0 such as Hanoi University of Science and Technology, Hanoi Open University, University of Electricity, University of Mining and Geology, Academy of Finance, Vietnam Women's Academy, Hanoi Capital University.

Member universities of Hanoi National University, Hanoi University of Transport, Academy of Journalism and Communication convert to 10 English points with IELTS certificate from 7.0 to 9.0. Thang Long University and National Economics University convert IELTS certificate from 7.5 to 9.0 to 10 points in English. Banking Academy and CMC University are currently setting the highest requirement of IELTS 8.0 to be counted as 10 points, while University of Commerce converts IELTS from 5.0 to 10 points, the maximum level.

In addition, some universities such as Vietnam Agricultural University, Capital University, Saigon University also convert points for candidates with IELTS from 4.0 or higher to the equivalent of 6-8 points. Besides, there are also some universities that do not use IELTS certificates for direct conversion but instead add bonus points with quite large fluctuation in the bonus points. For example, with IELTS 5.5, Hanoi University of Pharmacy adds 0.25 points, while the Academy of Cryptography Technology adds up to 1.5 points; IELTS 8.0 is added 3.0 points by Hanoi University of Education, while Hanoi University of Pharmacy adds 1.5 points, and the Academy of Cryptography Technology adds 2.5 points...

The above reality shows that the diversity in conversion and priority points for international language certificates reflects the different approaches and requirements of each university, but at the same time also shows the lack of consistency in regulations, causing difficulties and confusion for candidates in calculating, choosing and comparing admission opportunities between schools.

Sharing more with CAND Newspaper reporters about this issue, Dr. Le Viet Khuyen, Vice President of the Association of Vietnamese Universities and Colleges, said that in the current context, converting international foreign language certificates to foreign language exam scores has a certain reasonableness, but each school converting differently will confuse candidates, so schools should unify regulations, standardize the conversion or need general guidance from the Ministry of Education and Training to ensure fairness.

According to the analysis of Dr. Le Viet Khuyen, the positive side of the conversion is that candidates with international certificates often have proven their English proficiency at a fairly good level. Therefore, when converting, it will save time and reduce exam pressure for students, encourage real foreign language learning, and motivate candidates to learn English systematically to take international standard certificates. However, not all students have the conditions to study English or take international certificates.

In addition, the conversion is not necessarily accurate because IELTS from 6.5 and above does not mean a score of 10 in English because the two exams are different in structure and requirements. To support candidates, universities need to announce early and clearly about the enrollment plan, standardize and publicly and transparently publish the score conversion table to help candidates know how to convert scores, conditions for accepting certificates, and expiration dates.

The Vice President of the Association of Vietnamese Universities and Colleges also noted that candidates need to closely follow the admission plan of each university to know the exact conversion rate and applicable conditions because in reality, there are schools that accept conversion but there are also some schools that only add priority points. Therefore, candidates should still register to take the English exam in the high school graduation exam as a backup plan and should not be subjective and neglect other subjects in the admission combination.

In addition, international language certificates are usually only valid for 2 years, so students should not take the exam too early, but should only take the exam from grade 11 and at reputable units recognized by the Ministry of Education and Training.

Source: https://cand.com.vn/giao-duc/quy-doi-chung-chi-ngoai-ngu-quoc-te-sang-diem-thi-can-thong-nhat-de-dam-bao-cong-bang-i766418/