Since the introduction of Resolution No.29, exams have been renovated several times without much success.
Dr. Nguyen Quoc Chinh, Director of the Center for Educational Testing and Quality Assessment (Vietnam National University-HCM), shared that 2015 marked a milestone in the high school graduation exam and university admission exam, when both were combined into one, called the ‘2-in-1’ exam. This new way allows a separation of exam organization from admission process.
Sadly, the so-called renovated exam witnessed the darkest time in 2018, when 11 educational officials in the three provinces of Ha Giang, Son La, and Hoa Binh were jailed for exam cheating and illegal increase of exam grades for 347 papers (some from 26.8 marks to 29.95 marks).
The next troublesome issue happened in 2021, when many testing subjects enjoyed abnormally high marks. For instance, English subject had the largest number of 10-mark papers, leading to an unexpected rise in university admission grade to even 11 marks. In some majors, applicants with 30 marks for three subjects still failed.
The latest negativity in high school graduation exam was the leak of Biology test questions in 2021. Two related educational officials were tried in court in July 2023.
Another worrying matter in this ‘2-in-1’ exam is whether its question bank is standardized and keeps up with its global counterparts or not. The procedure to build the question bank of the Education and Training Ministry cannot satisfy standardization criteria. It has received no assessment, monitoring, or independent evaluation on its objectivity and scientific method; instead, most questions are based on test samples from several high schools in the country.
Recently, the Education and Training Ministry has announced the changes in the high school graduation exam from 2025 with the new General Education Program. The number of tests in this exam reduces to only four (two mandatory subjects of Maths and Literature, and two selective ones). In addition, IT is promoted in exam organization.
From 2030, the question banks for all subjects will be available to all localities, and students will sit computer-based tests. These are considered technical improvements only.
Dr. Hoang Ngoc Vinh, former Director of the Professional Education Department (under the Education and Training Ministry) stated that there are inadequacies in high school graduation exam policies, to a large extent affecting educational goals.
It seems that learning now in Vietnam is for the sake of instead of obtaining practical knowledge. This leads to too much focus on certain subjects and neglect of others, which is ultimately unable to evaluate the true performance of learners.
“In some cases, there is still dishonesty in academic reports. It is wiser to apply IT in managing and storing these data with no unauthorized interference. Also, a multiple-choice test is hard to assess test-takers real ability. Different evaluation forms should be used to achieve this purpose”, proposed Dr. Vinh.
A former rector of HCMC University of Education suggested that the high school graduation exam should be upgraded to better assess the comprehensive ability of students via multiple subjects instead of concentrating on the selection of a few subjects.
Former Vice President of Vietnam National University-HCM Dr. Nguyen Duc Nghia commented that the change in the high school graduation exam and university admission is a major national matter, yet the proposed alternatives by the Education and Training Ministry are not truly feasible and suitable for the general state of educational renovation.
In addition, it is rather challenging now to prepare a sufficient question bank for the new exam in 2025 and then technical facilities for the one after 2030. Meanwhile, independent assessment centers have not been founded yet.
A comprehensive evaluation of exam organization so far should be conducted to pinpoint both the strengths and weaknesses for future exam upgrades. With strong determination and the cooperation of the whole community, these renovations will make the high school graduation exam more reliable.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Do Van Xe, former Vice President of Can Tho University, added that Vietnam has focused too much on the level of university admission applicants but forgot the fact that university training period is even more important to turn a person into a highly qualified laborer.
Moreover, other countries have assigned independent testing centers to evaluate the obtained knowledge of high school students and used these results for university admission. Vietnam should follow this footstep for transparency and objectivity. The most challenging task is to establish the question banks, which should be done scientifically and gradually.
Renovations of the high school graduation exam and university admission:
- The 2015-2016 period: the high school graduation exam and the university admission exam were combined into one, called the national high school graduation exam. This is organized by universities, which will then mostly use this result to select suitable applicants into their educational institutes.
- The 2017-2019 period: the organization of the above exam was the duty of local Department of Education and Training. Vietnam National University-HCM and Vietnam National University-Hanoi were the pioneers in hosting a competence assessment test, whose result becomes one possible method for university admission.
- Since 2020: the national high school graduation exam has changed its name to ‘high school graduation exam’, with the aim of recognizing high school graduation of students. The result is used as one method for university admission besides many others. Several universities have also held their own competence assessment tests for admission purpose.
