Keep or remove transcripts for admission?

GD&TĐ - In response to conflicting opinions on the admission method using high school transcripts, the Ministry of Education and Training is seeking opinions on whether to continue or stop applying this method in regular university admissions.

The above move demonstrates the spirit of openness and listening from the grassroots of the Ministry in enrollment work.

Many shortcomings

Mr. Nguyen Tien Thao - Director of the Department of Higher Education ( Ministry of Education and Training ) said that in 2025 there will be 17 admission methods. According to statistics, the percentage of candidates using the method of considering high school transcripts accounts for 42.4%; considering high school graduation exam scores accounts for 39.1%; the remaining 18.5% uses other methods.

Regarding the issue of maintaining or eliminating the admission method based on high school transcripts, Mr. Nguyen Tien Thao said that it is time to take a comprehensive look: Should we continue to consider high school transcripts in the coming time or not? In fact, in the 2025 admission season, many large universities have "said no" to this admission method. It is expected that the number of schools abandoning this method will tend to increase in 2026.

There was a proposal to abolish the university admission method based on academic records. Professor Nguyen Dinh Duc - University of Technology ( Hanoi National University) said that the academic records are often not rigorous, the rate of students achieving good and excellent grades is quite high but there is a big difference between high schools.

“For example, excellent students from specialized schools or key schools cannot be directly compared with students from other general schools. Meanwhile, the High School Graduation Exam is organized on a common basis. Comparing the transcripts and exam results shows a significant difference.

This year, there were cases where the high school graduation exam scores were not high but the transcripts reached 9.6 - 9.7 points," Professor Nguyen Dinh Duc cited. From that reality, he emphasized that to ensure fairness and improve input quality, it is necessary to soon eliminate the admission method based on high school transcripts in regular university admissions.

Expressing concern about the negative risks in admission based on academic records, Dr. Le Viet Khuyen - Vice President of the Association of Vietnamese Universities and Colleges said that the quality of training among educational institutions is not uniform, leading to different ways of grading students. This makes it difficult to ensure fairness in admission based on academic records (if not accompanied by additional criteria).

“The transcript score should only be a secondary criterion, supplementing the high school graduation exam score. Removing the transcript from consideration will not reduce the opportunity to enter university or cause disadvantages for candidates,” Dr. Khuyen emphasized, adding that the Association of Vietnamese Universities and Colleges previously pointed out the limitations of this method.

Schools face many difficulties in assessing input quality due to the classification method at high school level and the calculation of graduation scores using the results of three years of high school, making the reliability of transcript scores low and not ensuring fairness among candidates.

From another perspective, many higher education institutions support maintaining the consideration of high school transcripts, but also point out the need to standardize, limit quotas and add other criteria to ensure fairness.

Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Thanh Chuong - Chairman of the University Council of the University of Transport said that there should be a careful assessment before deciding to stop considering transcripts for admission, because this is an important channel, reflecting the learning results of students throughout three years of high school. According to him, depending on each major, the school can apply appropriate adjustments. For specific majors such as Architecture, an aptitude subject is required; while for many other majors, considering transcripts for admission is still feasible.

“For example, schools can reserve about 2-3% of their quota for high school transcript admission, and the rest can be applied by other methods,” Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Thanh Chuong suggested, adding that in reality, many schools have reserved a small percentage of their quota for this method to expand opportunities for candidates. Therefore, instead of completely eliminating it, there needs to be a roadmap for adjustment, ensuring balance between admission methods and creating more learning opportunities for students.

Admissions selection day 2025. Photo: Nam Tran

Inspection mechanism is needed to ensure fairness.

For many years, considering high school transcripts has become a popular method in universities, with some places reserving up to 70-80% of the total quota. The obvious advantage is that candidates have more opportunities, reduce exam pressure, and at the same time reflect the long-term learning process. However, this popularity raises questions about fairness and training quality.

