Nearly 352,000 students took the English language section of the 2025 high school graduation exam. The average score was 5.38, down from 5.51 last year. The number of perfect scores was 141, a decrease of 424 compared to last year. 28 students failed (scoring 1 or below).
Among the 34 new provinces and cities, Hanoi led with an average English score of 5.78. The new Ho Chi Minh City (including the former Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Duong, and Ba Ria - Vung Tau) ranked second with 5.658.
Quang Ninh came in third with 5.459. The top 10 also included Dien Bien, Phu Tho, Hai Phong, Nghe An, Ninh Binh, Ha Tinh, and Thanh Hoa.
Hanoi also led in the number of perfect scores with 56. Ho Chi Minh City and Bac Ninh followed.
According to experts, the ranking of provinces and cities with the highest average English scores is only for reference because the number of test takers in each area varies. For example, Ho Chi Minh City had over 61,900 test takers, Hanoi had nearly 59,600, but Dien Bien only had 554.
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High school graduation exam takers in Ho Chi Minh City, 2025. Photo: Quynh Tran |
The high school graduation exam took place on 26-27/6 with over 1.16 million students. English was an elective subject with nearly 353,000 participants.
The exam consisted of 40 multiple-choice questions, with a 50-minute time limit. Upon leaving the exam room, many students complained that the English test was difficult and lengthy, with many academic vocabulary words unfamiliar to high school students. Some students with IELTS scores of 7.0-7.5 said they weren't confident about the graduation exam, expecting only around a 7.
Many teachers also said they were challenged by the exam. Many questions were at the B2-C2 level while the English output standard for 12th-grade students is B1, equivalent to level 3/6.
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High school graduation exam takers in Ho Chi Minh City, 2025. Photo: Quynh Tran
After receiving their high school graduation exam scores, students have 10 days to submit an appeal if desired, with the deadline on 25/7.
Students can register, adjust, and add university application preferences an unlimited number of times from now until 5 PM on 28/7. Afterward, they can pay the application fee online from 29/7 to 5 PM on 5/8.
University admission scores will be announced before 5 PM on 22/8.
Duong Tam
