HANOI, June 26 — More than 1.16 million students across Vietnam sat for the 2025 National High School Graduation Examination this morning—marking an unprecedented exam that includes a dual-curriculum format, literature materials outside textbooks, record-high numbers of subject choices, and exam code variations.
This year’s exam spans just 1.5 days—the shortest duration in the past decade—and introduces students to sweeping changes. The majority of candidates belong to the first cohort educated under the new general education program (implemented in 2018), which emphasizes the development of competencies and moral qualities. Students are required to take two compulsory subjects and choose two others based on their interests.
The first subject, Literature, began at 7:35 AM today. For the first time, the reading material for this subject is sourced entirely from outside the official curriculum.
In Hanoi, by 6:30 AM, the temperature hovered around 27°C with humid conditions. At Yen Hoa Secondary School, many students had already arrived 15–30 minutes early. Volunteer teams set up waiting areas with seating and water for accompanying parents, who were also directed to a nearby elementary school to wait comfortably.
Mixed Feelings Among Candidates
At Luong The Vinh High School, student Mach Van Chi shared that she felt more confident taking the exam in her familiar school setting. Although she usually scores above 8 out of 10 in practice exams, Chi admitted feeling nervous about literature materials not being in textbooks.
“I’m nervous about encountering poetry, since I may not fully understand the meaning or express the author’s intent. I prefer prose or argumentative texts,” she said.
Chi chose English and Physics as her optional subjects, aiming for a minimum score of 27 in the D01 combination (Literature, Math, English) to apply for the Digital Marketing program at the University of Economics in Ho Chi Minh City (UEH). “I want to move south because I like the academic environment at UEH and want to experience living away from home,” she said.
At My Dinh High School, students were called into exam rooms at 6:45 AM sharp. Outside, teacher Phan Thi Thuy Ngoc reminded parents to relocate to the designated waiting area about 100 meters away. Volunteers assisted latecomers and students who had forgotten their identification documents.
One parent, Ms. Thuy from Cau Giay District, brought her child just 30 minutes before the exam to reduce anxiety from waiting too long. “But for the afternoon session, I’ll make sure we arrive on time to avoid causing concern for the exam supervisors,” she said. Living just 3 km from the site, she planned to return home to prepare a warm lunch for her child to rest before the next test.
In Ho Chi Minh City, the atmosphere was equally intense at Dong Da Secondary School, where parents began arriving from 6:15 AM. Fortunately, the weather was cool and pleasant at around 26°C.
First-Year Challenges With New Curriculum
At Gia Dinh High School, student Hoang Nam exchanged good-luck high-fives with friends before entering the exam room. “With the new curriculum, the exam format is still a mystery,” he said. He chose Math, Literature, English, and Physics, hoping to gain admission to Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology or University of Science.
“Literature is not my strong suit—I just hope I stay on topic and score above average,” he added.
Meanwhile, at Le Quy Don High School, student Nhu Y lit incense in front of the statue of a Vietnamese scholar, praying for a smooth exam experience. She selected English and Economic-Legal Education to apply for English Language Teaching programs. Thanks to solid scores in the recent competency exams by Vietnam National University and Ho Chi Minh City University of Education, she felt calm going into the test.
“I’m giving my best effort, but I’m not overly stressed since I’ve prepared other options,” she said. Still, as Literature isn’t her strongest subject, she hoped the reading and essay sections would involve poetry, which she finds more emotionally resonant.
Remote Areas Face Unique Obstacles
In Yen Bai Province, heavy rain in recent days caused landslides that blocked access routes from Muong Lai commune to Luc Yen District’s exam centers, with some areas submerged in knee-deep mud.
Hoang Van Thieu, Secretary of the local Youth Union, said nearly 100 students from the commune were taking the exam. Yesterday, youth volunteers and local police used specialized vehicles to transport them for registration. One student with an injured leg was even carried across a muddy path.
“To ensure their safety, we arranged for them to stay near exam centers over the next few days,” Thieu said. By last night, local authorities had cleared the debris to reopen access routes.
“This morning, things have improved. We’re doing everything we can to support the students,” he added.
Hope School Students Join the National Exam
In Da Nang, 21 out of 14,500 test-takers are from Hope School—a boarding school established by FPT Corporation to care for children orphaned during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Among them is 19-year-old Luu Huu Nghi, who spent four years at the school after previously dropping out to work and support his younger sister following the death of their parents. Today, both siblings sat for the graduation exam.
According to Project Director Hoang Quoc Quyen, teachers arranged transportation and moral support for the students across three exam centers. “They’ve become much more independent and mature,” he said. Some aspire to become doctors, while others aim for careers in technology, journalism, culinary arts, and music.
Major Reforms in Exam Format
This afternoon, students will take the Math test, which consists of 22 multiple-choice questions in three formats: standard ABCD options, true/false answers, and short responses. This marks a departure from previous years, which featured only one question type.
Scoring has also changed. In the true/false section, each question has four parts. Selecting one correct part earns 0.1 points; two correct parts, 0.25; three correct, 0.5; and only with all four correct does a student earn the full 1 point—eliminating equal distribution.
Tomorrow, students will take two out of nine optional subjects. Each subject has 48 different test codes—double the previous number. Candidates will be grouped by subject to minimize movement between rooms.
More than 26,700 students are taking the exam under the old 2006 curriculum. For these candidates, the Literature test still uses textbook material, while the remaining subjects include Math, English, and either Natural or Social Sciences.
As of the afternoon of June 25, 99.16% of all registered candidates had completed the pre-exam registration. Around 10,000 were absent, but those arriving early this morning were still allowed to complete formalities.
According to the Ministry of Education and Training, this year’s exam is being held at nearly 2,500 sites nationwide, with over 50,000 exam rooms and about 200,000 staff, teachers, and support personnel involved.
For the first time, exam materials were transmitted to provinces via an encrypted and secure line managed by the Government Cipher Committee.
Because the exam accommodates both the old and new curricula, supervisors underwent additional training to manage differing regulations. For example, only students under the old curriculum are allowed to bring a geography atlas into the exam room, and the number of test codes for new curriculum subjects has doubled.
The Ministry emphasized that the exam content aligns with the curriculum while providing sufficient differentiation to support university admissions.
Results of the 2025 National High School Graduation Exam will be announced on July 16. University admission applications and preference adjustments will be accepted from July 16 to 28.
