Does considering transcripts create opportunities for fake scores or encourage real learning?

(Dan Tri) - The Ministry of Education and Training has asked for opinions from more than 500 universities and colleges nationwide on whether to abolish or retain the admission criteria based on academic records. This issue has been raised for many years.

“It cannot be said that the results of high school in 5-6 semesters are not as accurate as an exam.”

According to statistics from the Ministry of Education and Training , the 2025 university admission season has a total of 17 admission methods. Of which, the admission method based on academic records accounts for 42.4% of candidates, 3% higher than the high school graduation exam method, and is also the most used method.

However, Professor Nguyen Tien Thao, Head of the Department of Higher Education , Ministry of Education and Training, said this is not the reason for the Ministry to organize a survey to get opinions from schools on whether to remove or keep this admission method.

According to the Director of the Department of Higher Education, admission based on academic records has been implemented for a while and now is the time to look back to evaluate it fairly and effectively, helping to ensure the quality of admission work.

Candidates taking the 2025 high school graduation exam (Photo: Trinh Nguyen).

"For some major admission methods, we need to re-evaluate. If the quality is still good, we will continue to maintain and develop them. If not, we will have to abandon them because one of the goals of Resolution 71 is to modernize education and increase quality, ensuring high-quality human resources, of which admission is one of all those steps," said Professor Nguyen Tien Thao.

Over the years, the issue of whether to keep or abandon the consideration of academic records has been discussed a lot. Some schools have completely abandoned the consideration of academic records, mainly in the top group. Some schools only consider the academic records of students from specialized schools or those with provincial-level excellent student awards. Others consider academic records with conditions. Ho Chi Minh City University of Technical Education is one of them.

Associate Professor Dr. Le Hieu Giang - Principal of the school - said that the school has been evaluating students' academic performance for many years and has found that students admitted to the school based on their academic records have academic performance equal to or better than students admitted based on their high school graduation exam results.

From that fact, he concluded that the training results in general education throughout the years of study in most schools are basically accurate. It cannot be said that the results in general education throughout 5-6 semesters are not as accurate as an exam.

Sharing the same view, Ms. Thanh Thuy - a teacher at Hung Vuong High School, Ho Chi Minh City - acknowledged that there are places that set easy exams, creating favorable conditions for students in terms of scores so that they have the opportunity to enter university based on their transcripts, but that does not mean that their transcripts are worthless. Virtual scores may be temporary, but it is difficult to last for 3 years of study with 6 semesters.

Ms. Hoang Thuy Mai - a teacher at a high school in Hanoi - affirmed: "The phenomenon of poor students still having good academic records is only a minority. Those who achieve an average score of 9 or higher are mostly truly excellent students. No teacher can magically help an average student achieve that score."

Transcripts are the basis for comparison with high school graduation exam results.

Mr. Vu Khac Ngoc, a chemistry teacher in Hanoi, believes that we should not completely ban admission based on transcripts because it evaluates the entire learning process. Transcripts are also the basis for comparing with exam results, and at the same time, help lower-ranked schools have an easier time recruiting students.

However, to be fair to candidates and ensure autonomy for universities, Mr. Ngoc said it is necessary to control the percentage of admission based on academic records or set additional technical conditions for admission.

“For a long time, public opinion has been very concerned that if schools completely consider transcripts, the quality of training will be very bad because the mechanism of “asking for and giving” scores still exists.

But in my opinion, if we recruit students with transcripts along with a certain "floor" of exam scores, for example, candidates must achieve about 15 points/3 subjects of the high school graduation exam along with their transcript scores, then schools will not affect their autonomy in enrollment but still control the input, avoiding "grabbing all the little ones" as public opinion has long worried," Mr. Ngoc affirmed.

According to this expert, evaluating the transcript means evaluating the entire learning process of a student. Many students normally study well but “study hard but pass the exam”, for various reasons related to health and psychology, they have poor graduation exam results. Therefore, the transcript results in this case are an effective comparison weight.

According to this expert, in order for academic transcripts to be more prestigious, in the long run, we need to focus on integrity and substance in general grading.

Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Thanh Chuong, Chairman of the Council of the University of Transport, also said that the entrance requirements depend on each school and each major. Some majors can still be considered based on academic records, and it is not necessary to remove them.

“Academic transcripts are the result of a process, so we should trust the results of high schools. However, for some specific majors that require high entrance requirements, I think we can reduce or eliminate the consideration of academic transcripts.

It is important not to recruit solely based on academic records, but to keep the academic record consideration rate low or control it in some specific fields," said Mr. Chuong.

According to Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Thanh Chuong, each method has different advantages and disadvantages. In a field, there can be many methods, so it is not necessary to completely eliminate them, but should have a reasonable proportion of admission based on academic records depending on the nature and input of the fields so that it is appropriate.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/giao-duc/xet-tuyen-hoc-ba-tao-co-hoi-cho-diem-so-ao-hay-khuyen-khich-hoc-that-20250919150344234.htm