Visiting China — College Entrance Examination
By Jian Ping
Parents waiting outsite an examination site
The day I arrived in Beijing was the day the three-day annual college entrance examination, gao kao, started. Gao Kao, which functions as SAT in the U.S., is still the sole criteria for student admission to college. And college education, in turn, is regarded as the essential step that one must take in order to have a future.
There were 9.3 million students took the examination nationwide this year. Xinhua reported that about 72% would enter college one way or another.
A sign states: Important Gao Kao Site, Honking Prohibited
As I rode in a taxi in Beijing on the 9th, the last day of the examination, I noticed a large crowd—parents and relatives of the students taking the exam—standing outside an examination site. They’d be waiting for hours under the grueling sun before their children came out of the morning session. Do you believe their presence could assure their children inside or improve their odds of success? I was puzzled by their behavior.
Big banners placed on the surrounding walls of the examination site stated: No honking. Gao Kao in process.
Emengency ride from a policeman
This annual examination is so important that Beijing lifted its bans on private cars on the streets so parents could drive their children to examination sites. Some cities suspended parking rules; others requested police to help students who got stuck on their way; and some constructions were suspended for certain time period so students could rest well at night and concentrate better during the exam.
Millions of people seemed to hold their breath during these three days!
The Gao Kao system was restored in 1977 when colleges reopened their doors. Ever since then, the education of the young has been focused on how to pass the college entrance examination. Three years of high school is filled with drills of exams and students pore over their books at school, in many places, starting from 7 in the morning to 6 p.m. in the afternoon, followed by private tutoring and additional homework.
Many Chinese have realized the limitation, if not damage, of the Gao Kao on the young, but no reform has touched this area as of now.
Some newly rich are sending their children abroad, avoiding the grueling process that stiffens a youngster’s creativity and independent thinking. But the majority of the high school graduates have no choice but to comply and do their best to enter the best university they can.
Seeing the drastic changes that China has undertaken in so many areas in recent years, I wonder when the Government is going to reform the education system, with a sense of urgency and efficiency—China’s future depends on the change of Gao Kao.
Jian Ping, author of Mulberry Child: A Memoir of China. Visit www.mulberrychild.com, www.moraquest.com for more information. Mulberry Child has been turned into a feature-length documentary film by award-winning director Susan Morgan Cooper and will be released in 2011.
Tags: Beijing, China, college entrance examination, education, Gao Kao, Test (assessment)
