Middle School and Secondary School Education

Middle school education (Vietnamese: trung học cơ sở) consists of grades six to nine, while secondary school/high school education (Vietnamese: trung học phổ thông) consists of grades ten to twelve. The IGE is a prerequisite entrance examination for high schooling. The IGE score determines the schools at which students are able to enroll. The higher the score, the more prestigious the school.

Middle and secondary curriculum
All subjects are compulsory for students
Literature: mostly Vietnamese literature, occasionally combined with foreign literature including Chinese, French, American and Russian
Mathematics
Years 6–9: two separate subjects – Algebra and Geometry
Year 10: two separate subjects – Algebra and Geometry
Year 11: two separate subjects – Algebra-Mathematical analysis and Geometry
Year 12: two separate subjects – Mathematical analysis and Geometry
Physics
Chemistry (from year 8 onwards)
Biology
History
Geography
Civics: generally consists of economics, philosophy (Marxism-Leninism), politics, law and ethics
Foreign language: English is the predominant foreign language; French, Chinese, Russian, Japanese and German are taught at some specialized schools
Technology: consists of Agriculture/Horticulture, Mechanics, Electronics, Design, etc.
Information Technology: recently introduced, yet to be implemented in poorer regions. Students study basic programming in languages such as Visual FoxPro, Visual Basic and Pascal
Physical Education (P.E)
Military education and training

Advanced classes consists of either:
Natural sciences: Students follow an advanced curriculum (and different textbooks) in mathematics, physics, chemistry and biology
Social sciences: Students follow an advanced curriculum (and different textbooks) in literature, history, geography and foreign language

At the start of secondary school, students can enroll in Specialist Classes if they pass the class entrance exam, which usually consists of a Mathematics exam, a Literature exam, an English exam and an exam of the subject that the student wants to specialize in. The specialised subject can be any of the subjects listed above, except Technology, Physical Education and Civics. Students enrolled in these programs have a heavier workload than regular secondary school students. The workload varies from school to school, but grade 11 students are generally expected to study grade 12 courses concurrently. Other courses include university-level courses. Some schools go as far as requiring their students to finish secondary school by the end of grade 10.

Only prestigious schools offer these classes, and they have yet to be standardized.

High School Graduation Examination
All high school students in Vietnam are required to take the National High School Graduation Examination (Kỳ thi Trung học phổ thông quốc gia), which is administered by the Ministry of Education and Training, at the end of grade 12 to get a diploma called the High School Graduation Certificate (Bằng tốt nghiệp Trung học phổ thông). They still have to take the regular end-of-term examinations before taking the High School Graduation Examination.

The Ministry of Education and Training announced that for the graduation examination of 2017, five papers would be included: Mathematics, Literature, Foreign language, Natural Sciences, and Social Sciences. Three papers are mandatory for all students: Mathematics, Literature, and Foreign language. Foreign language exam can be one of the following: English, French, German, Chinese, Japanese, or Russian. Apart from three mandatory papers, student must complete a fourth paper by choosing either natural sciences (a combination of Physics, Chemistry, and Biology) or Social Sciences (a combination of History, Geography, and Civic Education). In some cases, students can take both the Natural Sciences and Social Sciences and will choose the paper with the higher result to be evaluated.