According to the Ministry, the registration deadline was 5 PM on April 28. By then, the total number of registered candidates had reached 1,165,289, an increase of 93,894 compared to last year (in 2024, there were 1,071,395 candidates).

Among them, 1,122,507 candidates (96.33%) are students enrolled in the 2018 General Education Program, while 42,782 candidates (3.67%) are independent candidates.

The 2025 national high school graduation exam will take place over two days, June 26 and June 27.

Starting from 2025, students following the 2018 General Education Program will take only four subjects in the exam, including two compulsory subjects (Literature and Mathematics) and two elective subjects chosen from the subjects studied in Grade 12, such as Foreign Language, History, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Geography, Economic and Legal Education, Informatics, and Technology.

The Literature exam will be conducted in essay format with a 120-minute time limit. The exam will consist of two parts: Reading comprehension (4 points) and Writing (6 points).

All other subjects will be tested in multiple-choice format, with Mathematics having a 90-minute time limit, and each of the other subjects having a 50-minute time limit.

The 2025 high school graduation exam introduces several key changes compared to previous years:

First, the exam will be organized into three separate sessions: one for Literature, one for Mathematics, and one for the two elective subjects chosen from a list including Physics, Chemistry, Biology, History, Geography, Economic and Legal Education, Informatics, Industrial Technology, Agricultural Technology, and Foreign Language. Candidates will be arranged according to their elective combinations to optimize exam room and test site usage.

Second, graduation eligibility will be assessed using a combination of continuous assessment (school records) and exam results at a 50-50 ratio.

School grades from Grades 10, 11, and 12 will now all be considered, with different weightings, instead of relying solely on Grade 12 results as before. This change aims to encourage consistent learning efforts throughout high school.

Third, from 2025, foreign language certificates can still be used to waive the foreign language exam requirement but will no longer be converted into a perfect score of 10 in graduation consideration.

For example, previously, students with an IELTS score of 4.0 could have it converted to a score of 10, the same as those achieving 8.5. The new method promotes fairness in graduation evaluation.

Fourth, bonus points for vocational certificates will be eliminated for all candidates. Similarly, bonus points for computer science, foreign language certificates, and intermediate vocational diplomas will no longer be applied for continuing education candidates.

This change ensures fairness as both formal and continuing education graduates will receive the same type of diploma.

Fifth, beginning in 2025, foreign candidates studying in Vietnam will be allowed to use a Vietnamese language certificate to waive the Literature exam when applying for graduation recognition.

This policy supports foreign students while still ensuring a basic level of Vietnamese proficiency through classroom learning and Vietnamese language certification.

Thanh Hung