Putting all candidates into one basket to select from high to low, even the top candidates in the aptitude tests are at risk of failing the university entrance exam.
Candidates taking the 2024 competency assessment exam organized by Ho Chi Minh City National University - Photo: NT
According to the proposed 2025 admission regulations, universities are required to convert all admission methods and combinations to a single scale. The Ministry of Education and Training believes that this is mandatory to ensure fairness among candidates.
According to the Ministry of Education and Training, the conversion to a common scale and admission is to ensure that candidates are arranged according to their inherent abilities and core qualities, meeting the requirements of each specific training program.
The selection process will be carried out from high to low to ensure greater fairness among candidates when participating in the selection process.
Valedictorian is not sure... to get into university
In 2024, the National Economics University will enroll students through 3 methods. Of which, the high school graduation exam score method is allocated 18% of the target, while the combined admission method accounts for 80% of the target. The combined admission method has many ways of admission, including using the capacity assessment test scores of Hanoi National University, Ho Chi Minh City National University and the thinking assessment of Hanoi University of Science and Technology.
The school also stipulates a formula for calculating the converted score on a 30-point scale. The top scorer of the 2024 competency assessment exam of Hanoi National University scored 129/150 points. According to the conversion formula on a 30-point scale, this top scorer scored 25.8 points.
Similarly, the top scorer of the first round of the competency assessment exam of Ho Chi Minh City National University scored 1,076 points, which was converted to 26.9 points. The top scorer of the thinking assessment exam of Hanoi University of Science and Technology scored 96.43 points, which was converted to 28.93 points.
Meanwhile, the admission score for the high school graduation exam is above 27 points for most majors. Of course, the quota for considering high school graduation exam scores is small, so the admission score is high. According to this year's admission method, all candidates are put into one basket to be considered from high to low, even the top candidates in the competency assessment exams are at risk of failing the university entrance exam.
Of course, this is just an assumption. However, even though the same valedictorian can be admitted to any university of the exam organization, when converted to a 30-point scale, each person has a very different score.
Not to mention that each school has a different conversion formula. For example, the top scorer of the 2024 Hanoi National University's competency assessment exam when converted at the National Economics University scored 25.8 points, but at the Foreign Trade University scored 28.74 points.
Mr. Cu Xuan Tien, head of the admissions and student affairs department of the University of Economics and Law (Ho Chi Minh City National University), said that the mechanical conversion method puts candidates who take the competency assessment, international certificates and SAT at a disadvantage, and even makes it impossible for them to compete for a place in a "hot" major at schools.
Is the conversion fairer?
The lack of equality in admission has been mentioned by the Ministry of Education and Training for many years. And the way to convert to a common score scale and admission is the way that the Ministry of Education and Training believes to have more fairness among candidates. However, is this really fair to all candidates or does it transfer inequality from one group of candidates to another?
The head of the training department of a university in Ho Chi Minh City said that fairness in admission is necessary, but mechanically converting to the same scale of scores risks causing disadvantages for candidates applying for admission based on ability assessment methods.
"Each exam has different characteristics, knowledge, and classification levels. When converting to a scale, such as a scale of 30 to consider candidates using the scores of 3 high school graduation subjects, it will be unfair because it is not the same reference system. Moreover, the classification level of the graduation exam is not high, candidates can easily achieve excellent scores, especially candidates taking the literature - history - geography combination" - he analyzed.
Representatives of many universities also said that this conversion seems forced, but it is expected that this is a regulation so it must be calculated to have the most suitable conversion method.
Mr. Pham Tan Ha - Vice Principal of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities (Ho Chi Minh City National University) - said that the graduation exam and the competency assessment exam are completely different, with different score ranges. Therefore, the school is having a "headache" calculating and running data from previous years to determine the standard deviation and then come up with a suitable conversion formula.
Mr. To Van Phuong - Head of Training Department of Nha Trang University - also said that converting to a single scale for all methods seems a bit forced. The reference system is not the same, each school has its own way of converting, which is not a good thing. However, he also said that converting to a single scale is necessary to have compatibility between methods.
Similarly, Mr. Cu Xuan Tien said that the school is currently comparing the academic results of students admitted by different methods to have a suitable conversion coefficient. The conversion method by percentage that many schools are applying (ability assessment score/highest exam score x 30) will cause candidates to be disadvantaged in assessing their ability.
Thus, the inequality from the group of candidates considering the high school graduation exam scores of last year will be transferred to the group of candidates considering the competency assessment exam scores this year.
Grading scale determined by the school
Currently, most schools use a 30-point scale for admission. The conversion formula most schools use (applied from 2024 onwards): capacity assessment score x 30/maximum score of the exam.
However, Mr. Bui Hoai Thang - Head of Training Department of University of Technology (Ho Chi Minh City National University) - said that this formula does not really ensure fairness because the difficulty of the two exams is different and the score distribution is different.
Polytechnic University uses a 100-point scale for admission with its own conversion formula. This scale is decided by the schools. Mr. Thang said that based on comparing the results of previous years, this year the school will adjust the conversion formula to be more fair.
There should be a general formula.
Mr. Pham Thai Son - Director of Admissions and Communications Center, Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry and Trade - said that the conversion seems to be unfair to candidates considering the ability assessment test scores. Not to mention that each school may have a different conversion method, leading to different converted scores for the same candidate.
"The Ministry of Education and Training should calculate and have a common formula for this conversion for unified use," Mr. Son suggested.
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/quy-doi-ve-mot-thang-diem-va-xet-tuyen-chung-lieu-co-bao-dam-cong-bang-20250220093519581.htm
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