Admission scores for 10th grade in Hanoi: 24 points still failed, 10 points passed

Điểm chuẩn - Ảnh 1. — Candidates taking the 10th grade entrance exam in 2025 in Hanoi - Photo: NGUYEN BAO

There are candidates with scores above 8/subject who still failed, but there are many schools where the average subject score/standard score is only 3. That is the current situation of admission to grade 10 in Hanoi for the 2025-2026 school year.

8 points/subject still fail

Only 9 out of over 100 public high schools in Hanoi have a benchmark score of 24 points or higher (average subject score is 8 or higher).

In the top group rankings, the among schools have also changed compared to recent years. Yen Hoa High School dropped from the top position to 3rd place, tied with Nguyen Gia Thieu High School with 25 points (average score of 8.33).

While Kim Lien High School, after many years of being behind Yen Hoa, has now returned to the top position, tied with Le Quy Don High School (Ha Dong), the most attractive school in the enrollment area. Ha Dong is an area with fewer public high schools than other places compared to the demand for education with the highest standard score: 25.5 points (average subject score is 8.5).

The school with a steady increase in benchmark scores over the past 3 years is Viet Duc High School, tied with Phan Dinh Phung High School with 25.25 points (average subject score is 8.42).

Phan Dinh Phung School has become more popular this year because the neighboring school, Chu Van An High School for the Gifted, no longer enrolls non-specialized students from this school year. Candidates who had planned to enroll in Chu Van An have all changed their choice to Phan Dinh Phung.

Thang Long High School used to hold the top position in the previous school years more than a decade ago, but in recent years it has cooled down, with a benchmark score of 24.25 (average subject score is 8.08). There are two other schools in the top 9: Nguyen Thi Minh Khai High School with 24.75 (average subject score is 8.25) and Nhan Chinh High School with 24 points (average subject score is 8.00).

There are three schools with an average subject score/standard score below 8 but close to the top 9: Tran Phu High School - Hoan Kiem, Le Quy Don High School - Dong Da and Cau Giay High School with a standard score of 23.75 (average subject score of 7.83).

The schools in the top group are mainly concentrated in the central areas of the inner city in the (old) districts of Dong Da, Thanh Xuan, Cau Giay, Ba Dinh, Hoan Kiem. These are also schools that attract candidates with good and excellent academic performance.

But because this is the area where the "race" of excellent students takes place, there is always tension and pressure. Many candidates are hovering around 8 points, above 8/subject but still failed. There are even candidates who registered their first choice at Kim Lien, Le Quy Don (Ha Dong) school, achieving 8.4 points/subject.

Although the scores are very high compared to the general level, candidates who fail from the "top" have difficulty when they are not admitted to their second choice because the regulation requires that the admission score for the second choice must be 1.0 points higher than the school's standard score.

For many years, the "fake" rate has been very high, on average, for every 2 candidates admitted to the school, 1 candidate does not enroll because of other choices.

Leader of a top high school in Hanoi

10 points/3 subjects still pass

While about 20 schools have slightly increased benchmark scores, many schools in Hanoi have seen their benchmark scores decrease, even dropping by nearly 3 points per subject. Tho Xuan High School this year has a benchmark score of 10 (average 3.33 points per subject), while last year the benchmark score was 30.75 (average 6.15 points per subject). This is the school with the deepest drop in benchmark scores (more than 2.8 points per subject).

Similarly, Ung Hoa A High School decreased by about 1.85 points/subject compared to last year. Nguyen Trai High School decreased by nearly 1 point/subject compared to last year.

Not only the lower-ranked schools, but also the top schools have slightly lower admission scores compared to last year, such as Yen Hoa High School, Thang Long High School, Nhan Chinh High School...

In addition to Tho Xuan High School, this year there are also a number of schools with a benchmark score of only 10 points, such as Luu Hoang High School, Dai Cuong High School, Ung Hoa B High School... These are schools that are always at the bottom of the rankings of many admission seasons and are also schools that are allowed to recruit additional students in previous years, also known as "overflow schools".

Additional recruitment

Lower-ranked schools that do not meet their enrollment quota despite having very low admission scores (10-15 points) are often considered for additional enrollment with candidates with second and third preferences who meet the admission requirements.

This year, based on the number of admitted students who have completed the admission confirmation procedure, schools will compile the list, compare it with the enrollment quota for grade 10 for the 2025-2026 school year assigned by the Hanoi Department of Education and Training to report to the department. The Hanoi Department of Education and Training will consider and decide to allow some schools to enroll additional students and make a public announcement.

The virtual ratio is quite large.

As for the top schools, although they have great appeal, they also have difficulties with the virtual ratio. Because candidates applying to top non-specialized schools often also apply to specialized schools, bilingual programs, and French-enhanced programs. Some candidates in this category also simultaneously passed the entrance exams to specialized schools and schools affiliated with universities.

In previous years, there were top schools, even specialized high schools, that lowered their admission scores to recruit additional students due to the lack of "fake" enrollment. Among them was Yen Hoa High School, which had a large number of "fake" candidates. Hanoi Amsterdam High School for the Gifted and Chu Van An High School for the Gifted also lowered their admission scores for some specialized classes.