From June 26th to 28th, 2024, over one million students nationwide overcame difficulties to complete the 2024 High School Graduation Examination. This was the last High School Graduation Examination under the 2006 General Education Program, and also the last year using the multiple-choice format – A, B, C, D (except for Literature). After reviewing the 2024 High School Graduation Examination questions, many experts, teachers, and students believe that, in addition to similarities with previous years (form, structure, scope of knowledge, objectives, etc.), the High School Graduation Examination questions for all subjects in general, and the History exam in particular, also incorporated new elements, aiming to guide the 2025 High School Graduation Examination under the 2018 General Education Program.
Overall, the 2024 high school graduation exam in History was assessed as good and safe; it inherited and built upon the achievements of previous years in using multiple-choice questions (A, B, C, D); the exam had a new approach by providing materials, making it easier for candidates to have more scientific basis for choosing answers, thereby guiding the innovation of high school graduation exam question design from 2025 onwards for teachers and candidates to refer to.
The structure and scope of knowledge are in line with the requirements and direction of the sample exam.
- The exam structure is the same as the sample exam published by the Ministry of Education and Training (March 2024) . 40 multiple-choice questions are divided into 3 levels of thinking to differentiate candidates: "Knowing" level (22 questions, from question 1 to question 22), "Understanding" level (8 questions, from question 23 to question 30), and "Application" and "High-level Application" level (10 questions, from question 31 to question 40). For the 10 application and high-level application questions, only diligent students with effective study methods, strong knowledge synthesis skills, and high-level thinking abilities will be able to answer them correctly.
- The exam's scope covers the History curriculum for grades 11 and 12, with no questions from the reduced curriculum. There are 36 questions from the grade 12 History curriculum (assessing all three levels of thinking) and 4 questions from the grade 11 History curriculum (Vietnamese History assessed at the knowledge level, World History assessed at the understanding level). Similar to previous years' History exams, the 30 questions assessing candidates at the knowledge and understanding levels in the 2024 exam do not include any reduced curriculum content (according to Circular No. 3280/BGDĐT-GDTrH, dated August 27, 2020) from the Ministry of Education and Training; the phrases used in the questions and answers are simple and readily available in the textbooks.
For the last 10 questions in each exam paper, the question phrases and answers are not available in the textbook. Candidates must synthesize and systematize their knowledge, compare it with related knowledge content to eliminate options and provide the correct answer. This ensures that the majority of candidates are assessed for graduation while also differentiating between high-achieving and high-achieving candidates for university admission. According to Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Manh Huong (lecturer in the History Department, Hanoi Pedagogical University 1), teachers and students should not have a rigid, mechanical view that questions in the application and high-level application exam " should not " be related to "phrases included in the reduced curriculum," because these are questions that comprehensively assess many skills (recalling, synthesizing, analyzing, countermeasures, linking issues, etc.) and require candidates to mobilize many units of knowledge to solve them: knowledge content that may be "reduced" in the lesson on new knowledge research, but is still mentioned in the summary; knowledge content that may be "reduced" in the world history section, but is "mentioned in the national history section, etc."
- The question-posing techniques and question-making methods are consistent across all exam versions . In all 24 versions, the question groups are placed correctly within the knowledge areas, according to the matrix and level of thinking to ensure fairness (for example, at the high application level, all versions include questions related to Nguyen Ai Quoc's contributions to the Vietnamese revolution in the years 1919-1930). The question-posing techniques and distractors are also consistent, such as the number of statements with given options, the number of negative statements, the number of source materials, etc. With this format, candidates can be confident in the fairness of the exam regardless of the version, without any disparity in difficulty.
Thus, compared to the previously published sample exam (March 2024), the 2024 high school graduation exam in History has followed the correct structure and scope of knowledge, ensuring the requirements and direction of the previously published high school graduation exam.
The exam ensures comprehensiveness and achieves a "dual objective".
