Reasons for the high spread
On the afternoon of June 12, Ho Chi Minh City National University announced the score distribution table and the score range of the second round of the 2025 capacity assessment exam - a surprising move because this university usually announces both the score range and the test scores. Accordingly, the average score of more than 92,000 candidates in the second round was 718.7, 100.4 points higher than the first round. This difference is also the highest since the organization of this exam.
Specifically, the average score of the two rounds of exams in recent years has not differed much, ranging from 15.2 to 25.8 points, but by 2024 it has skyrocketed to 82.4, 2.4 points higher than the difference in 2019. By 2025, the difference will continue to increase, reaching over 100 points, showing that the second round is becoming an opportunity for candidates to "change their lives" if they really focus on studying, according to experts.
The above data does not include the years 2018, 2020 and 2021 because at that time Ho Chi Minh City National University only organized one capacity assessment exam.
"The similarity in the past years is that the score distribution of the second round is more to the right than the first round, and the biggest difference in 2025 is that the admission is consolidated and considered at once, candidates with high scores in the first round are still afraid of failing so they try to take the exam again, causing the number of retakes to increase to a record high," said Mr. Dang Duy Hung, manager of the Lasan - Helius Education exam preparation system in Ho Chi Minh City.
Specifically, in 2025, there will be more than 65,000 candidates taking both exams and this group accounts for more than 71% of the total number of candidates taking the second exam. These are candidates with both experience and determination, so they will definitely get better scores, contributing greatly to "pulling" the average score in the second exam. The remaining candidates are determined to the end of this exam, so they have put all their effort into studying for 2 months, according to Master Bui Van Cong, a teacher specializing in online competency assessment exam preparation in Ho Chi Minh City.
"In addition, it is clear that the second round of the exam was easier to do than the first round. The questions were more evenly difficult, there were many easy questions, and there were no 'point-blocking' questions that caused candidates to waste time or affect their psychology when doing the following questions. The first round of the exam took place in hot weather and the second round took place in cooler weather, which could also be the reason why candidates had better psychology when taking the exam," Mr. Cong shared.
Candidates before the first round of the 2025 capacity assessment exam
PHOTO: NGOC LONG
Mr. Nguyen Vo Minh Tam, co-founder of TTE-The Learning Center in Ho Chi Minh City, assessed that the average score of the second round was much higher and the dispersion was also greater. Agreeing with Mr. Cong, Mr. Tam also believed that this came from the fact that the majority of candidates retaking the exam in the second round, and this group often includes candidates who clearly define their admission goals and are determined to improve their achievements, thus helping to "raise the standard" of the general level.
"Normalizing" scores above 900 in competency assessment tests, why?
Compared to 2024, Mr. Cong said that this year there is a phenomenon of "high score inflation". Because, if in 2024 there were only 372 candidates achieving 1,001/1,200 or higher (accounting for about 0.4% of the total number of candidates), this year the number is 1,465 students, accounting for 1% of the total number. Similarly, at the level of 901-1,000, in 2024 there were 4,282 students (accounting for 4%) and in 2025 there were 12,732 candidates (accounting for 8%).
In addition, the commonly used score ranges for admission are from 701-800 with 801-900 in 2025 also witnessing a sharp increase in the number of candidates compared to the total number of candidates. "It is easy to see that the general level this year is much higher than before. In particular, if in the past, anyone with over 1,000 points was considered very excellent, often entering top majors, this year this level is quite normal," the male teacher commented.
"After the score distribution was released, many candidates also jokingly told me that now setting a target score of 900 or higher is too common, it should be from 1,000 or even 1,100 or higher," said Mr. Cong. "This year's score distribution is much lower than in 2023 and 2024, which also shows that in 2025 there will be stronger differentiation, no longer the scene of the majority only getting average scores. This shows that the test is getting closer to the goal of assessing capacity."
Distribution of competency assessment test scores for the period 2023 - 2025
PHOTO: HCM CITY NATIONAL UNIVERSITY
According to Mr. Cong, there are two reasons for this "inflation" of high scores. Firstly, the new exam structure is "more comfortable", helping candidates have a clear review direction right from the time it was announced at the end of 2024, no longer confused because they had to review too many subjects like before, leading many students to only focus on reviewing one of the two exams, either the competency assessment exam or the high school graduation exam.
"In previous years, the math section had 10 questions, and each social and natural science subject had 10 questions, making it difficult for candidates to know how many questions to review. This year, the math section has 30 questions, all of which are in high school knowledge, so it is easy for candidates to review, not to mention that students who did not review social and natural science subjects this year can still do well. Reducing questions on logical thinking and data analysis and increasing English questions also creates favorable conditions for good students," Mr. Cong analyzed.
The second reason is that this year the number of candidates taking the competency assessment test continues to reach a record high of 152,791 people, nearly 48,000 more than in 2024. In this group, many students have good abilities and consider the competency assessment test a suitable backup plan, because they do not need to review all the subjects to be able to do well on the test as before. This is also the reason why this group can easily achieve high results, helping to increase the number of candidates with over 900 points.
According to Mr. Tam, although this is the first year of organizing the competency assessment exam according to the 2018 GeneralEducation Program, the difficulty of the exam both ensures differentiation and is adjusted appropriately to the candidates' ability to approach. This is an opinion drawn from the feedback of the student group and reviewing the exam content in the past 3 years, showing that students who have prepared thoroughly "can easily achieve a good score".
"Candidates have become more proactive and strategic in their preparation each year. After several years of implementing the competency assessment exam, they have become familiar with the exam structure, have access to many quality learning resources, and even set clear goals for improving their scores in each exam session. This is evident in the second session, which attracted many candidates determined to optimize their university admission results," the male teacher added.
"The score distribution over the years reflects the trend of candidates increasingly adapting to the form of competency assessment exams," commented Mr. Tam.
Students in a competency assessment test preparation class in Ho Chi Minh City
PHOTO: MT
Difficult to predict safe score
According to Mr. Cong, this year the number of candidates achieving a score of 800 or higher has increased significantly. Compared to the score range of previous years, the competitive score range could increase from 700-800 to 800-900. However, because the Ministry of Education and Training this year requires universities to convert candidates' scores to a 30-point scale, predictions about the safe score level are "very difficult to say", according to Mr. Cong.
That is also the reason why experts advise candidates not to be careless like every year, especially in the situation where there is no more early admission. "Everyone is gathered at the dock waiting for a ferry, so the competitive pressure is higher than every year. Even if your test scores are high, don't rely on them but continue to do well in the high school graduation exam," said Mr. Hung.
Mr. Hung added that the peak score of the second round of the competency assessment exam is concentrated at around 750-850, which will cause the number of candidates in this range to "increase very high". This could create "not small" competitive pressure in the above segment when many candidates choose to change their wishes to match the new score. "Those who only take the high school graduation exam will face equally great competition", the male teacher added.
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/thi-danh-gia-nang-luc-nam-2025-diem-tren-1000-khong-con-hiem-mung-hay-lo-185250613094404508.htm
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