China’s College Entry Test Is an Obsession

Katie Scott
9/3/09
10:02 PM

Summary:
This article is about the college entrance test in China, the Gao Kao. This test, also known as "the high test" has consumed the lives of many who are trying to get accepted into college next year. The article starts out with an interview from a boy by the name of Liu Qichao, who has been studying for this test for fourteen to sixteen hours a day for the past year. He told the reporters that he took one day off from studying every three weeks. This standardized test is the sole factor in deciding if these Chinese students will be accepted into college. It lasts for nine hours and is only offered once a year. Only three in five students who take the test score high enough to get a college acceptance. There are a lot of issues that stem from the intensity of this test. For example, there has been a great deal of bribery from those who have money, and cheating from others, as well as discord among families due to unsatisfactory results.

Response:
After reading this article, I have mixed emotions on the way I feel about this Chinese college admission test. Although it is a good thing that the number of people going to college and the number of college institutions located in China have both drastically increased within the past decade, I do not believe that this specific test should be the sole factor in determining the future of these students. I thought that the problems that we have with our standardized testing here in the United States was a serious issue; however, it looks great when compared to this test that the Chinese are taking. When one considers all of the factors that go into determining a person's intellectual capabilities, it seems ridiculous to limit those to one test. Some people are simply poor test takers, and to only be given one opportunity to prove your intelligence seems like a pretty big problem for those people. I do like the increase in importance that education has recently taken among the Chinese, but, I do believe that this test is going a little overboard and it certainly an unhealthy obcession.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/13/world/asia/13exam.html?_r=1