- The exam focuses on core knowledge from the curriculum . The content of the questions in each exam code focuses on basic, core knowledge according to the knowledge and skills standards of the 2006 General Education Program. The questions are clearly worded, do not challenge students, and do not include questions that assess rote memorization of details such as time, place, names, event sequences, data, etc.
- The exam ensures comprehensiveness and a clear direction . Comprehensiveness is demonstrated by the fact that the exam must assess students' learning process across multiple fields, as prescribed by the subject curriculum, such as politics, military affairs, economics, diplomacy, education, international relations, connecting the past with the present, etc. Besides comprehensiveness, the questions in the exam are oriented towards the Party and State's views on education and history education (patriotic traditions, national unity in uprisings, resistance against foreign invaders, protecting independence, building socialism; summarizing lessons from the past and applying them to present life; applying historical knowledge to life, and using life knowledge to answer history exam questions, etc.).
- The exam achieves a "dual objective." The high school graduation exam organized by the Ministry of Education and Training has the main objective of assessing high school graduation scores, while also providing reliable information and a basis for university and college admissions in 2024 (for candidates achieving a score of 7.5 or higher). In addition, the exam will contribute to comparing the teaching and learning of History by teachers and students in provinces/cities nationwide (after the results are announced, the Ministry of Education and Training will have specific information and data when comparing "real learning" and "real testing" between localities). To achieve the above objective, the exam ensures confidentiality, comprehensiveness, and mass graduation assessment while also differentiating and ensuring fairness in educational evaluation.
The exam questions were "challenging" but "not tricky," and the grading was "easy" but not "lenient."
The 2024 high school graduation exam in History, like in previous years, is structured around three levels of thinking (knowing, understanding, and applying), posing a challenge for candidates who are not serious or overconfident in their history studies. Candidates who have a scientific study plan and method, and dedicate sufficient time to reviewing history in preparation for university admissions, will find it much easier to achieve good or excellent scores. The exam has 30 questions assessing candidates at a relatively easy level, based on textbook material, but if candidates do not study carefully and cannot apply their learned historical knowledge to real life, they will not meet the requirements. Specifically:
- Levels 1 and 2 (questions 1 to 30) are relatively easy questions, offering "easy" but not "lenient" scoring. In the initial question (22), the exam only assesses one level of thinking: "knowing." Candidates can choose an answer within 15-30 seconds of reading the question. For the next eight questions (23 to 30), the exam requires candidates to apply two levels of thinking: "knowing" and "understanding" to eliminate options and select the correct answer, but these are also not particularly challenging.
For example, at the "knowing" level of thinking, questions 2 (code 302), 10 (code 304), 5 (code 312), 18 (code 320), etc., are among the easier questions, making it easy to score points; candidates only need to know/identify that Mongolia, Thailand, and South Korea are not in Africa to get points.
After World War II, which of the following African countries gained independence?
A. Egypt.
B. Mongolia.
C. Thailand.
D. South Korea .
Or at the "understanding" level of thinking, for questions 25 (code 305), 23 (code 311), 29 (code 319), 27 (code 323), etc., candidates only need to go through two simple stages of thinking (recalling/re-evaluating knowledge, then eliminating options and making a decision to choose the correct answer).
Which of the following military victories of the people and armed forces of South Vietnam was the result of implementing the Resolution of the 21st Central Committee Conference (July 1973) of the Vietnam Workers' Party?
A. Phuoc Long
B. Machining.
C. Dong Khe.
D. Đoan Hùng.
In the example above, the candidate only needs to recall what decision was made at the 21st Central Conference (July 1973) of the Vietnam Labor Party? (In any case, revolutionary violence must continue to be used to complete the national democratic revolution in the South), then eliminate options unrelated to the revolution in the South (Phay Khat, Dong Khe, and Doan Hung - all place names in North Vietnam).
