Higher than the national average

According to high school graduation exam score data from 2017 to present, Ho Chi Minh City is the locality with the highest average English score in the country for the past 8 consecutive years.

At the same time, from 2017 to 2024, the average English score of Ho Chi Minh City in the high school graduation exam was always higher than the average score of this subject of the whole country, ranging from 1.14 points to 1.42 points. In 2019, the average score of the city was the highest, with 1.42 points.

The table of statistics and comparison of the average English score of the high school graduation exam in Ho Chi Minh City compared to the whole country from 2017 to present is as follows:

The result of a 26-year journey

From the results of the English exam in the high school graduation exam over the past 8 years, the leaders of the Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City have analyzed, evaluated and stated the reasons for Ho Chi Minh City's achievements in recent times.

According to Mr. Nguyen Bao Quoc, Deputy Director of the Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City, 26 years ago, in the 1998-1999 school year, Ho Chi Minh City implemented an English enhancement program starting from grade 1 and first applied at Tran Hung Dao Primary School (District 1) with nearly 100 students. The program not only met the needs of students accessing and learning English right from primary school, but the scale of development of this program since then has trained students in foreign language skills and improved listening, speaking, reading and writing skills according to international standards. At that time, many education experts evaluated this as a good program and ahead of its time because it was not until 2010 that the Ministry of Education and Training implemented teaching English from grade 3.

Then, over the past 10 years, Ho Chi Minh City has implemented the Project "Teaching and learning math, science and English integrating the UK and Vietnam programs" according to Decision No. 5695/QD-UBND dated November 20, 2014 of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee" (abbreviated as integrated English). This is a program compiled to integrate the UK general education program with the Vietnamese general education program for the three subjects of English, math, and science, focusing on developing students' thinking and qualities. Students learn English, math, and science entirely in English with foreign teachers.

Aiming to prepare students with foreign language skills and abilities, Ho Chi Minh City also has an advanced school model following the integration trend, contributing to equipping students with the necessary skills to integrate internationally and become citizens who meet the needs of a smart city. Students are able to participate in international assessment standards and initially access technological utilities in learning and living. This contributes to improving students' English proficiency to be equivalent to many countries with advanced education in the region and in the world.

However, to achieve the results of 8 consecutive years leading the country in English results in the high school graduation exam, Mr. Nguyen Bao Quoc affirmed that it is impossible not to mention the investment of parents, who care about equipping their children with foreign language skills from a very early age. Up to this point, Ho Chi Minh City has nearly 800 foreign language and information technology centers, including 102 short-term educational institutions with foreign investment. This shows that the demand of parents for learning English is very large.

At the same time, the leader of the Department of Education and Training also said that this is the result of efforts to innovate teaching methods and assessment of teachers and schools from primary to high school levels over many years.