56.4% OF CANDIDATES HAVE MATH SCORES BELOW 5
Mathematics is one of the two compulsory subjects for the 2025 exam (the other subject is literature), so there are a large number of candidates taking the exam, with 1,126,172 candidates taking the exam. This is also the subject that many candidates and teachers have assessed as having "too difficult" questions in this year's exam.
For the first time, the Ministry of Education and Training has released the score distribution of high school graduation exam subjects before announcing the exam scores to candidates this morning, July 16.
PHOTO: DAO NGOC THACH
According to the score distribution of 12 subjects provided by the Ministry of Education and Training, math had the lowest average and median scores (4.78 and 4.6). There were 635,102 candidates with scores below 5, accounting for 56.4% of the candidates taking the exam (last year this number was 182,930, accounting for 17.5% of the candidates taking the exam). Nationwide, there were 777 candidates with scores of 1 or below, 10 times higher than last year.
According to many experts, a factor contributing to the low scores in math this year is the change in the exam format, which limits the number of candidates who get points by luck (hitting "dead"). Ignoring the comparison with the math score distribution of previous years, just looking at the math score distribution this year, we can see that either the math test is too difficult compared to the program requirements, or the current quality of math teaching nationwide is below average. According to experts, the scope of knowledge in the math test is completely within the 2018 GeneralEducation Program, except that the test is a bit long and some questions are a bit difficult in terms of thinking.
Associate Professor Tran Dang Hung, Head of the Department of Software Technology, School of Information and Communication Technology, Hanoi University of Industry, said that the analysis of the math score distribution shows a relatively standard distribution. This year, there were a total of 513 students with a score of 10 in math, which is quite special compared to previous years. For example, in 2024, there were no 10s in math; in 2025, the number of 10s in math was 513. Another special point is that the standard deviation in 2024 was 1.56 and in 2025 was 1.68. This reflects a wider spectrum of math scores and better differentiation.
Comparing the math score distribution of 4 years shows that 3 years ago the score distribution had a skewed shape towards the high scores (on the right), but this year the score distribution is more balanced, approaching a more normal distribution.
According to Associate Professor Hung, comparing the math exam results by locality (all 4 years are based on the new administrative boundaries of 34 provinces and cities), we can see the similarity in the scores of the localities over the past 4 years. The top 10 provinces and cities with the highest average math scores include: Ninh Binh, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hai Phong .
According to Dr. Pham Thanh Ha, Head of Training Department, University of Transport, math is a compulsory subject, most candidates taking the high school graduation exam must take this subject, so the math score distribution will greatly affect the standard score for university admission this year. The low math score distribution, the median is 2 points lower than last year, accurately reflecting the opinions of candidates and teachers about the difficulty of this year's exam. "With the general level, this year's standard score will be about 1.5 - 3 points lower than last year depending on the major," said Dr. Pham Thanh Ha.
ENGLISH SUBJECT GOOD SCORES BUT THE EXAM IS "VERY DIFFICULT"
According to Associate Professor Tran Dang Hung, the English score distribution really met the standards that the test makers were aiming for. This year, 351,858 candidates took the English exam; the average score was 5.38; the median score was 5.25. There were 141 candidates who scored 10.
Professor Nguyen Dinh Duc, Hanoi National University, analyzed the score distribution at the conference announcing the score distribution of the 2025 high school graduation exam yesterday afternoon organized by the Ministry of Education and Training.
PHOTO: TUAN MINH
According to Associate Professor Hung, compared to 2024, the above indicators are relatively similar. In particular, comparing the shape of the English score distribution, it can be seen that this year has solved the problem of the English score distribution having 2 peaks.
Provinces and cities that have always had high scores, such as Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Binh Duong, now merged with Ho Chi Minh City), and Hanoi, are still on this list. Notably, this year, the top 4 provinces with high scores include Quang Ninh and Dien Bien. "Dien Bien only has 504 candidates taking the exam. This year, English is an elective subject, and candidates who choose English are those who have a certain level of confidence in English," said Associate Professor Hung.
However, Dr. Pham Thanh Ha said that evaluating and comparing the English score distribution will be very complicated, because last year it was a compulsory subject while this year it is an elective subject. Some English score distribution indicators this year and last year are similar, such as the average score (last year 5.51; this year 5.38), median score (last year 5.2; this year 5.25). However, we cannot just look at these indicators to assume that the difficulty of this year's English test is the same as last year.
