Gaokao

It isn’t fair that so much is riding on a single test for millions of Chinese students. There are so many different personalities and so many different people that it is unfair to simply grade them all on how well they can remember information. The Gaokao is not a test of creative thinking, but simply a test of memory. Some students might excel in music,  but before they can follow their passion, they need to also be good at english and math - good enough to get into a top school. If a student doesn't get into one of China’s top colleges, he or she is stuck farming and manufacturing cheap toys. But students who actually get into a top school can leave their small towns and get good jobs. It is wrong to assign them their future because of one test because some people can afford better test prep and the test itself doesn’t properly assess the student.

It isn’t fair to have so much riding on one test because different groups have advantages over others. People who have more money can buy their children better test prep materials and put them in better cram schools. Some parents sacrifice everything, such as quitting a job to devote time to helping their student, or even working extra jobs to pay for the better cram schools. The article describes the life of one such student, Yang Wei, whose mother quit her garment job to support him in his final year of cramming, Wei said, “It’s a lot of pressure.” This shows how big of a deal this test is. Parents are changing their lifestyles dramatically just to support their kids. No one should have to handle this much stress and pressure to do well on just one test. A better way to judge student talent is to base it on numerous tests, projects, or assignments over the course of high school. Students excel in different areas, and should be graded on their whole education, not just memorization.

The test itself doesn’t properly and accurately assess the student’s knowledge. Because the test is the only factor considered for college admittance, the students’ high school experience is nothing but memorization. As the article says, “Everything taught in 10th and 11th grade is focused on what the gaokao tests. … In 12th grade, students typically just review and memorize what they’ve already learned.” Classes can be 16 ½ hours a day, making some cram schools nothing but a “memorization factory,” the article says. Teenage suicide rates rise as the test nears. And in at least one case, students were hooked up to intravenous drips to give them energy to cram. Also, the students never get to experience anything but the studying and cannot live as normal teenagers. “The school prides itself on eliminating the distractions of modern life,” the article says. “Cellphones and laptops are forbidden. The dorms...have no electrical outlets. Dating is banned. In town...the local government has shut down all forms of entertainment…. ‘There’s nothing to do but study,’ Yang says.”

To sum up, it is not fair to have so much riding on a single test for millions of Chinese students because not only is the test a poor indicator of student intelligence, but it ruins the teenage experience for all of these students. And I thought the town in Footloose was strict.