University admissions: Confusion and confusion due to score conversion

These days, parents and students are racing to learn mathematical concepts and their meanings. They fumble with formulas, learn how to calculate, do it over and over again to convert, and know their exact scores before registering for university admission.

Candidates ask questions about score conversion and admission combinations at the 2025 university and college admission selection day - Photo: QUANG DINH

It is a thorny and difficult journey, because each school has different formulas and parameters. Confusion and bewilderment are common feelings of many candidates and parents.

Remarkable innovation, but...

The 2025 university entrance exam recorded many firsts: equivalent conversion of test scores of all methods to a 30-point scale with high school graduation exam scores considered the original measure, announcement of the percentile of 7 combinations, announcement of the correlation between academic transcript scores and high school graduation exam scores...

All of this is aimed at a transparent, fair and convenient university entrance exam for candidates. This is a remarkable innovation of the Ministry of Education and Training .

Whether these goals will be achieved, however, remains to be seen in practice and the final results. For now, confusion and bewilderment are the words that can be used to describe the developments of the past few days.

The first time the percentile was announced, most people did not understand what it was and what it meant, and how it would help candidates in registering their wishes and universities in selecting them. Initial concerns were also resolved, but there were still debates about the accuracy of this percentile table.

The exam scores for the admission combinations between the combinations this year are quite large, the percentile table is the basis for candidates to know their ranking, universities determine the appropriate score for the combinations instead of a common score for all combinations to be fair to candidates.

However, many universities still announce that they apply a common benchmark for all combinations or do not announce the conversion. So in theory, it is fair in some places and not in others.

What makes candidates, parents and even universities concerned is the equivalent conversion to a 30-point scale. Right from the draft of the admission regulations, many opinions opposed this regulation because each exam has different goals, test questions and classification levels. The conversion will not be similar, and without a scientific basis, it will be difficult to ensure fairness.

There have been many warnings that each school converting differently will lead to chaos and unfairness. But that regulation is still enforced and initially caused a lot of trouble for candidates and parents.

Each school has its own style.

Because the conversion formula is different, universities also give different conversion scores. With the same capacity assessment score, one school converts it to 24.25, another school converts it to 27.25 points. With the same capacity, one school evaluates it highly, another school lowers it. The school applies the difference in admission scores between groups, the school considers a common standard score for the groups. Some places have a difference of 2 points between the transcript and graduation exam score, some places have 4-5 points...

That means the same result is given by the Ministry of Education and Training but each school understands and does it differently. Without unity, fairness and equality are only on paper. Even the head of the training department of a university said that because the document of the Ministry is only for reference, how to apply it depends on the school. The most difficult part is converting the score of the Ministry for schools to implement without any common formula.

This leads to confusion and even unhealthy competition among schools in the same segment. Also, because each school converts scores differently, candidates who are considered to have an ability assessment or high school graduation exam score at one school may benefit but be disadvantaged when considered at another school and vice versa. The goal of fairness and equality is considered difficult to achieve.

If only...

There are only a few days left until the deadline for registering for university admission this year. Hopefully, hundreds of thousands of candidates and their parents will have time to calculate and choose the major and school that is right for them. If only the Ministry of Education and Training had listened more, prepared everything from score data to score conversion earlier, more carefully and consistently, then it wouldn't be as troublesome and confusing as it is now!

Adverse effects

In previous years, after knowing the exam results, candidates considered the appropriate major and school to register. This year, if they wanted to register for a school, they had to calculate according to the school's formula to know the conversion score. If they couldn't do it, they had to go to the school to ask. Universities also had to mobilize math lecturers to analyze the data and come up with a suitable conversion score formula. The results will be determined later, but for now, the goal of "not causing trouble for candidates" is considered unachievable.

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Source: https://tuoitre.vn/xet-tuyen-dai-hoc-hoang-mang-roi-boi-vi-quy-doi-diem-20250725220842985.htm