Students want to reduce pressure from the 2025 high school graduation exam

Many students want to take only 3 compulsory subjects to reduce pressure and save time for subjects that will be used for university admission.

2025 is the time when the first batch of students under the new general education program (2018 program) will take their graduation exams. At the end of August, the Department of Education and Training of provinces and cities surveyed the opinions of teachers and high school leaders about the graduation exam plan from this year.

With option 1, students take four compulsory subjects: Math, Literature, Foreign Language, History; two elective subjects from Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Geography, Economic and Legal Education, Information Technology, Technology. Option 2 includes three compulsory subjects: Math, Literature, Foreign Language; two elective subjects from the subjects they have studied (including History).

The only difference between these two options is whether or not to make History a compulsory subject.

By September 2023, students were not yet surveyed about the exam options, so most of them had not been informed about the two options by teachers or schools. Most of them learned about the information through social networks or acquaintances.

Nguyen Nhat Lam, grade 11 at Tam Phu High School, Ho Chi Minh City, said about a week ago he happened to see a forum sharing about two options for high school graduation exams from 2025. Oriented to take the B00 combination exam (Math, Chemistry, Biology), Lam is not strong in social subjects. Therefore, the male student said that if he were to choose, he would only want to take the compulsory Math, Literature, and Foreign Language exams.

"Removing one compulsory subject will reduce pressure and give me more time to review other subjects thoroughly," Lam said.

Similarly, Le Quoc Huy, grade 11, Phu Ly C High School, Ha Nam , also "voted" for the option of not requiring History exams. The male student said he was considering using one of the two groups A01 (Math, Physics, English) and D07 (Math, Chemistry, English) for university admission. Therefore, he will choose to take these two additional subjects, in addition to the required subjects.

"If I had to choose, I would want to reduce the number of subjects as much as possible," Huy said.

On many student forums, the topic of the number of subjects in the high school graduation exam from 2025 has also been discussed, attracting thousands of opinions. Not only students studying natural science combinations, many students majoring in History or good at this subject also hope to reduce the number of compulsory subjects.

Hoang Tra My, a History major in grade 11 at Phan Boi Chau High School for the Gifted in Nghe An, believes that History is an important subject, but it is not required for the high school graduation exam. "If you only study for the graduation exam, you will just cram for a short period of time and then forget," My said.

Many people think that if History is a compulsory subject, students who study social studies will benefit, but My thinks "it's not necessarily so". Aiming for admission to the Diplomatic Academy with the C00 group (Literature, History, Geography), My said that if she takes the three compulsory subjects of Math, Literature and Foreign Language, she only needs to choose to take History and Geography.

But if she takes four compulsory subjects, My will have to take one more elective subject. Therefore, the female student believes that making History a compulsory subject will affect the number of subjects that all students take, and no one will benefit more than the other.

12th grade students of Nguyen Binh Khiem School - Cau Giay, Hanoi, interact with their teacher during a History lesson about the Dien Bien Phu campaign, 2022. Photo: Provided by the character

However, there are students who think that compulsory History exam is necessary.

Duong Gia Binh, grade 11 at Ngo Si Lien High School, Bac Giang, is afraid that students will not study History if it is not an exam subject. According to Binh, even if the way of learning and teaching History has changed somewhat, with presentations and group work being increased, many of his friends still do not like this subject. Therefore, if exams are not required, the situation of neglecting the subject will be worse.

An Nhien, a History - Geography 11th grader at Le Khiet High School for the Gifted, Quang Ngai, believes that the four-subject compulsory exam plan is somewhat more difficult but "necessary and reasonable". According to Nhien, History has become a compulsory subject in the high school curriculum, so students need to be proactive and serious when studying this subject.

"When asked about the meaning of important holidays, many students do not know. Some students look down on History. If it is not required for the exam, they only study to cope," Nhien said.

According to a survey by VnExpress , of the more than 9,800 people who gave their opinions, 60% chose to take four compulsory subjects, 40% wanted to take three subjects.

VnExpress survey results from September 2 to 3 p.m. September 9. Screenshot

For teachers, the matter of three or four compulsory subjects also has many conflicting views.

Ms. Nguyen Boi Quynh, Principal of Viet Duc High School, Hanoi, believes that the plan to test four compulsory subjects is more reasonable because History is a compulsory subject under the new curriculum. The important thing is that the test is designed in an open way, reducing the need to memorize numbers mechanically.

However, Dr. Nguyen Thi Huyen Thao, a History teacher at Tran Dai Nghia High School for the Gifted in Ho Chi Minh City, believes that the fear of students neglecting the exam is the wrong way to put the problem. Instead, teachers need to change their methods so that students truly want to study and take the History exam. That way, even without forcing them, students will still choose this subject.

Changing the way of learning History is also what Gia Binh in Bac Giang hopes for. Binh admits that compared to when he was in middle school, the way History is taught is now richer with presentations interspersed. However, the male student still wants more activities and practical experiences.

Similarly, Dinh Nguyen Thanh Binh, grade 11 at Xa La High School - Ha Dong, Hanoi, said that since entering high school, he has been studying History much better thanks to lessons with projectors, various maps, and teaching aids, instead of "studying only with textbooks like before".

"I think the school can organize trips to museums and historical sites, combined with students performing plays and skits. Learning like that will be more fun and easier to remember," said the male student.

Students of Lomonosov Secondary and High School, Hanoi, reenacted the scene of soldiers and people dancing together in the program "Echoes of Dien Bien Phu", held at the closing ceremony, May 2022. Photo: Duong Tam

Regardless of which graduation exam option is chosen, students say "it's not too scary". The reason is that universities have many different admission methods, not completely dependent on high school graduation exam results.

Although he has not yet decided what to study, Quoc Huy from Ha Nam is studying for IELTS with the goal of achieving 6.5 in one year. In addition, the male student plans to use his transcript for admission because he realizes that "his scores in the subjects in the A01, D07 groups are not too bad".

"I am preparing the necessary conditions so that in the next two years when applying for university, I will have as many options as possible," Huy said.

Nhat Lam in Ho Chi Minh City is also studying IELTS, planning to review his transcript and take the aptitude test of Ho Chi Minh City National University. Lam aims to achieve 7.5 IELTS, planning to take the Biochemistry-related majors of Pham Ngoc Thach University of Medicine and Ho Chi Minh City National University.

Regarding the number of high school graduation exam subjects, Lam said "it's good if it's reduced, but it's okay if it's not" because if you only set the goal of passing the graduation exam, it's quite easy.

"Whether I take the History exam or not, it won't disrupt or affect my university admission plan too much," Lam said.

Thanh Hang - Le Nguyen

Source link: https://vnexpress.net/hoc-sinh-muon-giam-ap-luc-thi-tot-nghiep-thpt-2025-4649942.html