Editor's Note:

In recent years, university admission based on high school transcript scores has become the “main entrance” for hundreds of schools, in some places accounting for up to 70% of the enrollment quota. However, the large gap between transcript scores and high school graduation exam scores has made the public question the quality and fairness of enrollment. Since 2025, many schools have stopped or drastically reduced enrollment quotas using this method.

The series of articles "School report cards are increasingly losing value" by VietNamNet will explain the causes and impacts of this trend.

The difference between the transcript score and the graduation score is large, at most 2.26.

2025 is the first year that students study and take the graduation exam according to the 2018 General Education Program. After the Ministry of Education and Training announced the exam scores, statistics showed that in all 12 subjects, the average grade point average was higher than the graduation exam score, with a difference of 0.12 to 2.26 points.

Industrial Technology leads with a difference of 2.26 points (8.05 vs. 5.79), followed by Math 2.25 points (7.03 vs. 4.78), Biology 1.83 points (7.61 vs. 5.78) and English 1.57 points (6.95 vs. 5.38).

Some other subjects also recorded significant differences such as Chemistry 1.31 points; Information Technology 1.20 points; History 1.17 points, while Literature was the lowest at only 0.12 points.

Difference between graduation score and academic record

The gap between the transcript scores and the graduation exam scores is not new. In the 2006 program, there were years when the gap was up to 3 points. However, this year, although it is the first time applying the new program, the gap is still obvious in many subjects such as Math, English, and Technology. In addition, the data also shows that the transcript scores of grade 12 are often higher than those of grades 10 and 11.

A high school teacher commented that the difference in scores was due to the test being more difficult than the curriculum, and the assessment methods between schools and the test were not consistent. The test was aimed at classifying students for university admission, so a high difference was acceptable. In addition, teachers may have been lenient when grading transcripts.

The difference between the transcript and the university admission combination is up to 5.39.

The difference between the academic transcript scores and the graduation exam scores in each subject has led to a large difference in the university admission combinations this year. Preliminary statistics show that in many traditional and popular combinations such as A00, A01, B00, C00, C01, D01... the gap between the academic transcript scores and the graduation exam scores is very large.

COMPLEX

GRADUATION SCORE

Academic Grade Points

DIFFERENCE

B00

16.62

22.01

5.39

A00

17.83

21.78

3.95

C00

20.15

22.31

2.16

D00

17,16

21.1

3.94

A01

17.15

21.36

4.21

D07

16.22

21.35

5.13

C01

18.77

21.53

2.76

Combination B00 has the biggest difference: Average grade point average is 22.01 compared to graduation exam score of 16.62, a difference of 5.39 points. Next is D07, a difference of 5.13 points and A01 a difference of 4.21 points. D00 has a difference of 3.94 points; A00 has a difference of 3.95 points...

The difference between the standard score and graduation score is up to 4-5 points.

This year, for the first time, universities have applied the equivalent conversion of benchmark scores between admission methods. In schools that consider both transcripts and graduation exam scores, the difference is quite large.

At Ho Chi Minh City University of Law, the biggest difference in the admission scores based on transcripts of students from 149 priority high schools and transcripts combined with international certificates with graduation exam scores is 4.5 points in block D07; 4.1 points in block A01; 4 points in blocks A00, D01-03-06; X25-33-45; 2.5 points in block D14; 2.3 points in block X01; 2.2 points in block C00; and 2 points in blocks X78-86-98.

At the University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City, the benchmark score is converted according to the score range of each subject combination between the transcript and the graduation exam, with a difference of 2.6 to 3.5 points. The lowest range of the transcript is 19.5-23.64, equivalent to 16-21.04 graduation exam points, the highest difference is 3.5 points.

Ho Chi Minh City University of Agriculture and Forestry has given a conversion coefficient of 1.125. That means the standard score for the transcript method is equal to the standard score for the graduation exam method multiplied by 1.125. With this method, if the graduation standard score is 20, the transcript standard score is 22.5, and if the graduation standard score is 25, the transcript standard score is 28.1... That means the higher the graduation standard score, the greater the difference.

Meanwhile, at Van Lang University, the maximum difference between the transcript score and the graduation score is recorded as 5. Specifically, a graduation score of 22-29 will be equivalent to a transcript score of 26-30; a graduation score of 17-22 will be equivalent to a transcript score of 22-26; a graduation score of 15-17 will be equivalent to a transcript score of 18-22.

Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry offers conversion rates at 3 score ranges. At the range of 17-21, the transcript admission score = high school graduation admission score + 4. At the range of 21-25 points, the transcript admission score = high school exam admission score x 0.749 + 9.27. At the range of 25-30 points, the transcript admission score = graduation exam admission score x 0.398 + 18.06. Thus, if the graduation score is 17, the transcript admission score is 21, and if the graduation score is 26, the transcript admission score will be 28.4...

A series of other universities that consider high school transcripts for admission also offer conversion methods with standard high school transcript scores 2-3 points higher than graduation scores such as Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry and Trade, Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology, Ho Chi Minh City University of Education...

Dr. Nguyen Trung Nhan, Head of Training Department - Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry, said that the school's decision to set the difference between transcripts and graduation is reasonable compared to the difference between transcripts and graduation announced by the Ministry of Education and Training. This difference is based on students' learning results in recent years for the graduation and transcript methods.

The deputy head of the training department of a university in Ho Chi Minh City said that the transcript score is formed from the entire learning process including regular, mid-term, final and year-end tests, set by the school and the local Department of Education and Training. In contrast, the graduation exam score is set by the Ministry of Education and Training and only takes place once, so candidates can easily lose points due to many objective factors. During the learning process, the transcript score can fluctuate and improve, but the graduation exam has no opportunity to be changed. Therefore, schools need to consider carefully when converting to ensure fairness for candidates.

Readers are invited to read part 2: After the golden age of considering transcripts, universities are gradually turning their backs.

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/diem-hoc-ba-ngay-cang-mat-gia-diem-chuan-se-cao-ngat-nguong-2430383.html