According to the expected plan, the entrance exam to 10th grade public high schools may be held at the end of June 2026, instead of the beginning of June as in previous years.
The reason stems from the change in the national high school graduation exam schedule. According to the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training (GDDT), the 2026 high school graduation exam is expected to be held earlier (June 11-12). This makes the 10th grade exam schedule have to change compared to previous years to ensure organizational work.
Postponing the exam time means that students have more time to prepare.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Hong (a parent of a 9th grade student, Binh Dong ward) said that taking the exam later helps her children have more time to consolidate their knowledge.
This exam is very important, students only have one chance, so taking the exam later helps students have more time to review, avoiding the situation where students have to enter the big exam right after finishing the program. I find it reasonable," Ms. Hong expressed.
From the school's perspective, Mr. Cao Duc Khoa - Principal of Nguyen Du Secondary School (Ben Thanh ward), said that the option of organizing the 10th grade entrance exam at the end of June is not too new in the process of building enrollment plans.
Previously, Ho Chi Minh City also calculated plans to organize the 10th grade exam at the end of June. Therefore, if the exam time is adjusted to be about two weeks later than in recent years, it will generally not cause major disruption," Mr. Khoa said.
According to Mr. Khoa, no matter when the exam is held, the school still maintains the review for students until close to the exam day, in order to ensure that students have the best preparation.
However, some opinions suggest that extending the review time can make students tired and stressed.
Ms. Tran Thi Mai, a parent of a 9th grade student in Binh Dong ward, said that late exams put psychological pressure on students.
The 10th grade entrance exam has been going on for many years, so the element of surprise or lack of preparation is almost gone. Students have all planned to review from the beginning of the school year, so I think the exam should be held earlier, for example in early June (June 1-2.6) instead of lasting until the end of the month," Ms. Mai said.
Similarly, Mr. Hoang Dang, a middle school Math teacher in Ho Chi Minh City, said that if the exam schedule is not finalized soon, students will easily fall into a state of fatigue.
After the end of the school year, if there is no clear review plan, students can easily study halfway, reduce motivation. Examination pressure is prolonged and also affects their psychology," Mr. Hoang Dang assessed.
On the student side, many students said that the most important thing is stability and early information. Nguyen Huy Loc, a 9th grade student in Binh Dong ward, shared: "Whether the exam is early or late, we have to study, but we hope that the exam schedule will be finalized soon so that we can plan for review and avoid prolonged worries.
In 2026, the entrance exam to 10th grade will include 3 subjects: Math, Literature, Foreign Language and a specialized or integrated subject test if taking the entrance exam to 10th grade for specialized or integrated subjects.
In which Literature and Math have a test time of 120 minutes/subject; Foreign Language has a test time of 90 minutes; Specialized and integrated subjects have a test time of 150 minutes.
In October 2025, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training also announced the structure and sample exam questions for 3 subjects: Math, Literature and English.
