Increase fairness, reduce pressure.

Reduce pressure on candidates.

The 2025 high school graduation exam is expected to take place at the end of June 2025, at the same time as the exams of previous years, but with a difference in that the number of exam sessions and subjects has been reduced. Specifically, next year's high school graduation exam will only have 3 exam sessions, a reduction of 1 session compared to 2024; including: 1 session for Literature, 1 session for Mathematics, and 1 session for the optional exam with 2 subjects.

Candidates will take four subjects in the 2025 high school graduation exam.

Candidates can choose two subjects from the following: physics, chemistry, biology, history, geography, economics and law education, informatics, industrial-oriented technology, agricultural-oriented technology, and foreign languages (including English, Russian, French, Chinese, German, Japanese, and Korean). To provide maximum support for candidates, the Ministry of Education and Training continues to allow them to register for a foreign language exam different from the foreign language they are currently studying in high school.

From 2025, for the first time, the Ministry of Education and Training will stipulate that foreign students can use their Vietnamese language certificates to be exempt from the Literature exam in the high school graduation recognition process. This aims to facilitate the graduation recognition process for foreign students studying the general education program in Vietnam while still ensuring they acquire a basic understanding of Literature through classroom learning and taking the exam to obtain a Vietnamese language certificate.

Furthermore, while foreign language certificates can still be used for exam exemptions in graduation recognition, they are no longer converted into a perfect score (10 points) as before. This is a new development, but it still allows candidates who already have foreign language certificates to have them converted into graduation recognition points (if they are not applying to universities with a foreign language subject combination).

Sharing her thoughts on the new regulations for the high school graduation exam from 2025, Nguyen Hanh Nguyen, a high school student in Ba Dinh district, said: "The exam regulations care about all students; especially the reduction in the number of subjects and exam sessions. We feel a lot less pressure and find the high school graduation exam much easier than before; as a result, our spirits are incredibly high and we can focus our energy on studying and reviewing," Hanh Nguyen said.

Regarding university admissions in 2025, the Ministry of Education and Training still stipulates that the registration period is after candidates receive their high school graduation exam results. Based on the high school graduation exam results, candidates can calculate, choose, and adjust their registration preferences to match their achieved scores in order to increase their chances of admission. Candidates registering for university admissions in 2025 are also given an advantage as there is no limit on the number of preferences. They can register preferences for many different majors and universities, prioritizing the majors, professions, and universities they are most interested in.

Increase fairness

To ensure the rights and convenience of candidates during the transition period between the two programs (the 2018 General Education Program and the 2006 General Education Program), the 2025 high school graduation exam will have two types of exam papers. Candidates who have completed the general education program before 2025 but have not yet graduated will take the exam using the 2006 General Education Program exam papers. Candidates currently in grade 12 during the 2024-2025 school year will take the exam using the 2018 General Education Program exam papers.

The 2025 high school graduation exam will have two types of test papers.

This decision by the Ministry of Education and Training has alleviated the worries and concerns of many candidates and the public regarding the potential difficulties that candidates who did not graduate from high school in 2024 (or previous years) might face when having to take the graduation exam alongside candidates studying under the new curriculum.

For candidates who already have a high school diploma or a vocational certificate and wish to take the 2025 high school graduation exam as a basis for university admissions, they can choose to take one of two exam papers. From 2026 onwards, the Ministry of Education and Training will organize the high school graduation exam with a single type of exam paper.

This year's graduation exam will use a combination of continuous assessment scores (from academic transcripts) and exam results in the graduation recognition process, with a 50-50 weighting. The average GPA from all years of the academic transcript will be calculated using a weighting system.

The increase in the proportion of continuous assessment scores from 30% to 50% aims to more accurately assess students' competencies according to the 2018 General Education Program (including many other competencies not fully assessed by the graduation exam). In addition, grades from grades 10 and 11 will also be used (with a smaller weighting than grade 12) instead of only grade 12 as before. This change is intended to promote teaching and learning from the moment students enter high school.

According to the candidates, not converting foreign language certificates (for example, an IELTS score of 4.0 or higher is converted to 10 points for graduation consideration) is also a way to ensure fairness for all candidates in graduation consideration; not only for candidates in remote areas or areas without access to foreign language certificates, but also for candidates who possess certificates; because clearly, a candidate with an IELTS score of 4.0 is different from a candidate who achieved an IELTS score of 8.5.

Commenting on this new requirement, Nguyen Ha Anh, a 12th-grade student at a high school in Thanh Xuan district, said: "I have an IELTS certificate with a score of 7.5. To achieve that score, I spent a lot of time studying with high determination. And I didn't feel comfortable if, for graduation, my converted IELTS score would be the same as someone who achieved an IELTS score of 4.0. Fortunately, that didn't happen this year."

In the regulations on bonus points for the high school graduation exam from 2025 onwards, the Ministry of Education and Training will also abolish bonus points for vocational certificates for all candidates; and abolish bonus points for computer skills certificates, foreign language certificates, and vocational secondary school diplomas for candidates in continuing education. This aims to align with the 2018 General Education Program and create equality, as students graduating from both regular and continuing education systems will receive the same type of diploma.

According to the Ministry of Education and Training, the examination plan was developed based on three groups of principles: adhering closely to the policies of the Party, the National Assembly , and the Government; adhering closely to the relevant regulations of the current Education Law and Higher Education Law; and the objectives of the 2018 general education program.

Furthermore, the examination plan ensures continuity and builds upon the valuable experience accumulated during the 2015-2023 period; proactively adopts and applies international achievements and experiences in reforming the high school graduation examination process; and aims to ensure fairness for all candidates.

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