1500 SAT score only gets 8-9 graduation points
After many opinions about the difficult exam, yesterday the Ministry of Education and Training spoke up to confirm: "The exam does not exceed the requirements of the program. The ratio of thinking levels (related to difficulty) is required, closely following the published reference exam, has differentiation and is based on testing results in all three regions."
However, students and foreign language teachers have shared and commented on the opposite.
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Candidates said this year's English exam was very difficult. (Photo: Hoang Manh Thang) |
Mr. Mai Thanh Son, English teacher at Hanoi - Amsterdam High School (Hanoi) said that the subject test is suitable for English major students or those who are familiar with SAT, IELTS, and specialized exam preparation.
The previous sample test announced by the Ministry of Education and Training used all the materials from the current textbooks, and the difficulty level was not high. However, the official test increased the difficulty level significantly, and no current textbook could meet the requirements and difficulty level of the test.
Not to mention, in some places, obscure words are used, causing difficulties for candidates. The output standard requirement for grade 12, the national general education program is B1, while the 2018 general education program exam is C1, or even higher.
It is worth mentioning that this is the first year of the new general education program, and reference books for the above types of questions are almost non-existent. This year's 12th graders do not have clear instructions to prepare well for the exam.
“With this test, students majoring in English at C1, C2 level and achieving IELTS scores of 8.0 - 8.5 or SAT scores of 1500 (in the top 1% of the world ) will only have scores ranging from 8.0 to 9.5,” according to Mr. Son.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Hang, a foreign language teacher at a high school in Thanh Hoa, said: “The English test in the 2025 high school graduation exam was a “shock” to students. They felt “ambushed” because the difficulty level was much higher than the previous sample test announced by the Ministry of Education and Training.”
Many students called their teachers after the exam and cried because they could not do the test as expected. Before that, teachers followed the sample questions closely and carefully "pre-planned" each type of question, improving vocabulary, so when doing the school's mock test, the Department of Education and Training all achieved satisfactory scores. Many students confidently chose English as an elective subject to get points for admission to universities.
However, after taking the test, there was a student in the class who got 1500 points on the SAT but was not sure about getting 9.5 points because there were still 1-2 questions that were unclear and were waiting for the official answer from the Ministry of Education and Training.
Ms. Hang has a child studying in an English class, with an IELTS score of 7.0, and is also expecting to score 9 on the High School Graduation Exam. As for the children with average learning ability, they are confused because they cannot understand many questions.
“The test is long, 50 minutes is too short, plus there are many difficult vocabulary words at C1, C2 level, beyond the curriculum, challenging even for teachers,” said Ms. Hang.
Warning of increased private tutoring
Based on the reality of this year's exam, teachers believe that it will have a negative impact on students in the next school year. The exam will be more difficult, and the questions will be based on knowledge that is not in the curriculum or textbooks, which will make 12th grade students next year worried, increasing their need to attend extra classes and go to exam preparation centers.
“The cost of extra classes at foreign language centers is expensive, causing a waste of money for students and parents,” said Ms. Hang.
In addition, students in rural and mountainous areas with difficulties will be hesitant to register for foreign language exams in the coming time.
According to experts, in the 2018 General Education Program, foreign languages are not a compulsory subject. However, to promote foreign language learning and gradually make English the second language in schools, innovation in teaching and testing needs to create excitement and motivation for students instead of causing pressure and fear so that they seek out exam preparation classes or have to avoid them.
Previously, Professor Nguyen Ngoc Ha, Deputy Director of the Department of Quality Management (Ministry of Education and Training) said that this year's exam has many new points, aiming to assess students' abilities. The structure and format of this year's exam has completely changed compared to last year.
When making the test, the board carefully considers all the data during the testing process. The difficulty of the test is based on the actual results, and closely follows the reference test.
"The biggest difference this year is that the test matrix is randomly generated during the process, instead of being available in advance like in previous years. This way of creating questions ensures objectivity, because teachers and students cannot predict in advance. This is also a way for students to ensure they study for real, take real exams, not have to learn to cope, and anticipate important knowledge areas to focus on studying," said Professor Nguyen Ngoc Ha, Deputy Director of the Department of Quality Management (Ministry of Education and Training).
Source: https://tienphong.vn/de-thi-tieng-anh-tot-nghiep-vua-suc-voi-hoc-sinh-chuyen-canh-bao-gia-tang-hoc-them-post1756761.tpo
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