The Department of Education and Training has officially announced the structure and reference materials for the upcoming 10th-grade entrance exam for the 2025-2026 academic year, aligning closely with the 2018 General Education Program. This announcement was made on March 10, 2025, marking the first year the entrance examination will adhere to the new educational guidelines established under the program.
According to Mr. Lê Đình Thuần, the Deputy Director of the Department, the exam content will focus primarily on the 9th-grade curriculum, ensuring students are well-prepared. He underlined the importance of providing students with structured materials to guide their study and revision, ensuring clarity on what will be assessed during the exam.
The Math examination will consist of six questions, each carrying specific points. Question 1 (2 points) requires students to simplify expressions involving square roots, solve first-degree equations and systems of equations with two variables, and tackle first-degree inequalities. Question 2 (2 points) will involve drawing graphs for specified functions and applying Vieta’s theorem to resolve related expressions. Question 3 (1 point) focuses on solving problems through equations or systems of equations, effectively assessing student comprehension.
Advancing to Question 4 (2 points), students will encounter questions centered on real-life applications involving probability and geometric calculations—assessing their ability to compute perimeter, area, and volume of real-world shapes. Question 5 (2.5 points) comprises advanced plane geometry problems, requiring students to prove various geometric properties, such as showing four points belong to the same circle or proving concurrency. Finally, Question 6 (0.5 points) will once again apply students' knowledge to real-life mathematical problems concerning equations and inequalities.
For the Literature segment, the exam will encompass two overarching parts: reading comprehension and written expression. The reading comprehension section will feature five questions arranged from easy to complex, assessing recognition, comprehension, and application skills through various literary forms. Students may read excerpts from poetry, prose, or analytical texts, providing them with the opportunity to engage with new material not present within their textbooks, ensuring its educational significance and psychological relevance to their age group.
Subsequently, the writing component will include two essay prompts, one focused on writing paragraphs and the other requiring full essays. The essays may draw upon societal issues, with no strict requirement to relate to the reading material, or they may be anchored on literary texts as defined earlier. These prompts will evaluate students' ability to analyze subjects and convey their thoughts coherently.
Concerning the assessment across the Literature exam, there are defined competency levels—recognition accounts for 22.5%, comprehension 35%, and application skills 42.5%. This clear categorization aims to promote thorough and diverse learning, equipping students to face their forthcoming challenges.
Meanwhile, the English exam will consist of 40 questions—80% will be of the multiple-choice variety, thereby allowing the appraisal of students' foundational knowledge, and 20% will invite free-response questions to determine their capacity for expression and comprehension. The structure is set not only to engage students at different levels but also to streamline their preparation effectively.
For those participating in specialized classes, such as Physics, Chemistry, and Biology, the exams will incorporate content specific to the Natural Sciences curriculum at the junior high school level. Specifically, the specialized Physics exam will focus on energy transformations, the Chemistry exam will address substances and their transformations, and the Biology exam will cover living things. This structured approach not only aligns with educational objectives but also pushes students to comprehend complex concepts deeply.
Overall, this new structure aims to create clarity and streamline preparation efforts for teachers and students alike as they transition to the new educational standards. With the first official application of the 2018 General Education Program being marked by this implementation, expectations are high for both student performance and educational outcomes. It is undoubtedly going to be a pivotal moment for the educational community, as the focus shifts toward preparing students not only to pass exams but to cement strong foundational concepts necessary for their academic futures.