Candidates complain that the high school graduation English reading test is like an IELTS test, 'dizzying'

'I found the English test very difficult. My test code was the first reading passage, and it took me 25 minutes to do this reading passage,' the candidate said after taking the 2 elective subjects of the 2025 high school graduation exam this morning (June 27).

Coming out of the 2025 high school graduation exam gate at Saigon Practical High School (Saigon University), candidate K.Ngan, who chose to take the English and Physics exams, said: "I found the English graduation exam very difficult. In my exam code, the first reading passage had 10 questions, so I spent the first 25 minutes on that reading passage, equivalent to half of the exam time."

The female student in the non-specialized class at Le Hong Phong High School for the Gifted, Ho Chi Minh City, added: "Luckily, I still finished all the questions in time, with 5 minutes left to check again."

Candidates finished taking two elective subjects for the 2025 high school graduation exam this morning, June 27. Many of them chose to take the English exam.

PHOTO: THUY HANG

Candidate Nhat Lam, High School for the Gifted (Ho Chi Minh City National University), commented that the English test was "difficult to say". "I found the test really difficult, more difficult than the test I was studying for. For example, in my test code, the first reading passage was the one I considered the most difficult, so it took me quite a while to process it," the candidate said.

Meanwhile, female student Van Lam, also a student at the Gifted High School (Ho Chi Minh City National University), who achieved 7.5 IELTS, commented: "I found the English test similar to the IELTS test, I was dizzy when I first read it. Especially the reading passages in the test. I also felt like this test was like the entrance exam for grade 10 at the Gifted High School a few years ago, both long and with a lot of data."

Candidates complain that the high school graduation English reading test is both long and difficult, what do teachers say?

Master Do Thi Ngoc Anh, an English teacher at DOL Dinh Luc, commented that the 2025 high school graduation English exam according to the 2018 GeneralEducation Program closely followed the sample exam. The exam had certain questions that students had learned and were familiar with, such as arranging and filling in information.

"I appreciate the reading comprehension in the exam. This is a challenging type of test for students because it contains a lot of specialized vocabulary. However, I hope that with careful review and preparation, many students will do well on this test," said Ms. Ngoc Anh.

PHOTO: THUY HANG

High School Graduation English Exam 2025 General Education Program 2018, code 1128

PHOTO: THUY HANG

"I think the reading passages in the English exam for high school graduation according to the 2018 General Education Program are very good with topics close to Vietnam and young people. For example, in the exam there is a reading passage about applying technology and techniques to improve farmers' work. This topic is close to Vietnam - a dominant agricultural economy . Another very good topic is the reading passage about how to recognize the value of health so that young people can live more dynamically and confidently. Because in reality, many young people are subjective and pay little attention to their health," said Ms. Ngoc Anh.

In addition, according to Ms. Ngoc Anh, a reading passage in the 2025 high school graduation English exam will challenge many candidates in this year's high school graduation exam, regarding the content of "Greenwashing" - a form of false advertising or intentional misleading by some businesses, pretending that their products really reduce pollution, are very environmentally friendly but are actually their PR tricks. "This is a good reading passage because it will help young people, especially Gen Z, understand the impact of fake news and not everything that businesses and companies say is true. We also need to have critical thinking to realize that sometimes what they say is beneficial to them but not really beneficial to users or not beneficial to the environment," she said.

Ms. Ngoc Anh, a teacher who achieved 8.5 IELTS and a master's scholarship at the University of the West of England, UK, also commented that with this English test, the common score range is around 6 or 7. If students master the higher reading comprehension sections, which require more complex vocabulary, as well as understand the strong connections between sentences, they can achieve a higher score range of 8 or 9. A score of 10 will not be much.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/thi-sinh-than-bai-doc-tieng-anh-tot-nghiep-thpt-nhu-de-ielts-nhin-hoa-mat-185250627102554841.htm