Candidates with IELTS 7.5 and SAT 1,530 also complained about the difficulty of the English test for high school graduation.

Điểm SAT 1% thế giới cũng sốc với độ khó đề tiếng Anh thi tốt nghiệp THPT - Ảnh 1. — Candidates discuss English test after exam time

This afternoon (June 27), candidates taking the new program exam officially completed the 2025 high school graduation exam. At the exam site of Le Loi Secondary School (HCMC), many candidates expressed surprise at the English exam, saying that the exam was "much more difficult and longer" than the review materials in class as well as the sample exam from the Ministry of Education and Training. "This year's English exam was quite tricky and had many new words that we had never heard before," Nguyen Xuan Hoang My and Tran Hai My, students of Nguyen Thi Minh Khai High School (HCMC), shared.

Both female students said they had taken the IELTS test before, but still encountered many difficulties in this year's English test, especially in the sentence-filling and reading sections. "There were some words we read but did not understand, such as face with mounting scrutiny. Some other words were quite abstract, carrying a 'sneering' message or a metaphor for a certain meaning," the two candidates said.

Comments on the English exam for the 2025 high school exam: Difficult exam, close to international exam

“We found the exam to be very difficult, more difficult than what we had ever done and practiced. We did not expect this level of difficulty because this is usually the subject that people expect the highest score,” Hoang My and Hai My said. Hai My said that she had taken the IELTS test and achieved a score of 7.5.

"The reading passage also doesn't have answers that can be eliminated just by looking at them. You have to read the entire passage and understand the questions to be able to answer them," added Ho Hien Long, a student at the same school.

Điểm SAT 1% thế giới cũng sốc với độ khó đề tiếng Anh thi tốt nghiệp THPT - Ảnh 2. — Parents accompany candidates after the end of the 2025 high school graduation exam

Meanwhile, Lam Ngoc Cat Vuong, a student at the same school, said she couldn’t finish the English test in time, and “there were about 15 minutes left but I still had the reading passage and the fill-in-the-blank section left.” “The topic of the reading passage was completely unfamiliar, with all the advanced vocabulary, so even though I had studied IELTS, I was still surprised,” the student said, adding that the answers to many of the reading passages were “all the same,” forcing her to choose carefully.

"Not to mention the small letters in the question and the lines are so close together, looking at it for a while makes me dizzy," the female student confided.

Similarly, Do Ngoc Anh Thu said that although she had scored 1,530 on the SAT, she was still shocked by the difficulty of the English test. “I would rather take the SAT than this test, there are many words that confuse me. I have studied for the SAT so I only know a few words, if I only studied for the IELTS, I think I would give up,” the student said, adding that she had not achieved the score she expected.

According to the College Board, which owns the SAT, about two million students worldwide take the SAT each year. Those who score 1,530 or higher are in the top 1% of the world.

Anh Thu added that the 3 reading passages took her the most time because they contained specialized, advanced vocabulary, and the answers were similar, causing confusion. “This test only took 50 minutes, which was too little. I couldn’t finish it in time. I only had about 10 minutes to solve the remaining questions after the reading passages,” the female student shared.

Điểm SAT 1% thế giới cũng sốc với độ khó đề tiếng Anh thi tốt nghiệp THPT - Ảnh 3. — Hoang Nam (right) thinks the reading comprehension part of the English test is long and rambling.

Having achieved IELTS 6.5, Nguyen Hoang Nam, a student at Marie Curie High School (HCMC), only hopes to get 8 points or more on the English test. “I only have 50 minutes for 40 questions, which is just over a minute per question, so I don’t have much time to think. I personally have the most difficulty with the reading comprehension part because the passage is too long and rambling, making it difficult for me to identify the focus of the question,” Nam said.

After the optional exam (with the new program), candidates of the new program officially completed the 2025 high school graduation exam. Candidates of the old program, after taking the natural science or social science exam, continued to take the foreign language exam this afternoon, June 27.

The results of the 2025 high school graduation exam are expected to be announced by the Ministry of Education and Training on July 16 and considered for recognition of high school graduation no later than July 18.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/sat-1-the-gioi-ielts-75-soc-voi-do-kho-de-tieng-anh-thi-tot-nghiep-thpt-18525062711474095.htm