Rushing to prepare for a safe and transparent high school graduation exam
The high school graduation exam is held annually around July-July nationwide, with an average of about 1 million candidates and more than 200,000 officials and teachers participating in organizing the exam. This year, the Ministry of Education and Training has scheduled it to take place on two days, June 11 and 12, about half a month earlier than in previous years. The Ministry will organize for 12th grade students to try registering for the online exam on the Exam Management System from April 17 to the end of April 21.
Mr. Huynh Van Chuong - Director of the Department of Quality Management (Ministry of Education and Training) - said that the 2026 high school graduation exam has some important adjustments in the direction of streamlining procedures, strengthening decentralization, and promoting the application of information technology.
A noteworthy new point is the integration of documents, contributing to reducing administrative procedures. Specifically, exam notification papers and exam cards are combined into a single type, which is exam notification papers; temporary graduation certificates and exam result certificates are integrated into exam result certificates (from 4 types of documents to 2). Exam registration documents are stored at the general school where candidates study.
From 2026, high school diplomas (numbered and printed versions) are issued by the principal of the high school where students study from 2/3 of the time; in which the numbered version is issued faster, creating convenience for candidates to use when necessary.
Regulations on priority areas are also adjusted in the direction of calculating according to the high school where the candidate studies (from 2/3 of the time) instead of the permanent residence as before.
The re-marking process is tightened, in which all exam papers with changes in scores or failing scores must organize dialogue within the exam marking council to ensure objectivity and fairness. The time to receive re-marking applications is shortened to 5 days to announce results soon, serving the enrollment work.
The organization of the exam continues to be promoted with the application of information technology, optimizing data transfer between exam councils and the Ministry through the exam management system, reducing manual steps such as sending CDs by post, thereby improving processing speed.
Some technical contents have also been adjusted, in which the registration form for the exam is updated according to new regulations on provincial codes and commune codes (according to Decision No. 19/2025/QD-TTg); localities need to pay attention to guiding candidates to implement correctly. At the same time, some foreign language certificates such as VEPT, J.TEST, TOPIK have been supplemented.
Regarding the inspection of the Exam, Mr. Huynh Van Chuong emphasized that the responsibility for organizing the exam continues to be clearly defined: The Ministry of Education and Training is responsible for issuing regulations, guiding the organization, setting exam questions and organizing inspections; Provincial People's Committees are fully responsible for the exam in their localities; Departments of Education and Training and training institutions are strengthened in decentralization in organizing and participating in inspecting the stages of the exam.
Regarding the organization plan, Mr. Chuong said that basically maintaining stability like the model and organizing activities to inspect the stages of the Exam (exam preparation, invigilation, re-examination and graduation recognition) as in 2025; adjusting the number and composition of participants in the Ministry's exam preparation inspection team. Implementing exam marking inspection (not conducting inspections like in 2025).
Students speed up, change exam preparation tactics
In the context of the university admission regulations having many important changes such as an earlier exam schedule than last year, candidates must achieve at least 15 points on a 30-point scale (total score of 3 subjects according to the admission combination from the high school graduation exam) to be eligible to register for university admission, regardless of the method used, tightening academic transcript admission,... Many 12th grade students are forced to proactively adjust their learning methods and admission strategies to avoid losing opportunities.
Nguyen Thi Minh Thu, a 12A1 student at Luong The Vinh High School (Tan Trieu campus, Hanoi) commented that the Ministry of Education and Training's early postponement of the exam schedule creates pressure on the review progress for students. Before this adjustment, in the "sprint" phase, Minh Thu focused maximally on subjects belonging to the admission combination to break through scores and increase competitive advantages.
Nguyen Tran Duc Minh (12D1 class) admitted that pressure is inevitable for each 12th grade student before entering the important exam. However, thanks to early preparation with foreign language certificates such as IELTS and German (level B1), the male student said that he somewhat reduced stress and expanded opportunities. Regarding learning methods, the male student chose a scientific lifestyle, sleeping early - waking up early to increase the efficiency of absorption, instead of staying up late easily causing stress. With the D14 combination (Literature, English, History), he prioritizes studying in the morning to remember better.
Le Hoang Nam, a 12th grade student in Ho Chi Minh City, also said that he had to adjust his study plan: "Previously, I planned to use transcript results for admission, but with the new regulations, I am forced to focus on the graduation exam. Just a low subject is very easy, below 15 points, so the pressure is clearly increasing.
