2025 is the first year that 100% of public high schools in the West of Dak Lak organize 10th grade entrance exams.
The entrance exam scores for grade 10 have made many people startled and worried because many schools have unusually low entrance scores, the lowest being 2.5 points for three subjects. That means that if you score less than 1 point in each subject, you will pass grade 10 of a public school.
The “rock bottom” score of 2.5 also appeared in other localities such as Khanh Hoa province (old), Nghe An province. In many provinces (before the merger) such as Lai Chau, Quang Ninh, Thanh Hoa, Thai Nguyen..., the admission score for public grade 10 in many high schools also fluctuated from 7 to 10 points for 3 subjects, equivalent to less than 3 points/subject.
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| Parents wait for their children to take the 10th grade entrance exam for the 2025-2026 school year at the Examination Council of N' Trang Long Boarding Ethnic High School. Photo: Van Anh |
This story makes many people wonder whether it is necessary to organize entrance exams for grade 10 in such a widespread manner? In fact, in the 2025-2026 school year, there are still some localities that only organize entrance exams for grade 10 for specialized schools, while other public schools will consider admission (like the provinces before the merger: Ca Mau, Tra Vinh , Vinh Long, Gia Lai, Lam Dong, Phu Yen).
According to Circular 30/2024/TT-BGDDT on the Regulations on Secondary School and High School Admissions issued by the Ministry of Education and Training in December 2024, the regulations on grade 10 admissions are stipulated as follows: High school admissions are organized once a year according to one of three methods: selection, entrance exam, and combination of entrance exam and selection. The selection of admission methods is under the authority of the locality.
For the entrance exam method for grade 10 high school, the Circular stipulates the implementation of 3 subjects and exams, including: Math, Literature and a third subject or exam selected by the Department of Education and Training. The third subject is selected from the subjects assessed by scores in the general education program at the secondary level, ensuring that the same third subject is not selected for more than 3 consecutive years. The third subject is a combined exam of a number of subjects selected from the subjects assessed by scores in the general education program at the secondary level. The third subject or combined exam of a number of subjects is announced after the end of the first semester but no later than March 31 every year.
For the admission form, it is based on the training results and learning results of the school years according to the general education program at the secondary level or the continuing education program at the secondary level of the admission subject.
Most recently, Ho Chi Minh City is the first locality in the country to have a plan for admission to the first level of the 2026-2027 school year. Accordingly, this locality plans to combine both admission and entrance exams; including admission to grade 10 of public high schools in some special areas; public high schools in the remaining areas will have entrance exams in 3 subjects: Literature, Math, Foreign Language. This is to maintain stability, creating convenience for parents, students and schools after the province's merger.
I think, when the regulations do not require entrance exams, localities should base on the actual situation, facilities, teaching staff, number of students/quota to conduct admission or entrance exams or combine entrance exams with admission. Admission ensures the assessment of the entire learning process of students (at least 4 years of junior high school) and does not cause pressure. Although admission is not a perfect method, it has many positive points such as: reducing exam pressure, reducing extra study, saving a large amount of money and avoiding the "shock" of 2.5 points/3 subjects passed!
Source: https://baodaklak.vn/xa-hoi/202508/tuyen-sinh-vao-lop-10-thpt-cong-lap-sao-khong-xet-tuyen-thay-vi-thi-tuyen-392135d/
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