Dr. Ha analyzed: "Last year, more than 900,000 students took the English exam, the median score was 5.2, which means 450,000 students had a score below 5.2 and 450,000 students had a score greater than or equal to 5.2. This year, about 350,000 students took the English exam, the median score was 5.25, which means only 175,000 students had a score greater than 5.25. The numbers 460,000 last year and 175,000 this year are telling numbers. It says that this year's English exam was very difficult, even though the median is the same."
THE NUMBER OF 0 SCORE IN HISTORY SUBJECT IS DECREASING GREATLY
History is the subject with the most candidates registering for the exam among the elective subjects with a total of 481,293 candidates taking the exam. The average score of this subject is equivalent to 2024 at 6.52 points (last year it was 6.57). The score achieved by the most candidates is 7.25.
Photo: Ministry of Education and Training
The percentage of students with below average scores in this subject is 18.63% (89,665 students). However, the number of students with zero scores in history is only 2 students, a sharp decrease compared to recent years and a decrease of 17 students compared to last year. Phu Tho is the locality leading in history results with an average score of 7.046.
Geography is the second most chosen subject by candidates, after history. According to the score distribution and analysis of the high school graduation exam score distribution announced by the Ministry of Education and Training, geography is also the subject with the most 10 points, with 6,907 exams scoring 10 points. This is the subject with the most 10 points among all the subjects, with 6,907 10 points, more than double the 2024 exam (3,175 10 points).
On the other hand, the number of failing exams (1 point or less) in geography also decreased compared to last year, with only 19 failing scores (last year was 94). However, the average score this year in geography was lower than last year, at 6.63 (last year was 7.19). The locality leading in geography exam scores was Ninh Binh with an average score of 7.224 points.
SPECIAL POINTS FROM THE SCORES OF NEW EXAM SUBJECTS
A particularly noteworthy point in the four subjects appearing for the first time this year (IT, economic and legal education, agricultural and industrial technology) is that no exam had a failing score (1 or lower).
2025 High School Graduation Exam Score Distribution for Math and English
PHOTO: MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING
A total of 7,602 candidates took the IT exam nationwide. The average score was 6.78 and the median was 6.75, with a relatively balanced score distribution. Nearly 47.6% of candidates scored 7 points or higher, while only 11.2% scored below average. Nationwide, 60 candidates achieved perfect scores in IT.
There were 2,290 candidates taking the technology - industry exam. The score distribution showed a fairly balanced distribution with an average score of 5.79 and a median of 5.6, meaning that most candidates were above average. 34.06% of candidates were below average, while 25.59% scored 7 points or more. There were 4 candidates scoring 10 points.
With 22,048 candidates participating, the average score for the technology - agriculture subject reached 7.72, much higher than the average of many other subjects. The median was 7.75, meaning that most candidates achieved good - excellent results. Notably, 78.42% of candidates achieved 7 points or higher, while only 2.15% were below average.
Nationwide, 101 candidates achieved 10 points in the subject of technology - agriculture, with a rate of 4.58 points of 10 per 1,000 candidates, quite high compared to the general level.
10 points and zero points
This year, the whole country had more than 15,300 exams with a score of 10, an increase of more than 4,400 compared to last year. Of which, geography had the highest number with more than 6,900 exams with a score of 10, the number of zero scores for this subject was 3. Physics ranked next with 3,930 scores of 10, the number of zero scores for this subject was 1. Physics is also the subject this year with a sudden increase in the number of 10 scores compared to previous years. This reflects the opinions of many doctors and teachers who commented that this year's physics exam was "easy" and predicted that the average score would be high, with many exams scoring 9 and 10.
History ranked third with 1,518 scores of 10. Economic and legal education had 1,451 scores of 10, with no zero-point exams. The number of 10-point exams in chemistry was 625; the number of 10-point exams in math was 513; the number of 10-point exams in English was 141; the number of 10-point exams in technology - agriculture was 101; the number of 10-point exams in biology was 82; 60 students in information technology scored 10, and in technology - industry, the number was 4.
On the other hand, the whole country had 936 students with failing scores (1 or less) in the 2025 high school graduation exam, of which 777 students were in math, 10 times higher than last year. Specifically, 28 students in English had failing scores, a 5-fold decrease compared to last year. In history and geography, 13-19 students scored 1 or less, down 20 and 75 points respectively. Physics and biology had a sharp decrease, with only 1-3 students.
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/thay-gi-tu-pho-diem-thi-tot-nghiep-thpt-nam-2025-185250715232845918.htm
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