The 10th grade entrance exam in Mathematics in Nghe An province is designed to differentiate students' abilities, making it difficult to achieve high scores.

The actual exam was harder than the practice exam.

EndMathematics examDespite being a top-rated exam center in the province in terms of candidate quality, many students at Huynh Thuc Khang High School (Vinh City) shared the same opinion that the exam was "difficult".

Nguyen Duc Anh, a student from Dang Thai Mai Secondary School (Vinh City), said: "I think I only got 8 points on this exam. Questions 1 and 2 were quite simple, but question 3c, calculating the value of an expression containing roots using Vieta's formulas, was quite difficult for me because my abilities are limited. I finished question 4 but it took me a lot of time. I finished question 5a but I didn't have time to read question 5b."

Thanh Ha, a student from Dang Thai Mai Secondary School, also shared: "Normally, in mock exams, I only need 3-5 minutes to solve question 5b, but in the actual exam, it took me more than 20 minutes. The reason is that usually this question uses the Cauchy inequality to solve, but this time it was about the range of values, so I spent more time figuring out how to solve it."

Regarding this year's exam, many candidates said that the actual exam was more difficult than the mock exam, with question 5 being the most challenging, designed to differentiate candidates and only suitable for truly capable students.

Tran Thi Thao Chi, a student from Doi Cung Secondary School (Vinh City), said that her math exam did not meet her initial expectations. The exam was difficult and longer than the practice exams she had taken at school. Questions 1 and 2 were basic, but she struggled with question 3b, unable to figure out the solution, so she skipped it to work on the following questions. She then managed to answer questions 3c, 4a, 4b, and 5a. She didn't attempt question 5b because she ran out of time and it was too difficult. With this result, Thao Chi estimated her score to be around 7.5 points.

At the exam site at the High SchoolDo Luong1. This exam center also had a fairly good quality. However, after completing the last exam, unlike the previous two sessions, many candidates left the exam center in a gloomy mood. Many said the exam was difficult, especially questions 4c and 5b.

Dang Huu Quang, a student from Vo Thi Sau Secondary School, said he only managed to answer 80% of the questions, and wasn't sure if his answers were correct or not. Similarly, Nguyen Phuoc An, despite being a fairly good student, only managed to answer 90% of the questions. Several other students also said that questions 3b, 4b, and 5b were difficult.

Dao Van Lam, a student from Xuan Son Secondary School, said in an unhappy tone: "In my room, most of my classmates probably only got an average of 5 points."

From what I observed, many students left with red eyes because they couldn't finish the exam.

Many candidates did not complete the exam.

At the exam center at Thai Hoa High School, candidate Pham Thi Hoa, a student from Nghia My Secondary School (Thai Hoa Town), commented: “This year's math exam followed the curriculum we studied, mainly focusing on classroom knowledge and adhering to the principle of 'what you learn is what you're tested on.' The questions were arranged from easy to advanced. Some questions helped apply mathematical knowledge to real-life situations. I answered over 70% correctly; only the last two questions, which were designed to differentiate candidates, were a bit difficult, so I skipped them.”

At the exam site at 1/5 High School (district Nghia DanMany candidates left the exam room feeling relaxed. Nguyen Quynh Anh, a student from Loi Lac Secondary School, shared: "This year's math exam generally followed the curriculum. However, the exam was not easy at all. Question 5 in the geometry section was really difficult. The application problems, while good, were very easy to get confused if you didn't correctly identify the keywords. The difficult questions were evenly distributed throughout the exam, not arranged in increasing order of difficulty. With this math exam, many students predict they will get 6-7 points."

Student Le Quang Minh, at the High School location.Mr. SonStudent 1 (from Anh Son district) said: "I think this year's Math exam closely followed the curriculum we studied and differentiated students according to their abilities. Of the 5 questions, the first 3 were familiar types of problems that we had learned during our review, and students with average to above-average abilities could answer them. From question 4 onwards, the exam required a higher level of application to differentiate candidates. To answer these questions, students needed a solid grasp of the knowledge. I'm not too worried about my Math score, because it's my strong subject. I think I can get over 8 points."

Nguyen Thi Hang, a student at the Anh Son 2 High School exam center, shared: "I found the exam structure familiar through the mock exams at school. In the exam, I noticed that question 4 started to be more challenging, and only questions 4c (geometry) and 5b (the second part) could be answered by high-achieving students. I'm confident I'll score above 7 in Math."

In the districtCon CuongMost students left the exam room feeling quite relaxed after completing the final subject of the 10th grade entrance exam. Many candidates felt that this year's exam had a reasonable structure, closely followed the junior high school curriculum, and still ensured clear differentiation, although it was difficult to achieve high scores.

Vy Thi Huong, a candidate taking the exam at Con Cuong High School, shared: "I found the exam quite long. With this exam, I only hope to get an average score."

Stepping out of the exam center at Dang Thuc Hua High School (Thanh Chuong district), Nguyen Quang Thai, a 9th-grade student from Thanh Khe Secondary School, said: "The math exam this morning was of moderate difficulty. I finished 4 out of 5 questions, but the last one was the hardest; I haven't finished part 5b yet. I predict my math score will be 7 points. My total for the three subjects will probably be around 18 points. I hope to pass the entrance exam to grade 10."

Meanwhile, Dang Tran Cam Ly, a 9th-grade student from Thanh Ha Secondary School, shared: "I found the math exam this morning quite close to the curriculum, especially the review material. However, I haven't finished the whole test; I've left question 4 (part c) and question 5 (part b) unfinished. I expect to get around 7 points, and I hope to get into Dang Thuc Hua High School."

The math exam has a high level of application and effectively differentiates students.

Commenting on the Math exam, teacher Tran Son Hong from Dang Thai Mai Secondary School (Vinh City) said: The exam followed the structure according to Official Document No. 162/SGD&ĐT-DGTrH dated January 23, 2025, from the Department of Education and Training regarding the announcement of the exam structure and sample exam for the 10th grade entrance exam in the 2025-2026 school year.

The exam questions reflect the spirit of curriculum reform, innovation in testing and evaluation methods, and increased practicality; they assess students' specific mathematical abilities as well as other general competencies.

In the first year of testing under the 2018 General Education Program, the exam questions met the requirements of the curriculum reform, were not unfamiliar to teachers and students, and helped to guide teaching and learning in the following years.

The exam is excellent because of its practical math problems, with six problems covering three areas: Algebra, Geometry, and Probability and Statistics. This demonstrates the practical application of mathematics and requires students to have a genuine understanding of real-world situations. Problem 5b shows a new aspect of the exam compared to previous years.

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I believe this is a highly selective exam. Students at the "Achieved" level can score 6.5 points; students at the "Good" level can score 8.5 points; and to achieve above 8.5 – especially 9.5 points or higher – students need to have genuine ability. The questions that differentiate students include the math problem on Vieta's formulas, part 2 of question b on plane geometry, and question 5b. The number of students achieving high scores will likely be higher than in previous years.

Teacher Nguyen Son Hong - Dang Thai Mai Secondary School (Vinh City)