Vietnamese high school English exam is similar to US standardized tests
In response to many comments about the 2025 high school graduation exam in English, I used ChatGPT to compare this exam in detail with the 12th grade exam of the state of Georgia (USA) as well as the writing section of the SAT, in the context of Vietnamese students being ESOL students - learning and taking English as a foreign language, not as a first language/mother tongue.
The results are thought-provoking.
Comparison table of the 2025 high school graduation English exam with the 12th grade exam of the state of Georgia (USA) and the writing section of the SAT exam
The Vietnamese high school exam is quite similar to the US standardized tests in terms of format and assessment focus, but lacks the essay/response writing section found in the Georgia 12th grade test, and focuses more on word filling, vocabulary, and logical organization than on personal reflection like the SAT.
For Vietnamese students, this test is a reasonable stepping stone if they intend to take the SAT/ACT but need to supplement their academic writing and analytical reasoning skills.
Candidates taking the 2025 high school graduation exam in Ho Chi Minh City (Photo: Trinh Nguyen).
To assess the difficulty of the English exam, we need the opinion of experts in measurement and assessment. However, from the perspective of English as a foreign language teachers, the 2025 high school graduation exam has positive changes but also poses many challenges for both teachers and learners.
The reading difficulty index of the English test is equivalent to that of a postgraduate level.
To understand the changes in this year's exam, schools, teachers, students and parents need to understand some important changes between the previous general education program and the 2018 innovation program.
In the overall curriculum framework issued by the Ministry of Education and Training , the 2018 general education program for English is one of the important steps to transform from knowledge access to capacity development.
With this orientation, the program focuses on building comprehensive English communication skills for students, while contributing to the development of core qualities and competencies of learners in the context of international integration.
The basic goal of the English program at high school level is to help students achieve the requirements specified in the 6-level foreign language proficiency framework for Vietnam (issued under Circular No. 01/2014/TT-BGDDT dated January 24, 2014 of the Minister of Education and Training ), specifically, students finishing high school will reach Level 3.
Testing and assessing English in the generaleducation program aims to assess the level of achievement of the requirements for foreign language communication skills, including listening, speaking, reading, writing and language use. The goal is not only to test knowledge but also to support teachers in adjusting teaching activities and helping students learn more effectively.
2018 general education program objectives for high school English
With the above objectives, the 2025 high school graduation exam in English tested the following knowledge and skills:
Regarding language knowledge : Vocabulary and grammar according to the description of level 3 of the 6-level foreign language proficiency framework of Vietnam.
Regarding Reading Comprehension : The genres are still familiar topics in the curriculum as well as in textbooks. The questions are diverse, assessed from simple to more advanced skills, requiring students to understand the reading to answer.
For example, questions focus on assessing the ability to identify specific information, understand the main idea and purpose of the writer, understand text structure, interpret and make inferences, the meaning of words and phrases in context, and synthesize information.
The conversation arrangement test assesses skills related to reading comprehension and language thinking at the discourse-level, for example: recognizing logical connections between sentences (cause - effect...); identifying language functions (understanding the purpose of each sentence in a conversation: greeting, refusing, offering, thanking...); understanding communication rules and turn-taking; understanding context and implications (pragmatics); recognizing time and sequencing markers...
Although the paper test cannot comprehensively assess knowledge and skills as the program's objectives set out, compared to the previous test structure, this test has shown clear improvements.
Most of the language knowledge and skills assessed this time are completely consistent with the textbooks approved for use by schools, for example Global Success.
However, the most shocking thing about the June 27 exam for both students and teachers was the difficulty of the reading passage.
We also need to look at the difficulty of a reading test more comprehensively. Typically, the assessment criteria will include: Text difficulty; Question difficulty; and appropriateness to the learner's level.
Comparing the reading passage of the sample test and the controversial reading passage of the June 27 exam using the website https://textinspector.com, in terms of reading difficulty, the results show that the difficulty index of the reading passage in the sample test is equivalent to university level, while the reading passage of the official exam is equivalent to graduate level.
Other indicators also show that the most difficult reading passage of the sample test is still much easier than the June 27 test, and it seems that both reading passages exceed level 3 as set by the Ministry of Education and Training in the innovation program goals for high school level.
See details of the evaluation table of the sample test and the official test of English subject for the 2025 high school graduation exam here.
The Ministry of Education and Training can adjust the exam every year to meet standards, but students only have one chance in life.
Before coming to a conclusion, we need to note the following issues:
Firstly, this is a graduation exam but many universities use this result for admission, so the exam needs to have good differentiation.
Second, English became an elective subject, instead of a compulsory one. In other words, only students who are good at and confident in English will choose to take the test, so this test is not for the general population as before.
Third, the 2018 general education program can be said to be much more “ambitious” than the previous program. If we carefully analyze the textbooks, we can see that quite clearly.
Fourth, lecturers teaching in recent years need to meet foreign language certificate standards and participate in many teacher training courses.
Fifth, students have easier access to learning resources and teachers thanks to the internet and online learning tools.
Sixth, many universities require students to reach level 4/B2 in order to graduate from university.
However, we also need to look at the reality that the transformation of teaching methods from knowledge-based to skills-based, as well as adapting to the new program, cannot be calculated in days or months. This sometimes costs a lot of money for training and many years to have a team of teachers who are truly professional and understand the nature of the new program.
We also cannot deny the regional differences in access to learning resources.
Besides, some universities accept English combination but due to the nature of the major, the entrance level only requires B1 instead of B2 or C1.
With the above analysis, this test will satisfy language universities (using English for teaching) that use graduation scores for admission.
However, the graduation exam, in addition to the purpose of university admission, the first and most important purpose is to evaluate the entire learning process of students after 3 years of high school. The exam reflects the learning results according to the school program as well as the effectiveness of teaching training of teachers and related parties.
Therefore, the test, although it needs to ensure differentiation, should not deviate too far from the description of the required competency framework in the announced 2018 framework program.
This requires the test matrix, question specifications, and testing process to be truly accurate. The Ministry of Education and Training can adjust the test every year to meet standards, but students only have one chance in life.
Perhaps this year's exam will make many English teachers worried, while next year's 11th and 12th graders will reconsider choosing English as their graduation exam subject.
Somewhere there will be the opinion that “learning one thing, taking the exam another”. This may affect the motivation of many students to learn English. Although the number of students choosing to take the English exam may decrease in the short term, in the long term this may affect the policy of schools that can use English as a second language, serving the teaching and learning of other subjects and communication in schools (target by 2045).
Exams with such a difficult level will also increase the gap in English proficiency between regions - something that the previous National Foreign Language Project, or the current Ministry of Education and Training, has always sought to solve.
Author: Master of Education, English major Dinh Thu Hong -
Georgia, USA
Source: https://dantri.com.vn/giao-duc/bai-doc-de-tieng-anh-gay-tranh-cai-do-kho-vuot-chuan-nhu-the-nao-20250630092527542.htm
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