The Education and Training sector is actively preparing for the 2015 National High School Exam . The exam is expected by the Ministry of Education and Training to be a breakthrough battle for the fundamental and comprehensive reform of education and training according to Resolution 29 of the Central Committee of the 11th Communist Party of Vietnam.

This exam with 2 objectives (high school graduation and university and college admission ) was organized for the first time with the desire to create a breakthrough in testing and evaluation work and thereby contribute to adjusting and orienting the teaching and learning methods of teachers and students towards developing students' qualities and abilities.

April 30, 2015 is the deadline for candidates to register for the exam according to their wishes (only considering high school graduation, only considering university and college admission, and combining both wishes). The percentage of students registering for the exam according to these 3 wishes is very different in each locality. In Son La, Dien Bien, Cao Bang provinces, about 50% of students wish to only consider high school graduation, some schools have the number of students registering for the exam only to recognize graduation up to 80% such as Quynh Nhai District High School (Son La province).

In Hanoi, the total number of candidates from Hanoi and neighboring provinces taking the national high school exam is about 120,000, of which Hanoi candidates are more than 70,000; the number of candidates taking the exam just to be considered for graduation recognition is more than 9,000.

This reality shows that there needs to be an exam structure that suits each candidate's wishes.

With just over 50 days left until the 2015 national high school exam , more than 1 million students nationwide are rushing to prepare for this important exam. The biggest concern for teachers, parents and students right now is the exam structure because it is an important factor that determines the exam results.

The option (option 1) proposed by the Department of Testing and Education Quality Assessment in Official Dispatch No. 374/KTKĐCLGD-KT dated March 31, 2015, with the exam structure, the questions serving the high school graduation exam and university and college admissions are mixed together. With this option, the advantage is that the knowledge serving 2 purposes (high school graduation exam and university and college admissions ) is closely coordinated in one complete exam.
However, the disadvantage of this method is that the test taker is distracted from focusing on difficult and easy content in order to quickly and effectively complete the test. Students who only wish to graduate from high school must do the advanced sections for university and college admissions . Students who only wish to enroll in university (because they have graduated from high school) must do the sections for high school graduation.
For weak students, distinguishing between easy questions to do first and difficult questions to do later is very time-consuming, affecting the exam mentality and test-taking progress. Overall, students will have a hard time completing the entire exam, which will affect their graduation and university and college admission results.

To overcome the above disadvantages, Dr. Vo The Quan, Principal of Dong Do High School, proposed (option 2): The exam structure is divided into 2 independent parts:

Part 1: For high school graduation purposes: The test content is at a basic level, suitable for high school graduation requirements, similar to the 2014 high school graduation exam.

Part 2: For university and college admission purposes: The content of the advanced exam is suitable for university and college admission requirements similar to the 2014 university and college entrance exam.

The test length for each section is approximately 50% of the total test time. Each section is worth 10 points.

The advantage of this option is that it is convenient for candidates to do the test: Candidates who need to take the high school graduation exam only focus on doing Part 1; Candidates who need to take the university or college entrance exam only focus on doing Part 2; Candidates who need to take both the high school graduation exam and the university or college entrance exam must do both parts.

Such a test structure will create favorable psychological conditions, students will focus on doing the test in the right part for their test purpose, so the test results will be more secure.
In addition, grading and entering scores for graduation and university and college admissions separately will be much more convenient and faster than the plan proposed by the Ministry of Education while still ensuring full implementation of the regulations of the National High School Examination Regulations and the guiding documents of the Ministry of Education and Training up to now.

At the same time, it helps candidates in all 3 wishes to immediately carry out the requirements of the exam in accordance with their wishes, not to do the test in the parts they do not wish to do, and thus ensure higher safety , the results of the exam reflect the true nature as the purpose of the exam has been set. The marking is also more convenient and the summary and assessment of each goal of the exam is also more appropriate and accurate.

Technically, there is nothing difficult or complicated about changing the exam structure from option 1 to option 2 because according to the direction of the Department of Testing and Education Quality Assessment: "The percentage of points for the basic level accounts for about 60% of the total score and for the advanced level accounts for about 40% of the total score" (Official Dispatch No. 374/KTKĐCLGD-KT dated March 31, 2015). Thus, it can be understood that the exam has up to 60% of basic knowledge content for graduation consideration and 40% of advanced knowledge for university and college admission consideration.

Time is very urgent now, so the Ministry of Education and Training needs to make appropriate decisions on the structure of the national high school exam to provide timely guidance to test makers and test takers, in order to ensure the success of the national high school exam .

(Tay Ho District, Hanoi)