The English questions on the 2025 high school final exam have stirred a debate among the public. Many students burst into tears as they could not solve the questions, while many teachers affirmed that the questions were ‘excessively difficult’, ‘overly academic’, and ‘similar to IELTS exam questions’, rather than national school finals.

Some people have observed that comparing the graduation test to IELTS is invalid because of the different purposes of the two exams. While the former aims at certifying that students can meet the requirements of general education, the latter aims at assessing examinees’ English skills for use in their international academic career.  

However, if the graduation exam is described as a highly differentiated, selective test, comparing it with an international academic exam like IELTS is completely reasonable.

The focus isn’t the exam’s name but the competencies it tests. It is reasonable to compare an English test that requires rapid reading comprehension skills and dense information processing in a short time (40 questions/50 minutes), and uses complex vocabulary and intricate contexts with IELTS Reading. 

“And if a student with an IELTS score of 7.0 also struggles with the graduation exam, we need to ask: Do the exam questions accurately reflect the outcome standards of the general education program, or do they go beyond that threshold?” Vinh said.

A national exam shouldn’t “teach a lesson” by bewildering students.

Encouraging authentic learning, combating the ‘disease of (excessive) achievement’ and improving English teaching and learning are essential. However, a test that is too difficult and shocking should not be the tool to create a catalyst for change. Education needs a roadmap of movement, not shocks – especially when the ones directly affected are students.

If the curriculum doesn’t ensure sufficient time and quality for in-depth reading skills; if urban-rural disparities in English learning persist; if textbooks lack the text types used in the exam, a sudden spike in difficulty feels like a trap rather than an incentive for serious study. 

A graduation test shouldn’t adopt a “selective” mindset without a clear transition roadmap and prior student preparation. Changes in students’ ability assessment must align with reforms in curriculum, teaching methods, materials, and clear, consistent pedagogical communication from the start.

Vo Anh Triet, a teacher in HCM City, believes this is a true admission exam with a high level of student differentiation. It includes about 20 average-difficulty questions, 12 harder questions, and eight very difficult ones.

Thus, students with average ability can score 5-6 points. Above-average students can achieve 6-7 points, good students 7-8 points, and excellent students 8-9 points. Outstanding students can score 9-10 points.

Triet noted that this year’s exam served as a “wake-up call” for stakeholders, including teachers, highlighting that students who rely solely on rote memorization without deep understanding will struggle with high-application tasks, and a change in the current teaching method would be needed.

Vinh argued that if a test feels “off-standard” from what was taught, no matter how similar the structure, students will be shocked and perform poorly. This is a serious issue in educational assessment, as the exam no longer reflects students’ learning journey.

To date, the Ministry of Education and Training hasn’t released any information on test trials, difficulty levels, discrimination indices, reliability, or other key metrics. In countries with rigorous testing systems, all exams must undergo trials, data analysis, and standardization per educational measurement criteria. Even IELTS, a commercial exam, is periodically validated with data from millions of candidates.

“We can’t claim a test is reasonable just because it is ‘similar to sample questions’ or yields a spread of scores. Score differentiation may stem from unreasonable difficulty, not accurate assessment of student ability,” Vinh said.

A national exam needs fairness

The high school final exam serves both graduation and university admission purposes. Without clear separation of these goals, the test must balance dual principles: reflecting the curriculum accurately while maintaining reasonable, transparent differentiation. A good test challenges high-achieving students but allows average students to demonstrate their abilities, not be excluded by overly academic reading passages.

Vinh, while agreeing that it is necessary to change the current teaching method, which is less effective, emphasized that sustainable change can’t start with a shocking, unstandardized test that risks undermining students’ confidence in their efforts. Education should guide, not disorient. A national exam, at a systemic level, must be designed with transparency, scientific rigor, fairness, and humanity. 

Thuy Nga