130,000 candidates take early university entrance exam, exam questions change dramatically

The exam is the largest in the country, taking place in 25 provinces/cities including: Thua Thien Hue, Da Nang, Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, Binh Dinh, Phu Yen, Khanh Hoa, Ninh Thuan, Binh Thuan; Dak Lak, Lam Dong; Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Duong, Dong Nai, Ba Ria - Vung Tau, Binh Phuoc, Tay Ninh; Tien Giang, Dong Thap, Vinh Long, An Giang, Can Tho, Kien Giang, Bac Lieu, Ca Mau.

Of the approximately 130,000 candidates taking the first round of the exam, Ho Chi Minh City has many exam locations with 51,074 candidates. This is also the locality with the most students registering for the exam with 40,452 students.

Candidates at the exam site of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Ho Chi Minh City (Thu Duc campus). Photo: VNU

Dr. Nguyen Quoc Chinh, Director of the Center for Testing and Training Quality Assurance (Ho Chi Minh City National University) said that the 2025 competency assessment test has 120 questions, and candidates will have 150 minutes to complete the test.

Compared to the past 7 years (2018-2024), this year's exam has had a dramatic change. Part 1 - Language use (Vietnamese, English) has 60 questions, increasing the number of questions to 20 (previously 40). Part 2 - Mathematics 30 questions also changed from before, which was Mathematics - logic - analysis with 10 questions per part.

Part 3 - Scientific Thinking, 30 questions, of which 12 are Data Analysis Logic and 18 are Scientific Reasoning. This structure is completely different from the previous part which was Problem Solving in the fields of Chemistry, Physics, Biology, History, Geography.

Exam structure 2018-2024

Structure of the 2025 competency assessment exam

According to Mr. Chinh, the reason for this change is due to the diverse subject selection trend of students. If the exam structure of the 2018-2024 period is maintained, there will be limitations in accurately assessing the capacity of candidates studying under the 2018 General Education program because the majority of students do not study enough 5 subjects corresponding to 5 areas in the Problem Solving section to adjust the exam structure to suit the new approach of the general education program.

"Adjust the exam questions to accurately assess candidates' university learning ability and ensure fairness and create equal opportunities in accessing university education for all candidates, especially when their choice of subjects is very diverse," said Mr. Chinh.

The University of Natural Sciences, Nguyen Van Cu campus (District 5) is one of the testing sites for this year’s capacity assessment. Candidates were present at the testing site early in the morning, taking the opportunity to review their lessons before entering the room. Photo: VNU

Therefore, according to Mr. Chinh, Ho Chi Minh City National University chose to keep the structure of the Language Use and Mathematics sections, while increasing the number of questions in these two sections to increase the reliability and discrimination of the test.

The Logic - Data Analysis and Problem Solving section is restructured into the Scientific Thinking section, with the aim of assessing candidates' ability in logic and scientific reasoning to solve real-life situations in the fields of science, technology, economics and society. The questions in the Scientific Thinking section are designed to provide information, data, facts, experimental planning, and experimental results, thereby requiring candidates to demonstrate their ability to understand and apply information, determine experimental results, and predict laws.

Candidates check items brought into the exam room. Photo: VNU

According to Mr. Chinh, the test results are determined by modern multiple choice methods based on Item Response Theory (IRT). The score of each question has different weights depending on the difficulty of the question. The test score is converted for each section. The maximum score of the test is 1,200 points, in which the maximum score for each component of the test is shown on the score sheet including: Vietnamese is 300 points, English is 300 points; Mathematics is 300 points and Scientific Thinking is 300 points.

Candidates take the exam at the exam site of the University of Technology. Photo: VNU

The results of the competency assessment test were announced after half a month (April 16). After that, the unit continued to organize the second round of exams in 11 provinces and cities. This year, both rounds of competency assessment tests of Ho Chi Minh City National University took place before the high school graduation exam.

Currently, there are 103 universities and colleges nationwide that consider the results of the competency assessment exam organized by Ho Chi Minh City National University. Of these, there are 8 member universities of this university: University of Technology, University of Natural Sciences, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, University of Economics and Law, University of Information Technology, International University, An Giang University, University of Health Sciences and 85 other universities and colleges.

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/130-000-thi-sinh-thi-danh-gia-nang-luc-vao-dai-hoc-som-de-thi-thay-doi-dot-bien-2385831.html