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Exam renewal, independent candidates complain "new is difficult, old is worrying"

(Dan Tri) - Although allowed to choose, many independent candidates still fall into confusion when having to decide on the exam format themselves - something that has always been "pre-determined" according to the curriculum.

Báo Dân tríBáo Dân trí24/06/2025

It took more than 7 months to make the final decision on the exam.

Le Thi Ngan, born in 2006, from Ha Nam , is an independent candidate retaking the high school graduation exam this year.

When she first started, Ngan chose the new program with the hope of expanding admission opportunities and making it easier to accompany 12th grade students.

However, when she started studying, she encountered difficulties because there was too much new knowledge and she could only take online courses for the most part, without any tutoring. After a period of studying but not making any progress, Ngan was confused.

Đổi mới đề thi, thí sinh tự do than mới thì khó, cũ thì lo - 1

Many independent candidates are confused when faced with the decision of choosing the exam format (Photo: TL).

Not only was the exam content difficult, Ngan also had to juggle between studying and life. As a freelance candidate, she worked during the day and studied at night. Only when the exam date was near did she pause to focus on studying. Finally, with only more than 2 months left to study, she decided to "turn around" and choose the exam questions according to the old program.

Choosing old exam questions was not easy because there were few teachers still teaching this program. Ngan had to systematize her knowledge and contact teachers at school to ask for more documents.

For Ngan, what she worries about most is the differentiation in the admission process between the two programs: “The exams will be conducted with two different types of questions, and the benchmark scores will also be different. The schools have not yet clearly stated how they will be evaluated, so that becomes a disadvantage for re-takers like us.”

As a former student of the Vietnam Women's Academy, Pham Thuy Trang decided to postpone her exam to continue her unfinished dream. Trang said: "At first, I was confused because the exam changed to the 2018 General Education Program, and I had no background in this program. After the Ministry allowed me to choose two types of questions, I felt more secure because I could choose the appropriate questions."

Like Ngan, Trang chose the old program to "make sure", but the materials and teachers' support were very limited. She had to study on her own, find materials, register for online classes, and ask friends. Studying on her own, checking questions, and taking care of some personal matters made Trang tired.

Statistics from the Ministry of Education and Training show that nearly 42,800 independent candidates will take the 2025 high school graduation exam. Of these, more than 26,700 candidates will register for the old program, while the remaining group will take the new program.

According to the regulations of the Ministry of Education and Training, this year's independent candidates can choose the exam questions according to the 2006 general education program (old program) or the 2018 general education program (new program). The regulations are intended to ensure the rights of candidates who retake the exam during the program transition period.

Choose a new program to avoid... uncertainty

On the contrary, Tran Gia Vy, a first-year student at Pham Ngoc Thach University of Medicine, chose to retake the exam under the new program from the beginning even though he knew he would face many difficulties.

“I found that the new program’s sample questions are longer and focus more on practical questions, so I have to think more. I’m most worried about the true-false multiple-choice questions because if I answer one question incorrectly, I’ll lose 0.5 points,” Vy shared.

Đổi mới đề thi, thí sinh tự do than mới thì khó, cũ thì lo - 2

Tran Gia Vy, a student at Pham Ngoc Thach University of Medicine, is an independent candidate in this year's high school graduation exam (Photo: KL).

However, Vy still chose to follow the new program because he did not want to feel anxious about the shortcomings of not having a clear plan specifically for candidates taking the old program and the level of differentiation between exam formats.

Talking about the reason for deciding to retake the exam this year, Vy said that partly because he felt he had not really tried his best in last year's exam, and partly because he was no longer suitable for his current major. When his friends had entered their first year of university, he chose to start over. There were times when he felt discouraged, but in order not to feel lonely, he formed a review group with friends in the same situation, self-studying and motivating each other.

Vy said that the new curriculum knowledge is no longer too academic, but, to study well, in addition to textbooks, you also have to read a lot of social knowledge. Sometimes I get distracted, so I write a list of lessons every morning to manage myself.

Also a candidate who freely chose the new exam, Nguyen Trung Hieu, born in 2006, from Nghe An, was confused when faced with two choices. Hieu believes that the new program evaluates real ability instead of mechanical memorization.

Before making a decision, I considered the exam structure, my ability to absorb, the review materials and the appropriate class. “If I don’t try again, I might regret it. I spent almost a year reviewing, starting from October last year,” Hieu said.

Switching from the old program to the new one is like starting over: different learning methods, different amount of knowledge. There were times when it was very tiring, especially when studying and reviewing at the same time, but Hieu overcame it by dividing the goals into small parts, studying each part evenly, and finding a group of friends to study with to keep up with the pace.

Allowing the choice of exam format is considered flexible and humane. However, facing the decision to choose has caused many independent candidates to suffer more pressure.

Candidates struggle to study by themselves, search for documents by themselves, lack guidance and companionship, and have to guess their own abilities and worry about their chances of being admitted.

Khanh Ly

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/giao-duc/doi-moi-de-thi-thi-sinh-tu-do-than-moi-thi-kho-cu-thi-lo-20250624072434595.htm


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