Many localities reduce exam subjects and change 10th grade admission methods

Candidates taking the 10th grade entrance exam in Hanoi on June 10, 2023 - Photo: NAM TRAN

Up to this point, about 20 localities have announced plans for admission to grade 10 public high schools for the 2024-2025 school year.

Some localities reduced the number of exam subjects compared to last year, some localities changed the admission method to limit negativity, ensuring objectivity and fairness for candidates.

Most organizations have three subjects.

In the 2024-2025 school year, the entrance exam for grade 10 of Vinh Phuc province's public high schools will be reduced to 3 subjects: Math, Literature, English, instead of 5 subjects (Math, Literature and a combination of 3 subjects, including foreign languages) as in previous years. The exam is scheduled for June 1 and 2; the specialized subject exam will be on June 3.

In which, the math and literature exams are in the form of essay combined with multiple choice. The multiple choice exam accounts for 20%, the essay exam accounts for 80% of the total exam score. Candidates take the exam on test paper, 120 minutes/exam. The English exam is in the form of multiple choice, candidates answer on multiple choice answer sheets; exam time is 60 minutes.

The entrance exam for grade 10 of Ninh Binh province in the 2024-2025 school year has some changes compared to last year to help reduce pressure on students. That is, reducing the number of subjects, reducing the time to do the test, and the announcement of the third subject will be earlier.

This year, candidates will take three subjects: Math, Literature and the third subject is one of the following subjects: Physics, Chemistry, Biology, History, Geography, English. Last school year, Ninh Binh organized the third test which was a combination test including English and two subjects, one of which is Physics, Chemistry, Biology and one of which is History, Geography, Civic Education.

The time for the third subject exam is 60 minutes, 30 minutes less than the previous school year. The third exam was announced by the Director of the Department of Education and Training on March 1, 2024 (45 days earlier than the 2023-2024 school year).

Hung Yen province has finalized the plan for the 10th grade entrance exam from June 3 to 5 with three subjects: math, literature, and foreign language, instead of five subjects as before. In previous years, the Hung Yen Department of Education and Training randomly selected one subject from natural sciences (physics, chemistry or biology) and one social science subject (history, geography or civics).

The provinces and cities of Binh Duong, Can Tho, Da Nang, Quang Ngai, and Quang Tri have announced their 10th grade enrollment plans with three subjects: Math, Literature, and English.

Notably, this year, the Department of Education and Training of Binh Duong province applied information technology, using online software to organize the registration for candidates. Candidates have a maximum of 2 wishes to enter a non-specialized public high school.

In Ho Chi Minh City, the 10th grade entrance exam is scheduled to take place in early June with 3 subjects: Literature, Math, and Foreign Language. The latest point is that students can only register a maximum of 5 wishes to enter 10th grade of public high schools, a decrease compared to previous years.

The reason is that Ho Chi Minh City has stopped enrolling non-specialized grade 10 students in two specialized high schools, Le Hong Phong and Tran Dai Nghia, according to Circular 05/2023 of the Ministry of Education and Training promulgating regulations on the organization and operation of specialized high schools (enrollment in non-specialized classes in specialized schools will only be carried out until the end of the 2023-2024 school year).

Ho Chi Minh City continues to apply online registration of 10th grade wishes, to promote digital transformation application, avoiding virtual applications.

After 11 years of implementing the admission method, this year Quang Nam has decided to organize an entrance exam to enroll students in grade 10 of public high schools. This new method is expected to limit negativity and ensure objectivity and fairness in evaluating and classifying students.

Some localities maintain the form of selection

While many provinces and cities organize entrance exams for grade 10, Dong Thap still chooses to recruit students by selection for all schools in the province, except for two specialized high schools, Nguyen Quang Dieu and Nguyen Dinh Chieu.

Vinh Long province continues to recruit students for grade 10 high school in the 2024-2025 school year. Each student can register up to 3 wishes for different schools.

In Lao Cai province, the entrance exam for grade 10 is applied to 3 schools: Bat Xat Secondary and High School; Muong Khuong High School No. 3 and Si Ma Cai High School No. 2. The remaining schools will organize entrance exams on June 4 and 5. Candidates will take exams in 3 subjects: literature, math, foreign language (English or Chinese). Students applying for Lao Cai Specialized High School will take an additional exam for specialized subjects on June 6.

In Khanh Hoa, the 10th grade admission method is applied to the following schools: Khanh Hoa Provincial Boarding High School for Ethnic Minorities; Lac Long Quan High School, Nguyen Thai Binh Secondary and High School; and Khanh Son High School.

In addition, some localities use a combination of entrance exams and selection, such as Quang Binh. Candidates will take the following subjects: Math and Literature (120 minutes/subject). Selection score = Literature score + Math score + Total score calculated based on the results of training and studying for 4 years of secondary school + Priority points.

For many years, the Ministry of Education and Training has stipulated that the organization of exams, admissions or the combination of exams and admissions to grade 10 is under the initiative of localities. The Departments of Education and Training advise the People's Committees of provinces and cities to approve the admission plan as well as decide on exam subjects, exam characteristics, exam coefficients, and bonus points.

Therefore, in each locality, based on the number of students taking the exam and the number of high schools in the area that can accept them, there will be different forms of enrollment.

According to the 2023-2024 school year schedule issued by the Ministry of Education and Training, localities will consider recognizing the completion of primary school and secondary school graduation before June 30, 2024. Enrollment for first-level classes will be completed before July 31, 2024.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/nhieu-dia-phuong-giam-mon-thi-thay-doi-phuong-thuc-tuyen-sinh-lop-10-20240220101916158.htm