The Chinese College Entrance Exam: Blocking Shandong From A Better Future
The Chinese College Entrance Exam (aka Gaokao) is an exam that every Chinese student has to take to get into colleges. The score of Gaokao is basically the only way that college can get to know a student’s ability and competence. Therefore, Gaokao is extremely important for every Chinese student — — the higher the score is, the more likely students can be accepted to top universities.
However, Gaokao is different among different provinces in China, so here comes the education inequality. For students in Shandong, the required score for Gaokao is ridiculously high. To be more specific, students in Shandong have to put much more effort than students in other provinces to get into the same college, since students in Shandong have to get a higher score to receive the offer. As a result, many students in Shandong lose the opportunity to get into a better college with the block of Gaokao score requirement.
Granted, the different requirements for the Gaokao score are not completely unreasonable. For students in less-advanced provinces, like Xinjiang, they can get into top universities with a relatively low score in Gaokao. However, this does not mean that students in Xinjiang put less effort into studying. Xinjiang, as a relatively less-advanced province, has a poorer education resource. Therefore, the Chinese government regulates the Gaokao score requirement to SUPPORT more students, who live in the lack of educational resources, to enjoy better education.
On the other hand, for students in highly-advanced provinces, like Beijing, Gaokao is not that hard as it is for students in Shandong. Students in Beijing have far better education, and they have more opportunities to enrich their experience, which will be beneficial to improve their competence in Gaokao. As a result, it is easier for students in Beijing to get a higher score than students in Shandong. However, here is the problem: students in Beijing and Shandong share a similar Gaokao score requirement. In other words, although students in Shandong have poorer education, they have to compete with students in Beijing on the same level.
What worsens the situation is Gaokao Immigrants. Because of the unequal Gaokao score requirement, many families decide to move to other provinces when their children are about to take Gaokao. For example, a few of my classmates move to Xinjiang days before the Gaokao. They receive a better education in Shandong and a lower requirement score in Xinjiang, so it is extremely easy for them to get into top universities in China. The Gaokao immigrants hurt not only students in Shandong, but also students in less-advanced provinces.
Personally, I think there is no “right side” in the debate of Gaokao requirements. Such inequality causes Gaokao immigrants, which is hurting every student in every province. Therefore, I think Gaokao immigrants are what need to be stopped. To eliminate the Gaokao province, in the end, there should be a more reasonable policy regarding Gaokao score requirements.
