These regulations are part of the 2026 high school graduation exam rules set by the Ministry of Education and Training.

Candidates who look at or exchange papers once during an exam session will be reprimanded, and 25% of the score for that exam will be deducted.

If a candidate has already been reprimanded once but continues to look at or exchange exam papers or scratch paper, copy from another, or allow another to copy from them, the candidate will be warned and 50% of their score will be deducted.

Candidates will be suspended from the exam if they have been warned once but continue to violate regulations. Other actions also lead to exam suspension, including: bringing unauthorized items such as documents, information transmission and storage devices; taking exam questions out or receiving answers from outside; writing or drawing irrelevant content on the answer sheet; causing disturbances, or threatening other candidates or exam invigilators.

Upon suspension, candidates must submit their exam paper, question booklet, and scratch paper to the invigilator and leave the room immediately. Their results for all exam papers will be canceled, meaning they will not be recognized as having graduated high school.

Last year, 41 candidates were suspended from the exam for using phones and unauthorized materials in the exam room. These candidates effectively failed graduation or lacked results for university admission.

Additionally, during grading, if an examiner discovers a marked paper, the candidate will have 50% of the total score deducted. Candidates will receive a 0 score if found copying from unauthorized materials, submitting two or more answer sheets for the same subject, having an exam paper with multiple handwriting styles, or writing parts of the exam on scratch paper or non-standard paper. If two or more exam papers receive a 0 score for these reasons, the exam results will be canceled.

In cases of forging documents to receive preferential treatment, using illegal diplomas or certificates, having someone else take the exam, engaging in disruptive behavior, sabotaging the exam, or assaulting others, candidates' files will be transferred to the competent authority for processing according to regulations.

Candidates in Ho Chi Minh City taking the 2025 high school graduation exam. Photo: Quynh Tran

Candidates in Ho Chi Minh City taking the 2025 high school graduation exam. Photo: Quynh Tran

Over 1.2 million candidates are taking the high school graduation exam on 11-12/6, marking a record-high number of participants. Among them, more than 63,800 are independent candidates.

Candidates take four exams, with Mathematics and Literature being compulsory. Additionally, they choose two subjects from: Chemistry, Physics, Biology, Geography, History, Economic and Legal Education, Informatics, Technology, and Foreign Language.

In the formula for calculating graduation eligibility scores, exam subject scores account for 50%; the remaining 50% comes from academic transcripts for grades 10, 11, 12, and priority points if applicable. Most universities use the results of this exam for admission.

Duong Tam