The National College Entrance Exam Reforms by Carmen King Few things mean more to Chinese youth than Gaokao. The National College Entrance Exam is also called Gaokao. This is based on the pinyin of the name in Chinese. This one exam is life changing for Chinese youth. It will decide if and where they go to college. Few topics are more important to Chinese youth or their parents. As such the National College Entrance Exam or “National Exam” as we will call it for short is essentially the equivalent of the SAT’s overseas. Just as students in other countries cram for the SAT, so the Chinese students study day in and day out in preparation for the National Exam.

Despite the concept of the SAT and the National Exam being the same, namely being an aptitude test. The others details and the culture surrounding them is very different. In Tianjin the National Exam is held every year on the same two days, June 6 and 7. Some other areas in China extend testing to a third day on the 8th. As National Exam time arrives, even expats can actually feel the tension around town. From teachers, to parents, to the children themselves it is all about the National Exam. During test time, on the 6th and 7th, it is even restricted for people to blow their horns in the areas nearby the schools so as to not disturb the students.

Cheer for themselves

Students start preparing for the National Exam early on. The final year of high school is like a yearlong cram session with nonstop studying going on. From daily classes which often go into the evening hours to weekend tutor sessions or additional private classes being taken on the weekend, it is an all out war against the National Exam. Students are like little soldiers getting up at the crack of dawn and only getting a few hours of sleep after a long hard day of “battle”, filled with reading, writing and reviewing. The amount of homework the average Tianjin student has far exceeds anything seen or imaginable overseas. These poor little souls are put under insane pressure as the National Exam nears.

According to Baidu the National Exam at current is divided into four sections. It has three sections which are universally tested. These are literature, math and foreign language (this is typically English). Each of these sections can have a maximum score of 150 points, or a total of 450. The fourth part is chosen by the student depending on which college major they are pursuing. They will either take a comprehensive liberal arts test or a comprehensive science test. The liberal arts test includes politics, history and geography. The science test includes physics, chemistry and biology. Each subject has a max score of 100, for an overall total of 300. This score is added to the other three section scores. The total highest score for the National Exam is 750.

Based on this score, colleges can be chosen. College selection in general goes like this. First, a student has to make a best guess on what his National Exam score will be. Then he picks schools based on that theoretical score. Obviously, this only creates more stress and anxiety as there is always the possibility the test score will not be as high as expected. Thus the student would automatically lose out on the opportunity to apply for that school. This is one of the things which the new National Exam reforms are supposed to address. Instead of students needing to pre-pick schools based on these hypothetical scores, they will simply apply for the school of their choice. The school will then consider the application and decide whether or not to invite the student for study.

Out of exam venues

According to Baidu in March, 2014 information related to the future reforms of the National Exam where made available. First, no longer will there be a distinction between liberal arts and science. Instead everyone will take the same test regardless of major. Second, the foreign language portion may be tested more than once, with the student getting to keep the highest of their scores. Third, scores from both the National Exam and the Academic Test for High School Students will be considered. That test is taken at the end of high school, again as a measurement of aptitude. Fourth, colleges will look at a student’s involvement in extracurricular activities, such as volunteer work. Fifth, stricter controls will be put in place to avoid leaking out test content prior to actual testing and in-exam cheating. Sixth, students in less developed areas such as the countryside will be given a higher chance to go to college.

As to when these reforms will actually take place, only time will tell. Currently it appears some reforms are already being tested in locations like Shanghai and Zhejiang Province. The results of these changes will be documented, reported and analyzed. The date of 2017 has been thrown out there as a critical year for the collection of such data. With complete countrywide reforms happing sometime in 2020. Will the full roll out of reforms not being until perhaps as late as 2020 most students won’t be getting relief from the current National Exam stress anytime soon. The current stress associated with National Exam has created a generation of “book worms”. Many Chinese students have little time for anything other than study. There overall health and athletic ability is often subpar. Around Tianjin it is not uncommon as dusk hits to see school age children still out and about hauling their overstuffed backpacks.

Waiting for the exam

Many Chinese students have the dream of going to college. Young Chinese adolescents have really have become nothing but testing machines. These students memorize insane amount of facts and figures with the single goal of getting a high score on their National Exam to the joy of their parents and teachers. Preparation for the SAT abroad can also be very stressful. However the general tone associated with taking the National Exam and the SAT is quite different. In Tianjin going to a good college is primarily based on National Exam scores. Parents tend to demand good test results, not hope for them. Students are under constant pressure as senior year approaches. In Chinese there is even the saying “one test decides one’s life”. That test one test is the National Exam.

Will the future National Exam reforms bring with them a more balanced testing environment? Will students be encouraged not only to do well on the National Exam and their High School Test, but also add in a healthy amount of extra-curricular activities such as volunteer work? In addition will the reforms open up the door to a wider spectrum of students having the opportunity to attend college? These are all the questions looming as the new policies take shape and roll out. One thing is for certain, what one becomes in life is certainly not decided on by one mere test. Students need to be able to face the future with open minds and optimism instead of passing the better part of adolescence with nothing more than the nightmare of trying to score well on the National Exam tormenting them.