The Ministry of Education says it is researching more multiple-choice question formats and may invite the American Institute for Testing and Certification to provide training in order to build a question bank for the 2025 high school graduation exam.
At the conference summarizing the organization of the 2023 high school graduation exam, held in Hanoi on September 20th, the Ministry of Education and Training announced that it is continuing to gather opinions on the plan for the 2025 high school graduation exam.
Accordingly, the exam is expected to include 11 subjects: Literature, Mathematics, Foreign Language, History, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Geography, Economics and Law Education, Informatics, and Technology. These are subjects assessed using scores in the new general education program (2018). Some subjects are compulsory, while others are chosen by the candidates.
The exam will closely follow the objectives of the new curriculum, primarily focusing on grade 12. The 2025 high school graduation exam will aim to enhance the assessment of students' abilities. Literature will be tested in essay format, while other subjects will be tested using multiple-choice questions.
Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Ha, Deputy Director of the Quality Management Department, Ministry of Education and Training, said that the new general education program focuses on developing 5 qualities and 10 competencies for students. However, the high school graduation exam cannot assess everything. Therefore, the exam will focus on important competencies that are consistent with career orientations during the high school period, such as problem-solving and creativity, calculation, and language skills.
The exam format was developed by building upon the strengths of previous exams while innovating to better suit the goal of assessing competence. Currently, except for Literature, the exams for the remaining subjects are in multiple-choice format, requiring candidates to choose one of four options.
"We are researching additional formats such as true/false questions and open-ended questions requiring short answers," Mr. Ha said, adding that this aims to further assess other abilities of the candidates.
However, he also noted that each format has its advantages and disadvantages, and its feasibility needs to be carefully considered. For example, there is a very good assessment method, but if it increases the exam from 4 pages to 10 pages, then it needs to be reconsidered.
In addition, the Ministry plans to develop the format for the 2025 high school graduation exam around October-November, and then test it in several localities.
Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Ha shared his views on the 2025 high school graduation exam at the conference on September 20th. Photo: MOET
Regarding the development of a question bank, Mr. Ha said the Ministry has the idea of building a shared exam question library because of the highly open nature of the 2018 general education curriculum.
The Ministry also plans to invite the Educational Testing Service (ETS) and leading domestic experts to train officials and teachers involved in testing to build a question library. From there, the Ministry will have a standardized exam question bank.
Professor Do Duc Thai, the chief editor of the Mathematics curriculum for the 2018 general education program, believes that developing a question format for the high school graduation exam that is suitable for the new curriculum is difficult and requires further discussion with many experts, administrators, and teachers.
To establish a solid scientific basis for developing the format of high school graduation exam questions, Mr. Thai pointed out three immediate tasks. First, clarify the role and purpose of the high school graduation exam in relation to university admissions. Second, research and standardize the curriculum for each subject in the new program. Third, develop a set of standards for evaluating students' qualities and competencies, and a set of assessment tools for each subject in the new program for common use.
Mr. Thai also suggested that the committee responsible for setting the high school graduation exam questions from 2015 onwards should include representatives from the new curriculum development board, key authors of textbooks, and core experts and high school teachers with extensive experience in exam question development.
The new general education program (2018) has been applied at the high school level since 2022. In 2025, the first cohort of students under this program will take the graduation exam. To align with the new program content, the graduation exam has also undergone several changes.
In mid-March, the Ministry of Education and Training announced a draft plan for the 2025 high school graduation exam with four compulsory subjects: Mathematics, Literature, Foreign Language, and History. In addition, students must choose two other subjects. However, the Ministry has not yet finalized the number of compulsory subjects.
In addition, the Ministry plans to pilot computer-based testing for multiple-choice subjects in some localities during the 2025-2030 period. After 2030, all 63 provinces and cities will be capable of organizing computer-based multiple-choice exams.
From 2025 onwards, the high school graduation exam will still be under the overall direction of the Ministry, with local authorities directly organizing the exam and certifying graduation for candidates.
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