Why are the benchmark scores for many industries so high?

Many majors have seen their benchmark scores skyrocket while the Ministry of Education and Training has tried to adjust regulations to limit this inequality.

In previous years, when universities still considered early admission, when considering high school graduation exam scores, many schools and many majors recorded a standard score of 29-30, even exceeding 30. Therefore, this year, the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) has issued a series of new regulations in university and college admissions such as: no early admission, conversion of scores between methods... to limit the above situation.

Benchmark scores of many industries increase "skyrocketingly"

However, a reality has occurred when this year witnessed dozens of majors where candidates with 9-10 points/subject still failed their first choice. In previous years, the reason was said to be that the early admission methods had received almost enough quotas, the remaining quotas were too small so the standard scores were pushed up. The Ministry of Education and Training assessed this as a problem that caused inequality for candidates. So what happened this year?

Associate Professor, Dr. Bui Hoai Thang, Head of Training Department of Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology - VNU, said that in the 2025 university entrance exam, the school had nearly 48% of candidates achieving a competency assessment score of 900 or higher; nearly 21% of candidates had both a high school graduation exam score of 27 points and a competency assessment score of 900 or higher. In addition, about 3,300 candidates had standard English certificates (equivalent to IELTS Academic from 5.0 or higher), which were converted into 8 - 10 points in English in both high school graduation exam scores and high school transcript scores.

"Initially, we predicted that this year's benchmark score might decrease. However, after 10 virtual filtering rounds, the benchmark score increased in most industries, with only a few industries slightly decreasing," Associate Professor Thang stated the reality.

MSc. Pham Thai Son, Director of the Admissions and Communications Center - Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry and Trade, said that the benchmark scores of universities in the South tend to increase more than those in the North. The reason is that the number of candidates converting their high school transcript scores and ability assessments is large; depending on the school, there are different score conversion formulas.

One surprise is that the pedagogy group has surpassed many "hot" majors, becoming the major with the highest admission score in many universities. Specifically, Ho Chi Minh City University of Education has 2 majors with admission scores exceeding 29 points and 4 majors with admission scores above 28 points (based on high school graduation exam scores). Chemistry pedagogy leads the admission score with 29.38 points, followed by literature pedagogy with 29.07 points, and geography pedagogy with 28.83 points.

Thus, candidates must score at least 9 points in each subject to have a chance to be admitted to the pedagogical group of Ho Chi Minh City University of Education. In 2024, the two majors with the highest standard scores are literature pedagogy and history pedagogy, both at 28.6, but no major has exceeded the 29-point mark like this year.

The benchmark scores of Saigon University range from 18.43 to 28.98 (converted to the original combination on a 30-point scale for all admission methods). The major with the highest benchmark score is still chemistry education (28.98 points), followed by geography education (28.55 points), and physics education (28.33 points).

In universities that use multiple admission methods, the admission score based on the high school graduation exam results has skyrocketed, causing confusion. At the University of Information Technology - VNU-HCM, the artificial intelligence major had a benchmark score of 28.3 last year, now it has increased to 29.6; other majors such as data science , microchip design, etc. have all increased their scores.

At Ho Chi Minh City University of Technical Education, the automotive engineering technology major (training program in Vietnamese) increased from 25.39 last year to 25.65; the e-commerce major increased from 23 to 25.7. The major with the highest standard score belongs to English pedagogy with 29.57 points - also the major leading the standard score in 2024 of the school.

At Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry, 50% of admission codes recorded an increase in standard scores compared to last year...

New students complete admission procedures and register for dormitories at Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry and Trade on the morning of August 24. Photo: HUE XUAN

Solve the instability, more instability!

This year's high school graduation exam scores are lower than last year's, but university entrance scores have increased.

A representative of a university in Ho Chi Minh City said that this year, the Ministry of Education and Training has stipulated that if schools use multiple admission methods, they must build a correlation function to convert scores and cannot change it. This year, the high school graduation exam scores of candidates are not high, but the ability assessment test scores and academic transcript scores are quite good.

