Fluctuations in the entrance exam scores for 10th grade in Nghe An.

Increased number of students, higher admission scores.

Instead of online enrollment, Nghi Loc 3 High School is organizing in-person enrollment for all admitted students.

Students arriving for enrollment carried a variety of emotions; some were happy, while others felt regret and disappointment.

Meeting Ms. Tran Thi Thanh, a resident of Phong Phu hamlet, Hung Hoa commune (Vinh city), on the day she brought her child to enroll in school, she said: "The road from my house to here is quite convenient, but it's still nearly 7km long and takes almost 20 minutes by motorbike for my child and me to get here. On normal days, my child has a friend to go with, so I think she can manage, but when it rains or is windy, I feel very sorry for her..."

Previously, Ms. Thanh's daughter and many other students at Hung Hoa Secondary School had registered Le Viet Thuat High School as their first choice. After the exam, hearing that many students had changed their preferences to this school, Ms. Thanh's family became worried and decided to apply to Nghi Loc 3 High School instead. When the results were announced, her daughter scored over 22 points, higher than the cutoff score for the school she initially applied to, leaving her family very disappointed.

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"When my child found out her test results, I cried all day. I'm a farmer, her father is a construction worker, and we have four children. She's the eldest, so I was worried she wouldn't have the means to attend a private school. Over the past few days, I've had to encourage her to try her best in her new environment. Luckily, about 20 of her classmates transferred from her old school to study here, so she has friends to go back and forth with," Ms. Thanh added.

Ms. Tran Thi Thanh - Hung Hoa commune (Vinh city)

Previously, although this year's 10th grade entrance exam was considered more challenging, had a lower score range, and was more selective, the admission cutoff score for Nghi Loc 3 High School was 17.75, 1.5 points higher than the previous academic year.

With these results, in the first announcement of scores, 250 students who applied to the school failed to get into the public 10th grade. In the second announcement, even though the score was lowered to 17.65, only 7 more students were admitted. Of those, nearly 240 were students from schools in Vinh City who applied to the school or had recently transferred their application to the school. A significant number of students who transferred their application also scored above 23 points.

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Due to the rapid increase in the number of students from the city this year, over 100 students from the city came to our school to take the entrance exam right from the initial registration period, and this number increased by more than 130 after the Department of Education allowed students to change their preferences. This has significantly increased the pressure on the school's admissions process.

In reality, the students who transferred down were all those with better academic abilities and were quite confident in their scores, so the pass rate was high. Conversely, the local students had weaker academic abilities, so a significant number of students from the local district failed.

Ms. Pham Thi Lan Huong - Vice Principal of Nghi Loc 3 High School

At Pham Hong Thai High School (Hung Nguyen), the first round cutoff score was 17.75 points, 1.35 points higher than the previous year. Similar to many schools on the outskirts of Vinh City, out of the more than 330 students admitted, over 200 were from the city. The remaining more than 200 students were rejected, a significant number of whom were from district schools.

Ms. Ho Thi Ha, the school principal, said: "Given the specific circumstances of our school, the Department of Education has increased the enrollment quota by one class, adding over 40 students. However, we hope for more quotas so that more students can attend public schools."

Unexpected changes

On the afternoon of July 20th, Huynh Thuc Khang High School announced its second round of admission scores at 21.5 points, the lowest score in about 10 years. Previously, although the first round's cutoff score was 23.5 points, it was still more than 1 point lower than last year's cutoff. With this score, many students who applied to the school expressed regret, as they had to change their preferences, moving away from their dream school despite having many opportunities to be admitted.

While the change in the cutoff score at Nghe An's top school is unusual, it's not surprising in this year's exam season. Furthermore, this score was predicted after the Department of Education allowed students to change their preferences, and over 400 students who had applied to the school switched to other schools.

A similar situation occurred at Cua Lo High School, where this year the admission score was only 16.35, more than 4 points lower than last year and lower than some schools in the region, despite being considered the number one school in the area. Remarkably, despite the very low cutoff score, only 4 students in the entire school failed to get admitted.

On the school's social media page, after the school announced the cutoff scores, many students commented "Oh my god," "How shocking," "I'm so shocked." The school's leadership, Principal Nguyen Hong Hai, also admitted that the cutoff scores were "quite disappointing." Explaining the reason, Mr. Hai said that the low cutoff scores were due to concerns among students applying to the school during the application period that many students from the city would transfer. Therefore, those who expected scores of 20 points or less switched their applications to other schools.

The low cutoff scores are also a reality at many schools considered top this year in various localities; in some schools, candidates only need to score less than 5 points per subject to be admitted. For example, at Phan Dang Luu High School (Yen Thanh), the cutoff score is 13.8 points, Quynh Luu 1 High School is 14.25 points, Dien Chau 3 High School is 15.7 points, and Hoang Mai High School is 12.35 points.

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Our school's cutoff score is lower than in previous years because many applicants have changed their preferences. Therefore, the number of remaining applicants is not large, and the pool of candidates is limited. Fortunately, even though the cutoff score is lower this year, the number of students scoring below 17 points is not significant. The overall admissions performance is quite good, as the average score for the entire school remains at 21 points per student.

Mr. Ho Thang - Principal of Quynh Luu 1 High School

Regarding this year's admission scores, although more than two-thirds of schools have already announced their scores, the 10th grade admission process will continue until August because some schools will continue with supplementary admissions, and many students who failed their first choice are waiting to apply for their second and third choices.

This year's admissions cutoff scores, with their unexpected and unpredictable changes, have raised many questions about 10th-grade admissions. Undeniably, allowing students to change their preferences increases their chances of being admitted to public schools. However, this also creates drawbacks, partly due to parents and students lacking information or not accurately assessing the difficulty level of the exams and their own scores.

Perhaps, to ensure that the process of changing preferences serves its original purpose, schools should promptly communicate and inform parents about changes in student enrollment during this period, preventing them from being caught off guard during the adjustment process. Furthermore, junior high schools and education departments need to provide effective counseling and support to help students make accurate choices and adjust their preferences appropriately. This will also help high schools secure a quality pool of students, ensuring the achievement of the goals of the 10th grade entrance exam.