On the school side, tutoring for final-grade students is also being implemented according to a roadmap. Ms. Nguyen Boi Quynh - Principal of Viet Duc High School (Hanoi) - emphasized that the exam questions according to the 2018 General Education Program require practical knowledge, because this result is the most important basis for university admissions. Students cannot apply "study-based" thinking or use simple test tips.
To achieve high efficiency, Ms. Quynh said that teachers are responsible for limiting key contents and building them into articulated knowledge topics from grades 10, 11 to 12.
Regarding exam preparation, Mr. Nguyen Bao Quoc - Deputy Director of Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training said that the Department requests schools to organize for 12th grade students to get acquainted with the structure, format of exam questions and how to organize the high school graduation exam announced by the Ministry of Education and Training, and at the same time proactively develop exam preparation plans suitable to the actual conditions of each unit.
According to Mr. Quoc, schools need to compile a system of questions and exercises that closely follow the content of the program, suitable for the exam format, focusing on helping students understand and apply knowledge to do the test, instead of memorizing. Revision must be organized for the right subjects, not spread out, not causing waste, ensuring compliance with regulations on teaching two sessions/day and related documents. At the same time, it is necessary to assign teachers reasonably, prioritizing teachers teaching final grades to have time to support students in exam preparation. Mr. Quoc also noted that, in the process of reviewing, schools need to guide students on effective self-study methods, combined with group review, especially supporting students who still have difficulties in learning. Promoting the role of good and excellent students in supporting weaker classmates is considered a practical solution to improve the overall quality.
Hanoi proposes receiving exam papers 1-2 days early, building exam schedules on computers
In 2026, Hanoi city is expected to have about 110,000 candidates taking the exam at nearly 240 exam sites. This is one of the localities with the largest exam scale in the country. With this number, Mr. Nguyen Quang Tuan - Deputy Director of Hanoi Department of Education and Training - said that the volume of work arising is very large. Each exam site must arrange an exam council, invigilators, secretaries, police, medical staff, service staff and support forces. In addition to personnel, the city also has to prepare facilities, ensure security, traffic safety, electricity, communication and emergency handling plans. Hanoi has proactively reviewed the entire exam site system, developed security assurance plans with the participation of the Police force and related units. A training plan for exam-taking officials is also being developed to be implemented simultaneously immediately after having complete guidance documents, ensuring that all forces firmly grasp the regulations and organizational procedures.
Hanoi proposes that the Ministry of Education and Training consider handing over exam questions about 1-2 days earlier than now so that it can be more proactive in operation, have time to cross-check important stages and handle arising situations if any.
Software bottlenecks in Ho Chi Minh City
Mr. Nguyen Van Phong - Deputy Director of Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training - said that the locality is implementing preparation work on three pillars including: facilities; personnel and funding. Emphasizing the particularly important human factor, the city selects experienced officials for important positions such as heads of exam sites, officials printing and copying exam questions; and at the same time thoroughly grasps the requirement to minimize taking leave or going abroad during the exam to ensure forces. In addition, the entire exam site, exam question printing area, transportation plan and exam paper collection are carefully reviewed. With an expected scale of 130,000 candidates taking the exam, the Deputy Director of Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training proposed that the Ministry upgrade exam management software to meet the large volume of data, limit overload during peak hours. The city proposes to complete the multiple-choice exam grading software in the direction of increasing accuracy in identification, supplementing the function of reviewing and backing up data, and strengthening technical support forces at exam councils.
Lao Cai: Planning to support poor and disadvantaged students
Mr. Nguyen Minh Tam - Deputy Director of Lao Cai Department of Education and Training - said that the biggest difficulty for the locality in organizing the 2026 high school graduation exam is the travel conditions and circumstances of candidates, especially in remote and isolated areas. Lao Cai province has developed an exam organization plan in the direction of ensuring maximum exam conditions for students. Districts and communes are assigned to closely coordinate with exam sites in preparing facilities, ensuring electricity, transmission lines, security and grasping the number of candidates in remote areas to have appropriate support plans.
One of the key solutions is to organize transportation for students from remote school sites to gather before the exam day, and arrange accommodation throughout the exam period. For students in difficult circumstances, the province plans to support about 500,000 VND per student. Also according to Mr. Tam, the goal is not to let any candidates drop out of the exam due to geographical distance or economic difficulties, thereby ensuring fairness in accessing the exam.
