Gaokao: College Entrance Exam

Stressed Chinese student preparing for gaokao 

In my previous post, I wrote about the grim employment situation millions of graduates are facing now. However, in order to get into colleges, high school graduates have to pass one of the most stressful tests in the world, college entrance exams, also called “gaokao”. According to Xinhua News, Chinese education officials forecast a nationwide drop in the number of students taking the gaokao exams this year since many educated young Chinese after their graduation cannot find jobs that can effectively utilize the skills they learned in college.

The gaokao, which can be compared to SATs, is observed as one of the most important life events for the participants and their parents because college admissions in China are solely dependent on how well the students perform on this particular test. The results of these specific tests can ultimately change the fates of many students, especially for those who come from the countryside to climb the social ladder (Jing, 2007). For instance, my friend’s case reflects what I had written above. He was a farmer’s son, raised in a small village. Being the first in his entire family to go to a prestigious university, the results of the gaokao totally changed his destiny.

 The Chinese people have always been advocates of education.  Selecting talent through exams is a tradition in China, and passing the exams was considered one of the most important accomplishments in a person’s life.  Keju, the imperial civil service exam, was first adopted in the Sui Dynasty (581-618 A.D.), and lasted through the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). Intellectuals who wanted to be an official must take the multi-tier examination.  The keju was a high stakes gateway to the ruling class that, during its 1,300 year history, proved to be one of the only ways of gaining social promotion. I remembered that we had read lots of sad, happy, and bizarre stories in my high school years about individuals who studied for the keju or about their long journeys to the sites where the keju was held. The present gaokao is an evolved version of ancient keju. After a decade-long suspension during Cultural Revolution, the gaokao was restored in 1977. Based on the records, almost 6 million students competed for 220,000 university spots.

After more than 20 years, I still remember what it felt like to take the gaokao. My experience with gaokao was in the summer of 1984. Before the test, I was very stressed out in preparing for it. I got so nervous that I was biting the pencils in my hands while I was taking the tests. Many anxious parents were waiting outside the classrooms. My parents came and brought food and other treats to my classmate’s house where I stayed during the two hour lunch break. I felt guilty for the fact that my parents did so much for me and I did not make it into good university. Eventually I ended up at a local university. In retrospect, gaokao was a bitter experience to me.

It has been more than 30 years since the first gaokao after Cultural Revolution. There have been many controversies about the gaokao (Jing, 2007). The gaokao puts too much psychological pressure on the students and their family, especially for the fact that a single test decides one’s destiny (Jing, 2007). It is also unfair to many students in the area where fewer colleges or universities are available in their local regions or provinces since they are correlated with the admission quota (Jing, 2007). Many believe that the gaokao discourages the training for student’s creativity because the cramming teaching methodology is often employed to boost the student’s test scores (Jing, 2007). 

There are probably many answers to why China has suffered from this lack of innovation, but the gaokao have contributed to a widely recognized problem in Chinese education.  Now looking back at it, I thought that most of the information that we had learned in school had no practicality in real-life situations. I believe that despite having many upsides, the gaokao has not benefited many people as it was thought to be. Although so many problems have been realized, there is not much better system available for choice. The education reformation is another one lying ahead of the Chinese educators.  

Works Cited:

Chinese students: The most stressed in the world. (2009, June 08) cnreviews.com Retrieved April, 10 from http://cnreviews.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/gaokao.jpg

Jing, X. (2007, June, 27). Test Under Test. Beijing Review, 2007 Volume 50, Issue 25 PP28-29. Retrieved March 19, 2011from Academic Search Complete Database.