Beware of the traps in the "mock entrance exam for 10th grade"
Mock exams are considered an important "dress rehearsal" before the official exam, helping students familiarize themselves with the exam structure, practice time management skills, and assess their own abilities. However, over-reliance on mock exams can also lead to students studying superficially, lacking sufficient time for revision and systematizing their knowledge.
The school warns against fake mock exams.
Nguyen Duy Trinh High School has issued a warning to parents and students preparing for the 10th grade entrance exam about several Facebook pages announcing mock exams, some of which list Nguyen Duy Trinh High School as the exam location.
Affirming that this information is false, Mr. Nguyen Hong Hai - the school principal - stated that the school has neither a policy nor any collaboration with any organization to conduct mock exams as advertised.
This could be a fraudulent scheme designed to exploit the anxiety of parents and students before an important exam for personal gain and illegal fee collection. Therefore, parents and students need to be especially vigilant, only accessing information from official channels of the school and the education sector; absolutely do not register or transfer money without verification.
Mr. Nguyen Hong Hai - Principal of Nguyen Duy Trinh High School
Regarding this mock exam, according to information posted on social media, the organizing unit is listed as "Excellent Chemistry Teachers of Nghe An". The purpose is to conduct a mock chemistry exam for admission to specialized high schools and entrance exams.10th gradeThe high school will organize a mock exam for all 9th-grade students who wish to take it on April 26th. Students taking the three subjects (Literature, Mathematics, and English) will pay a fee of 200,000 VND. Those taking all four subjects, including Chemistry, will pay 400,000 VND, and those taking only the specialized subject will pay 200,000 VND.
According to the announcement, candidates can choose a suitable and convenient exam location near their residence, as the exam will be held simultaneously at 12 locations, including 10 locations at high schools and 2 locations at Vinh Tan Secondary School (Truong Vinh Ward) and Dang Chanh Ky Secondary School (Nam Dan District).
Acting as parents whose children were preparing for the 10th grade entrance exam, we accessed the QR code on the exam organizer's announcement and were instructed to follow the steps to register for the subjects and choose the exam location. Contacting the advertised phone number, we were met by a woman who claimed to be part of a group of top chemistry teachers in the province. However, when we asked for their names and where they taught, she refused to answer, saying it was "a secret of the organizing committee." Upon learning that our child was attending a junior high school in Thanh Vinh ward, the consultant advised us to register for the exam at Vinh Tan Junior High School. The exam was scheduled for May 10th.
Speaking with Ms. Nguyen Thi Le Hang, Principal of Vinh Tan Secondary School, she said she was very surprised by the information and affirmed that the school has not partnered with any organization to hold mock exams.
At this time, the school only has plans for a mock exam organized by Truong Vinh ward, and the fee for the mock exam will be collected according to provincial regulations, not exceeding 50,000 VND per student. Any unit advertising that it will organize a mock exam at the school is inaccurate.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Le Hang - Principal of Vinh Tan Secondary School
Students "rush" to take mock entrance exams for 10th grade.
Mock exams are considered an important rehearsal before the official exam. The results of the mock exam will help students predict their scores and serve as a basis for applying to high schools.
Prior to the 10th grade entrance exam for the 2026-2027 school year, students in many communes and wards in Nghe An province faced difficulties as the centralized mock exams held at the district, city, and town levels in previous years were no longer organized. Therefore, instead of registering their children for mock exams at school, parents would seek out centers to register their children for the exam, viewing it as a chance to gain experience.
Mr. Nguyen Tran Nghia, whose child is in 9th grade at a junior high school in Vinh Hung ward, said: “I registered my child for mock exams in Math and English at a tutoring center in Thanh Vinh ward. Although I have to pay a fee, I think this is an opportunity for my child to get used to the pressure of the exam room, practice test-taking skills, and know where their abilities stand compared to the general level.”
Currently, on the "Nghe An Parents' Association" group, many parents with children in 9th grade are eager to find information about mock exams, especially those in Vinh city. Many parents in the group share that several tutoring centers are organizing mock exams for students and charging fees. Some centers have even organized 3-4 mock exams since Tet (Lunar New Year) and offer discounts for parents who register for packages. For example, a single exam costs 200,000 VND, three exams cost 550,000 VND, and four exams cost 700,000 VND.
To reassure parents, the centers organizing mock exams all present exam questions that closely follow the structure of the Department of Education and Training's exams in recent years and are oriented towards the new exam structure for 2026; the team of teachers who create the questions are excellent teachers from key schools in the province, with prestige and extensive experience, having created exam questions for the District Education and Training Offices as well as the Department of Education and Training for many years. In some mock exam groups, the number of participating parents reached nearly 1,000 people.
In reality, besides certain benefits, choosing mock exams at centers also carries considerable risks if parents do not thoroughly research the information. The quality of the exam questions, the organization methods, and the reliability of the results vary among different centers. Therefore, many teachers advise parents to carefully consider and choose reputable centers, and not to rely too heavily on mock exam results. Instead, they should combine this with monitoring the learning process and regular assessments at school to gain a comprehensive understanding of their child's abilities before the 10th grade entrance exam.
Mr. Nguyen Hong Hai, Principal of Nguyen Duy Trinh High School, added: “I believe that students taking mock exams before the real exam is very good, but they shouldn't take too many mock exams because it will increase pressure. Furthermore, it's inevitable that students will score lower the more mock exams they take because many centers create mock exams that are more difficult than the real exam. This can cause students to doubt themselves and lose confidence when taking the exam.” The Principal of Nguyen Duy Trinh High School also believes that the most important thing in organizing a mock exam is to create exam questions that closely match the curriculum and exam structure. Therefore, only experienced and competent teachers can create high-quality exam questions.
Prior to this year's 10th grade entrance exam, Truong Vinh ward was one of the few localities in Nghe An province that planned to organize a mock exam for all 9th-grade students in the ward. Although the scale and number of participating students were not as large as when it was organized by the former Vinh City Department of Education and Training, it still helped students assess their abilities quite accurately; schools also had a basis to analyze each student's results and develop appropriate review plans.
Based on experience from previous exams organized by the former Vinh City Department of Education and Training, we requested key teachers from various schools to participate in developing a standardized set of exam questions. The content of the questions closely follows the structure and guidelines of the 10th grade entrance exam, while also ensuring differentiation to accurately assess students' abilities at different levels.
Furthermore, the exam organization process was meticulously prepared, from invigilation and grading to post-exam results analysis. This not only gave students more opportunities to familiarize themselves with exam pressure but also provided crucial data for teachers and parents to guide appropriate revision during the final stages, aiming for the best possible results in the 10th grade entrance exam.”
Ms. Hoang Phuong Thao - Deputy Head of the Culture and Social Affairs Department of Truong Vinh Ward