Exams are bustling
On June 1-2, 2025, more than 6,000 candidates flocked to the High School for the Gifted in Foreign Languages and the High School for the Gifted in Natural Sciences, Hanoi National University to attend the 10th grade entrance exam.
At the Natural Sciences High School, the average fighting rate on the school is about 1/6, of which the highest is the IT class with 1/8.1. And at the Foreign Language High School, the fight rate ranges from 1/4 - 1/6. Particularly, Russian classes increased, at the highest level in the school - 1/7.
Pham Thi Linh Anh - a student at Nguyen Van Huyen Secondary School (Hoai Duc) is one of thousands of candidates present at the Foreign Language High School for the Gifted to win a ticket to the English major class. In addition to the School of Foreign Languages, Linh Anh also registered to take the entrance exam to Hanoi National University of Education High School for the Gifted.
"I did not register for the entrance exam to a specialized school under the Hanoi Department of Education and Training, so it would be very stressful. In addition to the two specialized schools, I also have to spend time reviewing and taking the entrance exam to public schools" - Linh Anh said.
In the last days of May and early June, many provinces and cities such as Soc Trang, Quang Tri, Dong Nai, Quang Ninh, Vinh Phuc, Son La... simultaneously organized the 10th grade entrance exam for the 2025-2026 school year.
In Hanoi, students will take the exam from June 6-9. In which, on June 6, candidates complete the exam procedures, on June 7-8, for candidates taking the general exam and on June 9, for candidates taking the specialized exam.
Benchmark score is not a criterion for choosing high school
Hanoi has always been known as the hot spot for the entrance exam. The reason for saying so is that every year, the rate of struggles to enter public high schools is very high. For example, at Yen Hoa High School, the difficulty rate - 1/2.44, meaning that on average, nearly 3 candidates have only one student who passed the exam.
According to the Hanoi Department of Education and Training, this year, out of 127,000 students graduating from junior high school, more than 103,000 students registered for the 10th grade public high school exam. At least 64% of students have public 10th grade accommodation, equivalent to more than 81,000 students. The remaining students will study at private high schools, vocational education centers, and continuing education.
Understanding the difficulties and pressures students face in the process of reviewing for the 10th grade entrance exam, Ms. Doan Thi Thanh Huyen - Vice Principal of Lien Ha Secondary School (Dan Phuong District, Hanoi) expressed her hope that parents will become a companion and orientation for them to have appropriate choices.
From the perspective of experts, Associate Professor, Dr. Tran Thanh Nam - Vice Principal of the University of Education, Vietnam National University, Hanoi acknowledged that high school is one of the important stages for students to form personality and develop abilities. Therefore, a suitable learning environment is very important to help students develop their abilities.
Emphasizing the goal of career guidance at high school level, Mr. Nam said that schools are not only a place to find a suitable career for students but also need to be a "support" for students to develop their careers in the future.
" Factors such as benchmark scores, reputation, ranking position, number of students passing the university entrance exam, etc. are all qualitative criteria for parents to consider. However, the important thing is that the value of a school depends on parents' awareness. Many parents set a goal that their children need to have high achievements, earn a lot of money, etc., which would not be suitable for educational institutions with the goal of training students towards happiness, good personality, or comprehensive development," said Mr. Nam.
In Ho Chi Minh City, the Department of Education and Training said that this year, more than 76,000 candidates registered to take the exam. The enrollment quota for public high schools is 70,070 students. Only about 6,000 students failed this exam, a sharp decrease compared to previous years when about 20,000 students failed the exam.
The exam will be held at 142 exam locations with more than 4,000 exam rooms, more than 13,272 teachers taking the exam and 2,070 service staff. According to statistics, the employment rate of each high school this year has mostly decreased. In the normal system, 64 schools have a difficulty rate of over 1 (this number was 77 schools last year) and 45 schools have a difficulty rate of less than 1 (ie the number of candidates applying for admission to the school is lower than the enrollment quota).
Phuc's legs