- Levels 3 and 4 (questions 31 to 40) present challenging but not overly difficult questions . These are highly differentiated questions, aiming to select candidates with scores of 7.5 or higher, providing a basis for admissions by institutes, universities, and colleges in 2024. To answer each question at levels 3 and 4, candidates must go through three or more stages of thinking (knowing, understanding, applying), combining knowledge with skills, and historical knowledge with social knowledge: Firstly, identifying and distinguishing the "keywords" of the question to avoid confusing names, terms, and other knowledge units; secondly, developing historical thinking, starting from recalling and recreating each event or phenomenon learned at the same time or different historical periods but with close connections (to serve as a basis for comparison) to systematizing knowledge according to the issue; Third, synthesize and connect knowledge according to the problem to compare and find similarities/differences, new or creative points, etc.; Fourth, eliminate incorrect or only partially correct distractors, then decide on the single correct answer.
The difference (a way to differentiate candidates) in each distractor at the "application" and "high-level application" levels compared to the "knowing" and "understanding" levels is: the answers and distractors "do not use verbatim" phrases from textbooks; they use "compound words" and longer distractors connecting knowledge units to increase the level of thinking. For example, the exam uses compound words like "revolutionary direction" (revolutionary line and direction forward), "action" (action and attitude), "worker-peasant-soldier alliance" (the alliance between workers, farmers, and soldiers), and "success and failure" (unbeatable success). These compound phrases are not new; they have all been used in professional fields and daily life, and are found in Vietnamese dictionaries. Candidates with a solid foundation in history, the ability to synthesize information, logically analyze different historical periods, and connect historical knowledge to lessons and real life will easily achieve high scores.
For example, questions 34 (codes 205 and 319), 31 (code 310), 39 (codes 321 and 324),… are among the four high-level application-based assessment questions, requiring candidates to go through four stages of thinking to make the correct decision.
In the context of a "once-in-a-thousand-years" opportunity (August 1945), Ho Chi Minh and the Indochinese Communist Party led the Vietnamese people to rise up and seize power based on which of the following principles?
A. Using violence to seize power at all costs.
B. Concentrate the total offensive on all three strategic regions.
C. Focus, unify, and act swiftly and promptly.
D. Seize the opportunity and neutralize the threat to avoid losses.
In the example above, the candidate must first identify and correctly understand the meaning of the phrase "once-in-a-thousand-years opportunity" (with the intertwining of "opportunity" and "risk") and "principle" (the fundamental things that must be followed) in the question. Next, the candidate must recreate the context of this "once-in-a-thousand-years opportunity" in Vietnam (from the unconditional surrender of the Japanese militarists to the Allied forces on August 15th to the beginning of September 1945) and describe how it manifested itself. Recreating the decisive decisions and actions of Ho Chi Minh and the Indochinese Communist Party in the context of a "once-in-a-thousand-years" opportunity (most notably the issuance of Decision No. 1, the determination to seize power nationwide without delay before the Allied forces entered Indochina; the content of the National Conference of the Party and the National Congress in Tan Trao; the event on the afternoon of August 16, 1945, when Vo Nguyen Giap led a unit into Thai Nguyen,...); The question recreates the scene of the people of the provinces rising up simultaneously to seize power, achieving a swift and relatively bloodless victory; the event of King Bao Dai declaring his abdication and handing over the royal seal and sword to the revolutionary government on August 30th at Ngo Mon Gate in Hue,... Finally, based on the recapitulation of learned knowledge, combined with critical thinking, candidates will eliminate distracting options that are not real/have not happened or are only partially correct ("seizing power at all costs," "total offensive across all three strategic regions," "neutralizing the threat to avoid losses"). The correct answer to the question above is "Concentration, unity, and swift, timely action," which means concentrating the highest national forces; unifying the strategy and methods of action in the process of seizing power; the seizure of power must take place quickly and promptly, achieving victory before the Allied forces entered Indochina, before the French colonialists returned to invade,...
The exam includes two questions that reflect the innovative approach to question design for the 2025 High School Graduation Exam.
