At the press conference to conclude the 2024 high school graduation exam on the afternoon of June 28, speaking about the exam preparation, Professor Huynh Van Chuong, Director of the Department of Quality Management (Ministry of Education and Training) shared: “We are orienting the exam to increasingly focus on students’ abilities and have differentiation, especially at the application and high application levels. Thus, many top universities can still use the high school graduation exam results as a basis for university admissions.”

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Professor Huynh Van Chuong, Director of the Department of Quality Management, Ministry of Education and Training. Photo: Tran Hiep.

Deputy Minister of Education and Training Pham Ngoc Thuong also said that the 2024 graduation exam is more open and has more differentiation factors, which is to gradually change the status for students who will study and take the graduation exam according to the new 2018 general education program.

At the press conference, it was said that rumors about leaked Literature exam questions often appear more than other subjects and one of the main reasons is that the source of materials used to make exam questions often only focuses on works in textbooks.

Regarding the Literature exam materials, Deputy Minister Pham Ngoc Thuong said: “The 2025 high school graduation exam will certainly be different from the exam according to the 2006 General Education Program. Because we are implementing "one program, many textbooks", the materials will come from many textbooks. Second, it is completely possible to 'open' the materials that are not in the textbooks. The goal of the 2018 General Education Program is to develop students' qualities and abilities, not to aim at memorizing lessons in books. This will limit rote learning, lopsided learning, and even limit guessing questions or sample essays."

According to Mr. Thuong, the Ministry of Education and Training and the entire education sector have been seriously and fully implementing Resolution 29 on fundamental and comprehensive innovation in education and training, including innovation in exams and assessment. "The requirement is that the 2025 high school graduation exam be innovated to ensure reduced pressure and costs for society while still ensuring reliability for university and college admission results," said Mr. Thuong.

The representative of the Ministry of Education and Training also affirmed that the 2025 high school graduation exam will not only reduce the number of subjects but also reduce pressure, time and cost.

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Deputy Minister of Education and Training Pham Ngoc Thuong.

Previously, at the end of 2023, the Ministry of Education and Training also announced the method of organizing exams and considering recognition of high school graduation from 2025. The chosen option is option 2+2, which means 2 compulsory subjects (Literature, Math) and 2 optional subjects.

From 2025 onwards, the content of the high school graduation exam will closely follow the content and objectives of the 2018 General Education Program.

Option 2+2 includes 2 compulsory subjects (Literature, Math) and 2 optional subjects (among the remaining subjects studied in grade 12 including: Foreign Language, History, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Geography, Economic and Legal Education, Information Technology, Technology).

Thus, with this option, Foreign Language - a subject considered a tool for integration - is not a compulsory subject.

According to the Ministry of Education and Training, among the options that have been put forward for comments, this is the option with the fewest subjects, so it is certainly the most cost-effective.

Regarding the exam format, Literature is an essay test; the remaining subjects are multiple choice. The question bank and exam papers for all subjects are built with an emphasis on competency assessment.

Regarding the graduation recognition method, according to the Ministry of Education and Training, it will combine the results of the process assessment and the graduation exam results in a ratio appropriate to the implementation roadmap of the 2018 General Education Program.

Regarding the implementation roadmap, the Ministry of Education and Training said that in the 2025 - 2030 period, the high school graduation exam will continue to maintain the paper-based exam method.

After 2030, computer-based exams will be gradually piloted for multiple-choice subjects in localities with sufficient conditions (it is possible to combine paper-based and computer-based exams. When all localities nationwide have sufficient conditions to organize computer-based exams, they will switch to organizing high school graduation exams on computers for multiple-choice subjects.

Dozens of Math exam questions for high school graduation in 2024 were found to be blurred

Dozens of Math exam questions for high school graduation in 2024 were found to be blurred

Dozens of math exam questions for the 2024 high school graduation exam in Dak Lak were blurred. Currently, the Dak Lak Provincial Examination Council is directing the handling to ensure the rights of candidates.