Change in the way of calculating multiple choice scores for the 2025 high school graduation exam

According to the high school graduation exam plan from 2025, in addition to the literature subject, which will be tested in essay form, other subjects will be tested in the form of objective multiple-choice questions. In particular, the foreign language subject will still maintain the traditional multiple-choice question format as in previous years.

The subjects of mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, history, geography, economic and legal education, information technology, and technology have multiple-choice questions that are oriented towards assessing capacity, while improving the ability to classify candidates.

Specifically, in addition to multiple choice questions, there are two new formats: true/false and short answer questions.

In the true/false question format, the score is no longer divided equally. Each question has 4 options, for each option the candidate chooses true or false, the candidate chooses 1 option correctly in a question will get 0.1 point; 2 options correctly in a question will get 0.25 points; 3 options correctly in a question will get 0.5 points; all 4 options correctly in a question will get 1 point. This format requires candidates to have comprehensive capacity, knowledge and skills to achieve the maximum score. The probability of randomly choosing the maximum score is 1/16, 4 times smaller than the current multiple choice test format.

Short answer multiple choice questions are similar to essay questions and are evaluated based on the final results that candidates must fill in on the answer sheet. Each correct answer is worth 0.25 - 0.5 points.

Both of these formats require candidates to have solid knowledge and skills, and limit the use of "tricks" to choose answers from confusing options like in multiple choice tests.

High school graduation exams from 2024 and earlier, multiple choice subjects only have one type of question and depending on the number of questions in each test, the score will be divided equally. Whether the question is easy or difficult, low or high comprehension or application, all have the same score.

From 2025, candidates will take the high school graduation exam with 4 subjects. The two compulsory subjects are math and literature. The remaining two subjects, candidates choose from the subjects they studied in high school, including: chemistry, physics, biology, geography, history, economic and legal education, information technology, technology and foreign languages ​​(7 languages: English, German, Russian, Japanese, French, Chinese, Korean).

Previously, the Ministry of Education and Training announced the structure and sample questions for the graduation exams next year. The Ministry of Education and Training said that the structure of the questions has been tested in a number of provinces and cities. Experts said that the way to calculate the score for the correct/incorrect answer part applies modern testing theory. Each question has its own weighted score, difficult questions are scored higher than easy questions. Therefore, the question that most students can answer correctly only accounts for 0.1 point. The more difficult the questions are, the more points they get, and the last and most difficult question accounts for 0.5 points. This helps to classify good, good, and average candidates.

This method is learned from international exams such as SAT, PISA, to ensure fairness. The Ministry of Education and Training has carefully calculated the 4 ideas in a question from easy to difficult level, answering any idea correctly will only get 0.1 point. This prevents guessing, because the questions are often connected, if you cannot answer the easy questions, it will be difficult to answer the difficult ones, unless you are "lucky".

Many experts also believe that the probability of randomly scoring the maximum score in the true/false question is 1/16, 4 times smaller than the current multiple-choice test format. This is reasonable, avoiding the situation of a rain of 10s. To achieve a perfect score, candidates must have comprehensive capacity, knowledge and skills.