After 2025, how many subjects will the high school graduation exam have?

On the afternoon of October 5 in Hanoi, the National Council forEducation and Human Resources Development held a meeting to collect experts' opinions on the high school graduation exam plan from 2025.

Add 4-subject exam option

According to the report of the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET), the ministry has sought public opinions on the draft plan for the high school graduation exam from 2025. The basic opinions received high consensus on the purpose of the exam, the format of the exam subjects, decentralization, responsibilities of localities and the central government, implementation roadmap, number of elective subjects...

However, there are many different opinions about compulsory exams because it can lead to problems such as increasing exam pressure, easily causing more social science subjects to be chosen than natural sciences; affecting students' career orientation as well as assigning teachers in the teaching process (surplus subjects, shortage subjects). The Ministry of Education and Training received 3 proposed options, which are 6 subjects, 5 subjects and 4 subjects.

Sau năm 2025, thi tốt nghiệp THPT bao nhiêu môn? - Ảnh 1.

Candidates taking the 2023 high school graduation exam Photo: HUU HUNG

According to the published draft, regarding the number of exam subjects, there are 2 options: 4+2 and 3+2.

With the 4+2 option, candidates studying the high school program take 6 subjects, including: Compulsory exams in 4 subjects: literature, math, foreign language, history and 2 elective subjects from the remaining subjects studied in grade 12. Candidates studying the high school continuing education program (this group does not have to take compulsory foreign language) take 5 subjects, including: Compulsory exams in 3 subjects: literature, math, history and 2 elective subjects from the remaining subjects studied in grade 12.

With the 3+2 option, candidates studying the high school program take 5 subjects, including: Compulsory exams in 3 subjects: literature, math, foreign language and 2 elective subjects from the remaining subjects studied in grade 12 (including history). Candidates studying the high school continuing education program take 4 subjects, including: Compulsory exams in 2 subjects: literature, math and 2 elective subjects from the remaining subjects studied in grade 12.

The survey results show that about 30% of opinions choose option 4+2, 70% choose option 3+2. However, in the process of assessing the impact of choosing option 4+2 in Ho Chi Minh City, Long An, Tay Ninh, Lang Son and Bac Giang, many opinions proposed choosing option 2+2. Specifically, candidates studying high school programs and continuing education programs at high school level must take 4 subjects, including literature, math and 2 elective subjects from the remaining subjects studied in grade 12 (including foreign languages and history).

Every option has its pros and cons.

The Ministry of Education and Training believes that each option has its own advantages and disadvantages.

Choosing the 4+2 option has the advantage that all compulsory subjects are tested. Choosing 2 optional subjects to test helps candidates develop their strengths, creating favorable conditions for using high school graduation exam results to apply to higher education institutions.

However, this option has the disadvantage of increasing exam pressure for students; the organization of exams because of the increased number of exam sessions, causing waste of human and financial resources. Besides, currently, students choose social sciences more than natural sciences. Therefore, this option will aggravate the imbalance, affecting the training of human resources to implement the 4th industrial revolution; reduce the role of the elective subject group because the 4 compulsory subjects alone have created 4 social-oriented admission combinations.

Besides, this option affects students' choice of subjects, leading to teacher assignment during teaching at school (surplus subjects, shortage subjects).

Choosing the 3+2 option has the advantage that the exam organization and the exam for candidates will be easier; less pressure, less cost compared to now; candidates will only take 5 subjects, currently 6 subjects. This option is also more balanced for students to choose to study and take exams between natural sciences and social sciences. Being able to choose 2 subjects to take the exam helps candidates develop their strengths, creating favorable conditions for using high school graduation exam results to consider admission to higher education institutions.

The 3+2 option also inherits the way of selecting exam subjects that has been stable for a long time. However, the disadvantage of the 3+2 option is that it can affect the teaching and learning of history for students who do not choose this subject to take the exam and can lead to a trend of increasing the selection of math, literature, and foreign language admission combinations.

Choosing option 2+2 has the advantage of reducing exam pressure for candidates, reducing costs for families and society (candidates only take 4 subjects, currently 6 subjects). The number of exam sessions is 3, reducing the number of exam sessions compared to present.

This option also does not cause an imbalance between admission combinations, creating conditions for candidates to spend time studying elective subjects that are suitable for their career orientation. In addition, choosing 2 elective subjects to take the exam helps candidates develop their strengths; creating favorable conditions when using high school graduation exam results to consider admission to higher education institutions.

However, the disadvantage of this option is that it may affect the teaching of history and foreign languages - currently two compulsory subjects.

According to the plan, from 2025, the first batch of students from the 2018 general education program will graduate from high school, so there must be a suitable exam organization plan. The Ministry of Education and Training is expected to announce the official high school graduation exam plan in the fourth quarter of 2023.

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