Announcing the 3rd subject for the 10th grade entrance exam early will reduce pressure on students

Pressure of 10th grade entrance exam

Having a child taking the 10th grade entrance exam for two consecutive years, Ms. Nguyen Thi Lan (Gia Lam district, Hanoi) is always worried about the annual changes in admission methods.

"In 2025, my second child will continue to take the 10th grade entrance exam. Every parent wants their child to have less pressure from studying and taking exams. Taking two subjects is already difficult, taking three subjects or having to take an additional combined exam will be much more difficult. This can even make children afraid to take the public school entrance exam," Ms. Lan worried.

Similar to Ms. Lan, Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Hung (Long Bien district, Hanoi) is also a parent whose child will take the 10th grade entrance exam in 2025 - expressed: "Since the end of the 8th grade school year, my family has proactively created a schedule for my child to study all subjects in the 9th grade program and review for the 10th grade entrance exam. However, not knowing the 3rd exam subject in advance greatly affects my child's psychology."

Mr. Hung believes that the "secret" information about the exam subjects during the entrance exam period makes both parents and students always feel nervous. "If the exam subjects are made public early, students will be able to proactively plan their review. In particular, they will feel more relaxed about this exam" - Mr. Hung added.

Need to push forward the announcement time of the 3rd exam subject

Ms. Nguyen Mai Chi - a Literature teacher at a secondary school in Dong Anh district, Hanoi - commented that having a third subject in the 10th grade entrance exam would be suitable for the 2018 General Education program.

"Studying at a suitable high school will be a stepping stone for students to go further in the future. Therefore, the 10th grade entrance exam is an extremely important exam. However, from the students' perspective, they feel extremely pressured by this exam, even scared. Knowing that the exam is important, we cannot let the children always worry about the final exam.

Meanwhile, all subjects in the curriculum, students must have mastered the knowledge because at school there are always 15-minute tests, mid-term, final. Therefore, the announcement time of the third exam subject should be announced earlier than proposed, maybe right at the end of the first semester" - Ms. Chi said.

According to Ms. Chi, letting students know about the final exam earlier than expected will help them have more time to practice many types of questions outside of the textbook, and help students reduce unnecessary anticipation and waiting.

Ms. Pham Thi Hoa - a secondary school teacher in Gia Lam district (Hanoi) - shared: "The Ministry of Education and Training has just abandoned the proposal to draw lots for the third subject in the 10th grade entrance exam, but it is expected that the choice of the third subject will change over the years. This will prevent students from cramming each year and skipping subjects that are not tested.

However, the 10th grade entrance exam is almost too heavy for students. The announcement of the remaining exam subjects at the end of March is quite urgent, causing a frantic review mentality for both students and teachers, even though they have learned basic knowledge during the school year."

Ms. Hoa believes that the third exam should be announced around January or early February, so that teachers can prepare more review lessons for students, especially to help students reduce anxiety and waiting.