Easy combination, difficult elective subjects

This is the last exam session for candidates taking the 2018 program. Candidates taking the 2006 generaleducation program will take the Natural Science (KHTN) exam, which includes the subjects: Physics, Chemistry, Biology; the Social Science (KHXH) exam, which includes the subjects: History, Geography, and Civic Education; the exam time for each component subject is 50 minutes. All exams take place at the same time.

Candidates discuss results after finishing their elective exams. Photo: NHU THANH

According to a quick report from the Department of Education and Training, for the combined exams, there were 380 candidates registered to take the exam, of which 340 candidates were present, including: Physics had 54/59 candidates registered to take the exam, 5 candidates were absent; Chemistry had 49/53 candidates registered to take the exam, 4 candidates were absent; Biology had 23/25 candidates registered to take the exam, 2 candidates were absent; History had 153/172 candidates registered to take the exam, 19 candidates were absent; Geography had 148/167 candidates registered to take the exam, 19 candidates were absent; Civic Education had 39/41 candidates registered to take the exam, 2 candidates were absent.

The first elective exam had 10,578/10,618 candidates registered to take the exam, 40 candidates were absent. The second elective exam had 10,558/10,597 candidates registered to take the exam, 39 candidates were absent.

Evaluating the exam session on the morning of June 27 at 28 exam locations, the Department of Education and Training said that the exam took place safely and seriously, with no violations of exam regulations.

Elective subjects make it difficult for candidates

After 100 minutes of taking two optional exams, most candidates leaving the exam room said that this year's exams were difficult to get high scores.

At the exam site of Ngo Gia Tu High School, candidate Duong Mai Anh Tuyet (student of Ngo Gia Tu High School) said: During the review process, I tried to study and practice many types of questions because this is the first year of taking elective subjects according to the new education program, the structure of the questions will not be the same as previous years. I chose to take 2 subjects: English and Economic and Legal Education. With the English test, I think I will get about 5 points. For the Economic and Legal Education subject, I find the content of the multiple choice questions (from questions 1-24) quite practical. As for part 2, answering true or false according to each answer a, b, c, d for the question, I find the ideas are a bit similar to each other so it is easy to get confused.

As for Le Cong Doan, a student at Ngo Gia Tu High School, Chemistry is likely to bring him a high score in this year's High School Graduation Exam. Doan shared: The exam consists of 3 parts: part 1 is multiple choice with 18 questions, part 2 is choosing true or false with 4 questions, part 3 is answering the content of the question. I find part 1 quite easy, close to the content of the curriculum and have the potential to get a high score with these questions. Part 2 and part 3 are more difficult.

Similarly, at the examination council of Tran Suyen Secondary School (Phu Hoa district), after finishing the exam and walking out of the school gate, candidate Tran Van Thang in Hoa Quang Bac commune said that the structure of the exam for the elective subjects was new, the knowledge was so general that it was difficult to complete the entire exam. This year, he chose to take 2 elective subjects, Physics and Chemistry, for university admission, but with this exam, he could get 6.5 points for each subject.

Natural Science and Social Science Exams are easy

At the Tran Quoc Toan Secondary School (Tuy Hoa City) exam site, where independent candidates took the exam according to the 2006 general education program. After finishing the 150-minute exam for the Natural Sciences and Social Sciences combination, most candidates walked out of the exam room in a relaxed mood. Many candidates said that this year's exam was easy and they could get a score of 7 or 8.

Candidates discuss their elective exam after leaving the exam room. Photo: TRUNG HIEU

Candidate Nguyen Ngoc Bao Tram from Tuy An district, currently a first-year student at Da Nang University of Medical Technology, taking the exam to get into Hue University of Medicine and Pharmacy, said: This year's exam was relatively easy.

Of the 3 subjects Math, Chemistry, and Biology, Math is the most difficult. Of the 50 Math questions, questions 30 to 50 are highly differentiated. As for Chemistry and Biology, the test is easy, with 40 questions each. For Chemistry, the most difficult part is from questions 35 to 40, and questions 1 to 34 are easy because of the theory. I got about 8 points on the Chemistry test. As for Biology, most of the questions are theory. With this year's exam, I got about 7.5 points on the Math test, and over 8.5 points on Chemistry and Biology.