Therefore, if the school uses 3 admission methods - considering academic records, considering competency assessment test scores, considering high school graduation exam scores - the correlation function will force the benchmark scores of the 3 methods to go up and down together. Therefore, when the academic records and competency assessment test scores are good, the benchmark score according to the high school graduation exam score method must increase accordingly.

The representative of the above university stated that with the standard score of 29.6 in the artificial intelligence major of the University of Information Technology, the number of successful candidates can be counted on the fingers. Most of the candidates admitted to this major are based on the results of the competency assessment exam.

According to Dr. Nguyen Quoc Anh, Vice Principal of Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology, this year, for the first time, the Ministry of Education and Training requires schools to convert scores between methods (high school graduation exam, transcript, capacity assessment, international certificates, etc.). However, each school builds its own conversion formula based on its own data and criteria. This leads to the same candidate but when converted at different schools, the results may be different; it is difficult for parents and candidates to follow, causing a lack of transparency.

In addition, due to the cancellation of early admission, all admissions were concentrated in a single admission round, leading to the virtual filtering system having to process extremely large amounts of data. As a result, some schools had to filter out virtual candidates 6-10 times; many schools could not announce the benchmark scores on time, causing confusion. Candidates did not have early admission results. This made many students worried, not knowing which method was beneficial for them, leading to the situation of registering too many wishes.

An admissions expert analyzed: The 2025 high school exam scores are highly differentiated, with many subjects being "extremely difficult", leading to a lower admission score than in 2024. However, due to conversion and accumulation of wishes, the admission scores in some majors/schools have increased unexpectedly and are difficult to predict. This increases the feeling of uncertainty and "gambling" when candidates register their wishes.

"Many candidates are "sitting on hot coals" because this year is the first year of taking exams according to the 2018 General Education Program, but there are many continuous changes in the exam and admission process. Many candidates cannot adapt in time, leading to stress, especially those who apply to schools and majors that are "hot" today," said this expert.

Converting points "failed"?

A representative of a university in Ho Chi Minh City said that the Ministry of Education and Training's regulation that schools must build a correlation function to convert scores between admission methods is a "failure". The correlation function must be built before schools have data on scores of the methods, but it cannot be changed, causing many schools to be unable to select candidates.

In many schools and many majors, the candidates' academic records dominate the admission process. This is unfair to candidates with good high school graduation exam results but poor or no other scores (such as not taking the competency assessment test...). "The Ministry of Education and Training's request for schools to build a score conversion function is to build something fixed based on something uncertain" - this person commented.

Talkshow - consulting "Standard scores, opportunities for unqualified candidates"

To answer questions about benchmark scores as well as identify opportunities for candidates who have not passed the first round, Nguoi Lao Dong Newspaper organizes an online talk show - consultation "Standard scores, opportunities for candidates who have not passed the first round" at 9:00 am today (August 25).

This talk show - consultation is part of the program "Bringing schools to candidates" in 2025. The program has the participation of Dr. Nguyen Duc Nghia, former Vice President of Ho Chi Minh City National University, along with representatives of International University - Ho Chi Minh City National University, University of Finance - Marketing, Nguyen Tat Thanh University.

The program will review the benchmark scores that schools have just announced; analyze why many majors have an exam score of nearly 10 points/subject to be admitted; which majors are on the rise, which majors still lack quotas; advise on admission procedures for admitted candidates; which schools will consider additional admissions and how to choose majors and schools in the additional wishes appropriately...

The program will be broadcast online at nld.com.vn and livestreamed on the social media platforms of the Lao Dong Newspaper. Readers are invited to follow.

B. Lam

Source: https://nld.com.vn/diem-chuan-nhieu-nganh-cao-chot-vot-vi-sao-196250824222405402.htm