The 2024 high school graduation exam in general, and the History exam in particular, is the final exam concluding the 2006 General Education Program. From the 2024-2025 school year onwards, students will take the high school graduation exam according to the 2018 Education Program. To prepare for the reform of the graduation exam from 2025, the Ministry of Education and Training has made thorough preparations (training and professional development for teachers on how to construct questions, etc.) and published the structure and format of the sample exam.
For teachers and students taking the 2025 high school graduation exam, the 2024 high school graduation exam questions for all subjects, including History, included information and historical sources (with specific citations) to provide students with additional basis for critical thinking when answering the questions. The 2024 History exam had two questions that included information and historical sources (related to basic knowledge content in the textbook), facilitating students' analysis of the issues. These include questions 32 and 38 (code 305), questions 38 and 40 (code 312), questions 37 and 40 (code 322), questions 38 and 39 (code 315), questions 33 and 36 (code 324),... For example, question 33 of code 324 provides a passage of material to help candidates think and analyze before making a decision on their answer choice as follows:
“ The Paris negotiations were an extremely difficult and decisive struggle between us [Vietnam] and the US... The US reacted fiercely. They were forced to de-escalate the war, gradually withdrawing US troops, but stubbornly continued to push forward with the “Vietnamization” war, negotiating from a position of strength...”
"Having suffered a disastrous defeat in the strategic air raid by B-52s at the end of 1972, the US's negotiating strategy from a position of strength was thwarted, and its will to invade was broken. With no more bargaining chips left, the US was forced to sign the Paris Agreement [27-1973], accepting the unilateral withdrawal of all US troops and troops from dependent countries..."
(Steering Committee for the Review of the War under the Politburo, The Vietnamese Revolutionary War 1945 - 1975 - Victories and Lessons, National Political Publishing House, Hanoi, 2000, pp. 235-236)
The fact that the US failed in its "negotiations from a position of strength," suffered a "catastrophic defeat" in its strategic air raids using B-52 bombers on Hanoi, Hai Phong, etc. (late 1972), and had to return to the negotiating table and sign the Paris Agreement (1973) on ending the war and restoring peace in Vietnam, proves that:
A. The conditions and "strategic opportunity for an offensive" to liberate South Vietnam had arrived.
B. The strength, courage, and wisdom of Vietnam in "fighting and negotiating" with the United States.
C. Following military defeats, the United States abandoned its strategic objectives in Vietnam.
D. The United States has declined in status and is no longer the richest and most powerful nation in the world.
The fact that each exam paper for the 2024 high school graduation exam in History includes two questions providing data before the question is asked, and four answer options (A, B, C, D) is intended to guide the innovation of high school graduation exam question design starting from 2025. This approach does not waste exam time, does not increase the difficulty of the questions, but helps students have more scientific basis and makes answering the exam easier.
Conclusion
It can be said that the 2024 high school graduation exam in History successfully fulfilled its mission. This year's exam not only inherited the achievements of previous years' reforms in exam design to conclude the 2006 General Education Program, but also sets the direction for reforming the 2025 high school graduation exam – questions will provide information, data/data (with sources cited) related to basic knowledge to provide a scientific basis for candidates to perform the necessary thinking processes to answer the questions. History truly is "the teacher of life," a "torch illuminating the path to the future."
Mr. Tran Trung Hieu (History Teacher, Phan Boi Chau Specialized High School, Nghe An)
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REFERENCES
1. Ministry of Education and Training (2024), 2024 High School Graduation Exam, History Subject (24 exam codes).
2. Ministry of Education and Training (2020), History Textbook 12 (basic and advanced), Vietnam Education Publishing House, Hanoi.
3. Ministry of Education and Training (2011), Guidelines for implementing the standards of knowledge and skills in History subject at the high school level, Vietnam Education Publishing House, Hanoi.
4. Ministry of Education and Training (2020), Circular on reducing workload – Guidance on adjusting teaching content at the high school level ( No. 3280/BGDĐT-GDTrH, dated August 27, 2020).
Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/de-thi-lich-su-tot-nghiep-thpt-2024-co-thach-thuc-nhung-khong-thach-do-2296546.html
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