Similarly, candidate Nguyen Thi Tuyet Mai in Ea Bar commune (Song Hinh district) is currently a first-year student at Quy Nhon University, majoring in Preschool Education, said: This year I decided to retake the three subjects of Literature, History, and Geography to consider admission to the Preschool Education major at Phu Yen University to study near home. Of the three subjects, I found History the most difficult. Many of the questions were quite similar, so it was difficult to choose the right question. Geography was the easiest, I used Atlas to do 11 questions on this test. Of the three subjects, I definitely got over 7.5 points on each subject.

This afternoon, independent candidates taking the 2006 general education program will enter the final exam session with the Foreign Language subject. The test time is 60 minutes.

* Mr. Nguyen Nho Loc, Head of Chemistry Group, Luong Van Chanh High School for the Gifted: Chemistry has two significant changes.
The 2025 High School Graduation Exam according to the 2018 general education program in Chemistry has two notable changes. Firstly, this is also the time for us to look back at the initial results of the innovation process after three years of implementation. Secondly, along with the program changes, the exam structure has also been significantly adjusted. This year's Chemistry exam is diverse in question formats, including: 18 multiple-choice questions; 4 true/false questions (with a total of 16 questions) and 6 short-answer questions.
Unlike previous years, when the exam only used one type of multiple choice questions (40 questions), this year, this change clearly shows the orientation of assessment based on the learner's capacity. The exam structure focuses on assessing students' capacity including: chemical cognition capacity, capacity to learn about the natural world and capacity to apply knowledge and skills. Each capacity is demonstrated through different levels in each specific question.
In terms of differentiation, this year's exam has good differentiation for good and excellent students. The exam is not heavy on calculations and focuses on the essence, the theoretical basis of chemistry, and practical application. The average score will be around 6-6.5, good students can get 9-10.
The 2025 High School Graduation Exam in Chemistry reflects the spirit of innovation in the 2018 General Education Program. The exam structure is diverse, the content closely follows the program, focuses on assessing capacity and has good differentiation.
* Mr. Do Dai Duy, Physics teacher, Le Loi High School (Dong Xuan district): This year's Physics exam has many changes.
According to teacher Do Dai Duy, this year's Physics exam, Part I, has 18 multiple choice questions, which students can easily pass, with only 1 or 2 questions requiring students to read the questions carefully. Part II, which requires true/false answers, is easier than the Ministry of Education and Training's sample questions. To do well in this part, students need to have reading comprehension skills and practical experimental knowledge, and understand how to use and operate the equipment.
Part III is the short answer section, this year there is a change, not focusing too much on mathematical knowledge and skills but enhancing practical knowledge of understanding and analyzing physical phenomena, so the calculation is not too difficult. This section also has questions applying interdisciplinary knowledge related to chemistry at a basic level.
* Mr. Ngo Minh Nhu Toai, English Teacher, Duy Tan High School: English exam questions puzzle students
The 2025 English exam will begin to apply a new structure with 40 multiple-choice questions in a shortened test time of 50 minutes, requiring candidates to not only master knowledge but also have effective time management skills.
In my opinion, this year's English exam is quite challenging for students. The exam mostly follows the reference structure of the Ministry of Education and Training, while still having clear differentiation for graduation and university admission. The easy-to-scoring sections only account for about 50-60% of the exam, including basic grammar questions (relative clauses, determiners/quantifiers, conjunctions, prepositions, etc.), common vocabulary, and reading comprehension with familiar topics.
In particular, the part of arranging dialogues and paragraphs is often very easy if students have mastered the basic rules. For candidates who thoroughly review textbook knowledge and familiarize themselves with review test questions developed from the reference questions of the Ministry of Education and Training, it is entirely possible to achieve 5-7 points.
For the difficult to classify section, the test focuses on advanced vocabulary questions, phrasal verbs, idioms, and complex reading passages with academic vocabulary. In particular, the synonyms and antonyms and sentence completion sections are often difficult because they require a wide vocabulary and the ability to infer context. These questions help top universities select candidates with excellent abilities.
With this year’s English exam, I predict the average score for English will be around 5-6 points. For candidates using English to apply for university, the standard score for international languages or economics majors usually ranges from 7-8 points, while highly competitive majors such as Medicine may require 8-9 points.
Overall, this year’s exam was quite difficult but still balanced between graduation requirements and university admissions. Students need to focus on reviewing grammar, expanding their vocabulary and practicing reading comprehension skills to achieve the best results.
LOYAL (recorded)