Nghe An: Will the entrance exam scores and subjects for 10th grade be lowered?

The cutoff scores differed quite significantly.

In terms of competitiveness, public high schools in Vinh City are always among the top because the city has a large student population but only three public schools. Therefore, the number of applicants always exceeds the set quota.

At Ha Huy Tap High School, based on the number of applications received this year, only 63% of students who take the entrance exam will be admitted. With this rate, out of 860 students who applied to the school, approximately 300 will fail – a fairly high percentage.

Commenting on the upcoming 10th grade entrance exam, Mr. Hoang Minh Luong, the school principal, said: "Compared to previous years, the percentage is not much different, even though the number of students admitted to the school this year is lower than in previous years."

Ninth-grade students are under pressure due to having to take too many subjects in the entrance exam for tenth grade. Photo: MH

The school principal also affirmed: "This year, the cutoff score will be lower than in previous years because students will no longer receive bonus points for vocational training (in previous years, students received 1.5 to 2 bonus points). However, to be admitted, students must still have a certain level of ability. Last year, the cutoff score for admission to the school was 33.4 points. Therefore, on average, a student needs to achieve nearly 6.5 points. For students wanting to be admitted through their second choice, the score must be higher because the school requires 35.4 points, which is a fairly high score that not many students applying for the second choice achieve. In fact, in previous years, even though the school allocated 10-15% of its quota for second-choice applications, it only managed to enroll about 3%."

At Huynh Thuc Khang High School, after the school announced the admission rate, there were 3 more applications (including 2 applications transferred from Ha Huy Tap High School and 1 application transferred from Hanoi).

Analyzing the chances of admission for candidates this year, Mr. Cao Thanh Bao - the school principal - said: “Although students are quite hesitant to apply to the school, I personally think they shouldn't worry too much. Firstly, this year, fewer than 180 applications were submitted, so the admission rate is higher than in previous years. Besides, as in previous years, quite a few students applied to Huynh Thuc Khang High School but later went on to study at specialized schools. Therefore, the chances for them to stay are very high.”

Students from Nghi Loc participate in the entrance exam for 10th grade. Photo: MH

At this time, teacher Cao Thanh Bao has not yet predicted the cutoff score, but according to him, the admission score will depend heavily on the combined subject. Because, “previously, if students took three subjects – Literature, Mathematics, and English – city students achieved very high English scores. But after the first year of using the combined subject exam, students' scores have become much more varied. Therefore, those who perform well on the combined subject exam will have a significant advantage.” Previously, in the 2018-2019 10th grade entrance exam, the final cutoff score for Huynh Thuc Khang High School was 38.2 points – the highest score among all high schools.

In the remaining schools, the cutoff scores will not be too high because the acceptance rate is usually between 70-80%. Regarding predictions for the cutoff scores, Mr. Dang Dinh Ky, Principal of Nghi Loc 5 High School, said: "Last year we set the cutoff score at 16 points, and students only needed to achieve an average score to get into the school. This year, we expect the cutoff score to be higher because the students' academic abilities are quite good, but the difference won't be significant as only about 12% of applicants will not be accepted."

Besides that, there are some schools that may have to accept students at very low scores because the number of applications is not higher than the set quota, such as Thai Hoa High School (420 quotas/422 applications), Tuong Duong 2 High School (210/217), Yen Thanh 3 High School (378/391)...

The number of subjects in the 10th grade entrance exam for the 2019-2020 school year will be reduced.

One of the innovations in this year's 10th grade entrance exam is that the Department of Education and Training has agreed to a common exam format between Vinh University High School for the Gifted and Phan Boi Chau High School for the Gifted. In a discussion with Mr. Le Xuan Son, Vice Principal of Vinh University High School for the Gifted, he stated: “This year, because Vinh University High School for the Gifted and Phan Boi Chau High School are using the same exam, it's difficult to predict the cutoff scores. However, as in previous years, the exam for Phan Boi Chau High School for the Gifted is usually more difficult than that for Vinh University High School for the Gifted, so the entrance scores this year may change and be lower than in previous years.”

English review session for students at Le Mao Secondary School. Photo: MH

At this time, both specialized high schools are simultaneously accepting applications. However, to make the right choice, teacher Le Xuan Son also said: "Each school has its own advantages and its own training goals. Therefore, before registering, students need to determine their purpose and abilities to choose the most suitable school..."

This year's 10th grade entrance exam saw the Department of Education and Training being flexible by allowing students to modify their preferences after schools had announced their exam plans and admission rates. Regarding this, Mr. Thai Van Thanh, Director of the Department of Education and Training, stated: "We allowed students to change their preferences until May 25th, and students could withdraw their applications from one school to another. However, before making any changes, parents should carefully consider their options to choose a school that matches their child's abilities."

If the exam format changes next academic year, students applying to Phan Boi Chau Specialized High School will have fewer foreign language subjects to take. Photo: MH

Regarding the 10th grade entrance exam, the Director of the Department of Education and Training also stated: In the next academic year (2020-2021), the Department will present a new exam plan, where students are expected to only have to take 4 subjects. Three of these are compulsory: Literature, Mathematics, and Foreign Language. In addition, the Department will randomly select one more subject from the following: History - Geography - Civic Education, or Physics - Chemistry - Biology.

The foreign language exam will be taken together with the fourth subject, and the foreign language score will account for up to 75% of the total score. This will also serve as the basis for Phan Boi Chau Specialized High School to determine its benchmark score; therefore, students will not have to take an additional foreign language exam when applying to the specialized high school.