With 129/150 points, Nguyen Thanh Ngoc (former student of class 12A4, Kim Lien High School, Hanoi) and Nguyen Mai Truc (former student of class 12A5, Chuong My A High School, Hanoi) both became valedictorians of the Hanoi National University's Competency Assessment (HSA) exam in 2024.
For both female students, this was the result of their first and only exam in 2024. Both did not register to retake the exam to improve their scores because they both believed that "with this exam, even if they retake it, they are not sure of getting a higher score".
The Competency Assessment test consists of 3 parts with 150 questions, each part divided into 50 questions: Part 1 - Quantitative thinking (Mathematics, 75 minutes), Part 2 - Qualitative thinking (Literature - Language, 60 minutes), Part 3 - Science (Nature - Society), 60 minutes).
According to the assessment of the Hanoi National University Examination Center, candidates who achieve high scores in all three parts must have extensive knowledge and good analytical and synthesis skills.
Sharing with VietNamNet , Truc said that when she learned that she was the valedictorian of the 2024 Competency Assessment Exam, she was very happy and surprised. At first, she just wanted to have the exam results to apply to universities, not hoping to become the candidate with the highest score.
Ngoc was also surprised: "I just thought I would take the exam to increase my chances of getting into university, but I didn't expect to get results beyond my expectations."
To get good results in the Competency Assessment exam, Ngoc said, she mainly studied on her own. She also studied the reference questions to understand and know how the questions were asked and what knowledge content she needed to review. “When I read the reference questions, I knew what content and topics the qualitative part would ask about. I delved deeper into those parts if I was unclear.”
Ngoc said that her way of reviewing for the Aptitude Test is also a little different from the way she reviews for the High School Graduation Exam. According to her, the way of asking questions in this exam is different from the High School Graduation Exam, and the content is broader.
“I find the review for the Competency Assessment test more difficult. For the high school graduation exam, if I decide to follow a certain group, I only focus on the subjects in that group – and I usually have a solid grasp of the knowledge. For the Competency Assessment test, I have to review more subjects, including subjects that I am not good at. For example, I am in group B, but to take the Competency Assessment test, I have to study and review more knowledge in Literature, History, and Geography for all 3 years of high school,” Ngoc said.
Mai Truc also spent time reviewing the knowledge she was not sure about, and in her opinion, the important thing is to practice according to the published reference exam questions.
However, Truc's way of reviewing for the Competency Assessment exam is not much different from reviewing for the high school graduation exam.
“I review for both the high school graduation exam and the Competency Assessment exam. I just study the knowledge carefully according to the progress in class. When the exam is near, I find many questions to practice,” Truc said. However, Truc also feels that reviewing for the Competency Assessment exam is more difficult.
Both of them said that, with the high school graduation exam, each subject requires deeper knowledge, the amount of knowledge about that subject is more difficult and often has to be learned according to certain types of questions. But in the Competency Assessment exam, the knowledge of the subjects and questions are somewhat "strange", meaning it requires more thinking to be able to link the knowledge together to handle the questions.
According to the two female students, the most difficult questions on the high school graduation exam are more difficult than those on the Competency Assessment exam. Therefore, the two female valedictorians believe that it is difficult to evaluate which exam to invest more in to be considered for university admission and perhaps no exam is clearly superior.
“Choosing which exam to invest in depends on which exam method suits you better and which school you want to attend,” Ngoc said.
Ngoc personally invests in both. “With the high school graduation exam, the results give me more opportunities to apply to most universities. But taking the Aptitude Test also gives me more peace of mind,” Ngoc said.
Truc shared: “If you allocate your time well, you can absolutely get good results in both exams. You can register for the Competency Assessment exams held early, and then focus more on the high school graduation exam later.”
In the 2024 high school graduation exam, Truc achieved an impressive total score of 28.2 in the D01 group (Math 9.2; Literature 9; English 10) and 28.07 points in the D07 group (Math 9.2; Chemistry 9.5; English 10).
Ngoc also scored 28.15 points in group D07 (Math 9; Chemistry 9.75; English 9.4) and 27.25 points in group B (Math 9; Chemistry 9.75; Biology 8.5).
Sharing their study secrets to achieve good results in many exams, both female students emphasized focusing on studying in class and self-studying mainly. Truc always tries to complete the exercises assigned by teachers and learn more exercises online. She also always tries to allocate her time scientifically during the day to be able to learn the most knowledge.
When studying at home, in addition to doing homework in class, Truc spends time every day learning more about one subject and then rotates it for all subjects.
Ngoc shared: “Focusing on listening to teachers in class is very important. But to differentiate myself from my friends, I mainly spend time on self-study. At that time, I realize and understand best what I am weak at and what knowledge I need to supplement, then find documents and related exercises to practice more. I also try to do as many questions and read as much documents as possible to practice thinking,” Ngoc shared.
Recently, with the top results of the Competency Assessment exam, Mai Truc and Thanh Ngoc were also awarded 5 million VND by the Hanoi National University Examination Center.
Currently, Truc has registered and passed the entrance exam by considering the Competency Assessment score into the International Business major of Foreign Trade University.
As for Ngoc, with the dream of becoming a doctor, she used the B block combination with a total score of 27.25 and an IELTS certificate of 7.5 to apply and was admitted to the Faculty of Medicine at Hanoi Medical University.
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The information was given at the conference summarizing the 2024 High School Student Assessment (HSA) exam and the 2025 implementation plan organized by the Hanoi National University Testing Center on August 22.
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