These solutions have demonstrated great efforts by the capital's education sector, but further innovation and improvement are still needed to reduce pressure on students in the public 10th grade entrance exam.

Many suitable adjustments and improvements

One of the notable adjustments in the 2025-2026 public grade 10 entrance exam is that Hanoi will announce the test scores of candidates and the grade 10 admission benchmark scores of each school on the same day, no later than July 6.

The announcement of two data, including exam scores and benchmark scores, on the same day helps reduce the waiting pressure of students and their families; ending the situation where for many years, students and parents often spent a whole week "sitting on fire" waiting for the announcement of the benchmark scores after the public 10th grade entrance exam scores were available. This is considered a remarkable effort by the capital's education sector as Hanoi is one of the two localities with the largest number of candidates taking the 10th grade entrance exam in the country.

The second adjustment is that Hanoi has decided to increase the number of public grade 10 admission quotas for the 2025-2026 school year compared to the previous school year. With the city increasing about 3,000 general admission quotas for public grade 10 compared to the 2024-2025 school year, most public high schools in the area have increased the number of grade 10 places compared to last year, commonly adding 45-90 quotas, equivalent to 1-2 classes; some individual schools can increase up to over 135 quotas, equivalent to about 3-4 classes, including many top schools such as Viet Duc High School, Tran Phu - Hoan Kiem High School, Kim Lien High School, Yen Hoa High School, Xuan Dinh High School, Nguyen Thi Minh Khai High School, My Dinh High School.

According to the leaders of the Department of Education and Training, with the increase of thousands of quotas across the city, the rate of students admitted to grade 10 of public high schools in Hanoi this year will be over 64%, 3-4% higher than previous school years. This is a great effort of the city and the capital's education sector in creating conditions for students to have more opportunities to enter public grade 10, thereby contributing to reducing pressure for many parents and students in the area.

The third adjustment is that Hanoi continues to require all high schools in the area, including public and private schools, to increase the application of information technology and digital transformation to organize online enrollment to avoid the situation where parents have to queue up to submit enrollment applications for their children to grade 10, which has caused outrage in public opinion.

In addition, this year, Hanoi continues to announce the "competition" rate for grade 10 public schools in the area. Based on the number of students registered for the exam and the assigned quota, students can know the "competition" rate for grade 10 of each public high school in the 2025-2026 school year. However, the announcement time for this year's "competition" rate may be pushed up earlier than last year, no later than May 15.

Proposal to allow students to adjust their admission wishes

According to regulations of the Hanoi Department of Education and Training, in the entrance exam to grade 10 public schools, each student is allowed to register 3 wishes (NV) to public schools, including 2 schools in the enrollment area in the designated districts and one school in another area. If a student passes NV1, NV2 and NV3 will not be considered.

Students who fail NV1 can be considered for NV2 but must have an admission score that is at least 1.0 points higher than the school's NV1 admission score. Students who fail NV1 or NV2 can be considered for NV3 but must have an admission score that is at least 2.0 points higher than the school's NV1 admission score.

Many opinions say that, with the current difference in benchmark scores between NVs, along with Hanoi's regulation that students are not allowed to adjust their NVs after registration, students are at risk of failing all NVs if their selection strategy and NV order are unreasonable and they lack a bit of luck because the "competition" rate to enter high schools fluctuates every year, which is very unpredictable.

In the context that Hanoi is trying to find solutions to reduce pressure on students in the 10th grade entrance exam, many parents and teachers continue to suggest that the Hanoi Department of Education and Training should consider allowing students to change their major after schools announce the number of registered students or after candidates complete the 10th grade entrance exam, as some localities are doing to reduce pressure and stress on students.

Even in university admissions, for many years now, the Ministry of Education and Training has also promoted the application of IT, increased innovation in admissions methods by allowing students to change and adjust their registered NV to create more convenience for them. And this approach has minimized the situation of students with high high school graduation exam scores still failing the university entrance exam as happened in previous years.

Mr. Dinh Duc Hien, a teacher at FPT Education, said that Hanoi and many other provinces and cities should study and adjust the regulations for admission to grade 10 to give candidates more initiative, reduce pressure, and reduce the rate of candidates "with high scores but still failing".

The current method of registering NV in advance and not changing NV after knowing the score is showing inadequacies, one of the reasons for increasing pressure on admission to grade 10, making NV registration to grade 10 even more risky, many candidates with high scores are at risk of failing public schools.

“With the strong application of information technology as it is today, Hanoi can completely let students adjust their NV after finishing the exam and register NV according to the current regional division. At this time, parents and students will be much more proactive, have a basis to set NV as well as have backup plans, candidates can estimate the possibility of passing or failing better. If it is even better, Hanoi can announce the score distribution of 3 subjects so that parents and students can have a more accurate view, a better basis for setting NV", Mr. Dinh Duc Hien shared.

Source: https://cand.com.vn/giao-duc/giam-bot-ap-luc-cho-hoc-sinh-trong-ky-thi-tuyen-sinh-vao-lop-10-cong-lap-i767257/