MSc. Pham Thai Son - Director of the Admissions and Communications Center, Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry and Trade, said that the method of considering academic records should not be eliminated, because the main problem lies in the assessment stage at the high school level. According to him, there should be a unified assessment framework to avoid the situation where every school "loosens" the scores, and at the same time, there must be an objective verification mechanism, comparing data between schools to ensure fairness.

Sharing the same view, Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Vu Quynh - Vice Principal of Lac Hong University (Dong Nai) commented that considering transcripts reflects the long-term learning process, creating initiative for candidates. However, if abused, it will lead to lack of standardization, "beautifying" scores and affecting input quality. He suggested that this method should only play a supplementary role, combined with graduation exam scores or separate exams to ensure balance.

“High school transcripts should be maintained as an important admission channel,” said Ms. Tran Thi Le Quyen, Deputy Director of the Center for Distance Learning, Ho Chi Minh City Open University. According to her, the 3-year high school study process demonstrates the students’ persistent efforts; therefore, considering transcripts is an appropriate approach to comprehensive assessment, reducing exam pressure, and at the same time creating flexibility and diverse opportunities for learners.

“If we only rely on graduation exam scores, the failure rate will be very high. Meanwhile, considering transcripts is a suitable form to record the learning process, reduce exam pressure and create more opportunities for candidates,” Ms. Quyen explained.

Currently, many public universities have abandoned the method of considering academic records, while some non-public schools have allocated too much quota for this channel, skewing the enrollment balance. Therefore, Ms. Tran Thi Le Quyen believes that it is necessary to limit the quota ratio for considering academic records, to avoid imbalance among students.

According to her, university is a learning journey that requires autonomy, initiative, independent thinking, and critical thinking that is clearly different from high school. Therefore, students need to practice discipline, self-study ability, and adapt to new learning methods to acquire knowledge from lecturers as well as from practice. "Students need to prepare their minds before entering university to study well and meet the output standards of the training program," Ms. Quyen emphasized.

Candidates learn about university admission information in 2025. Photo: GDU

Need to be associated with career guidance

From the admission perspective, Ms. Tran Thi Le Quyen emphasized that this work does not stop at just considering scores but needs to be associated with career counseling. Admissions staff must clearly understand career trends, psychology and abilities of students to orientate the field of study and school suitable to their strengths and financial conditions. Therefore, the method of considering high school transcripts, when maintained, needs certain improvements.

First of all, it is necessary to standardize the system of assessing academic records among high schools to avoid score inflation. This must be accompanied by surveys, instructions and a strict monitoring mechanism, both general and practical, to ensure fairness for learners and increase competitive opportunities.

In addition, additional criteria such as interviews, competency tests or international certificates should be combined to accurately measure students' abilities, avoiding the situation of rote learning or chasing after achievements. The quota ratio for the method of considering academic records should also be limited, for example, not exceeding 20-30% in each major, to avoid abuse as is currently happening in some schools.

According to Ms. Quyen, career counseling needs to be innovated, starting from junior high school instead of waiting until high school. Students must be supported early to determine their abilities, interests, suitable career paths and choose sustainable careers. Families, schools and society need to change their perspectives, accompany their children, instead of imposing subjective opinions. At the same time, it is necessary to build an equal learning environment, limit social stratification in education, so that all students have the opportunity to access quality education.

“The important thing is that the enrollment strategy must truly benefit the learners and education, increase competitiveness but still be transparent. And finally, the most sustainable choice must still be the right choice for your own abilities, suitable for your family finances, and at the same time associated with the right major and school,” Ms. Quyen shared.

According to statistics from the Department of Higher Education (Ministry of Education and Training), as of September 2, the number of candidates who completed admission confirmation was 625,477, an increase of 13.82% compared to 2024. Of which, the university sector alone reached 613,335 candidates, equivalent to 52.87% of the total number of candidates taking the high school graduation exam (in 2024 it was 51.3%). The rate of training institutions recruiting less than 30% of the target was only 6.5%, while in 2024 it was 16.4%.

Source: https://giaoducthoidai.vn/giu-hay-bo-xet-tuyen-hoc-ba-post749638.html