English exam 'difficult to choose answers', candidates not easily scoring 8

While easy to comprehend due to fewer C1-C2 level vocabulary words, the English graduation exam challenges candidates with reasoning requirements, making answer selection difficult, according to teachers.

On the morning of 12/6, over 1,22 million candidates completed the high school graduation exam with two elective subjects. Among them, over 347,000 students registered for the English subject. The exam maintained last year's structure with 40 multiple-choice questions.

Many teachers assessed that this year's exam was somewhat more manageable, causing no major surprises as candidates had reviewed and closely followed the sample exam. The exam included two cloze tests (fill-in-the-blanks) with 6 and 5 questions respectively, one rearrangement task, and two reading comprehension passages with 8 and 10 questions.

Teacher Vu Ha Thanh Luan, a teacher at M.V. Lomonosov Middle and High School in Hanoi, commented that the vocabulary in the reading comprehension sections was easier, mostly at B1-B2 levels. Regarding grammar, the difficulty of the questions was moderate, all falling within the 2018 general education program, such as tenses, word forms, conjunctions, reduced relative clauses, comparisons, modal verbs, etc. Students could complete them quickly and with high accuracy. Teacher Luan noted, "Students were also familiar with the exam format and mentally prepared for many difficult vocabulary words before the exam."

Ms. Nguyen Thi Diu, an English teacher at Phenikaa High School in Hanoi, and Ms. Dinh Thi Thuy Anh, Head of the English Department at Nguyen Huu Cau High School in Ho Chi Minh City, both stated that 60% of the questions covered basic knowledge, falling into the recognition and comprehension levels. Basic grammar questions, word forms, dialogue completion, and some direct idea-finding reading comprehension questions were sections where students could easily score points.

A notable difference, according to Ms. Trang Anh, a teacher at the Moon education system, was that the grammatical framework of the 6-question cloze test changed entirely from the previous year, including causative passive, comparisons, conditional sentences, and modal verbs, which were absent last year. Nevertheless, these are all common grammatical concepts. "If last year's exam difficulty was 10, this year's decreased to about 8", Ms. Thuy Anh said.

However, teachers assessed that the exam still had a high level of differentiation, designed to select excellent students. Analyzing in detail, Teacher Luan stated that the reading passages featured a few C2 academic vocabulary words (such as instrumental, relinquished, indolent, etc.). Additionally, each section included high-level inference questions, for example, questions 27, 31, 34 in exam code 1130, which respectively asked candidates which idea was not mentioned in the reading, what conclusion could be drawn from a specific paragraph, and how to choose an appropriate title.

Example: Question 27. Which of the following is NOT implied in paragraph 2?

A. Hydroelectric generation and white-water canoeing cannot coexist on the same stretch of river.

B. The opportunity cost of the dam construction includes intangible benefits that are sacrificed.

C. Recreational activities and power generation impose equal environmental burdens on the river.

D. The intrinsic value attached to the river may extend beyond its potential use for hydroelectric generation.

For a question like 27, which concerned hydropower, according to Teacher Luan, candidates needed to master multiple skills such as careful reading, skimming for main ideas, inferencing, summarizing, and guessing meaning from context to answer it correctly. He added, "Students unsure of grammar, especially sentence components, lacking sufficient B1-B2 vocabulary, particularly synonyms, and hesitant to infer and predict, would find it very difficult to have enough patience and convincing reasons to arrive at the correct answer."

Ms. Trang Anh also observed that while the exam was easier to read and understand, the questions were much harder to choose from, requiring candidates to possess critical thinking and judgment to handle them. Candidates aiming for 8 points or higher needed an extensive vocabulary, strong reading comprehension skills, and effective test-taking strategies, otherwise, they would run out of time.

Overall, all three teachers believed the score distribution would fall around 6 or 6,5-7. Teacher Luan predicted an average score of about 5,5-6, slightly higher than last year (5,38), with more perfect 10s.

Last year, the English exam was rated as difficult and lengthy, with many questions at B2-C2 levels, exceeding the B1 output standard for high school. Nationwide, only 141 students achieved a perfect score, a fourfold decrease compared to the previous year. The most common score among candidates was 5,25. Only over 15% scored 7 points or higher.

The 2026 high school graduation exam took place on 11-12/6 with approximately 1,22 million candidates, the highest number ever. Exam scores were announced on 1/7. Candidates then began registering and adjusting their university admissions aspirations, a process that extended until the afternoon of 14/7.