Is the Gaokao still an effective model for China and its students?
Traditionally, Chinese education has been measured on the basis of merit. Those who work hard, study the right facts, and pass the test, succeed. The test is China’s National Higher Education Entrance Examination, otherwise known as the Gaokao (高考- direct translation 'high test'). It is similar to the SAT in that it's a standardized test that determines college acceptance. However, the Gaokao is much more difficult than the SAT and is, for the most part, the only determining factor for college acceptance. The pressure adds up when companies in China only hire from the top universities, so scoring well on the Gaokao not only sets the path for college but also for one's entire career. The emphasis on the Gaokao promotes an academic system based on memorization, which means that students
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According to Traditions and Encounters, the first nationwide examinations were developed during the Han dynasty, in the early third century BCE. Emperor Han Wudi developed the Confucian educational system with the civil service exams- standardized tests- in order to select candidates for a nationwide bureaucracy (Bentley). Students could take these exams and based on their scores, they would be accepted or denied a position in the Chinese government, the most prestigious job in China. Throughout the rest of China's history, civil service examinations have been the basis for occupation and college acceptance. Today, China continues to place enormous emphasis on the examination. A Chinese student in Guanzhou, Jodie Wong, says that with China's huge population it is has been easier for college or career recruiters to assess candidates based on a single platform. Her classmate, Kevin, adds that "[the Gaokao] is almost the only way to judge your application."
The Qing empire ruled China with Confucianism as the main imperial system used until the very end. However, the beginning of Qing downfall result of the exam system became corrupted and filled with bribery. Instead of the fair examination on the knowledge of Confucianism, the wealthy use their power to get their ways, result in not the most qualified politicians. Additionally, it shows the lack of Confucius value in the Qing system. On the other hand, bureaucracy meant to improve the lives of the wealthy not the poor. Also, the money was given to the people with power and wealth, not to infrastructure.
First, the Han Dynasty was more important to the development of China because it created the idea of a Civil Service Exam. The Han Dynasty readopted the idea of having families rulers after the Qin Dynasty strayed from the tradition; however, they kept the idea of bureaucrats from the Qin Dynasty. They used appointed government officials to oversee the day-to-day work of their government. This lead them to implement the Civil Service Exam. The exam was meant to help chose the bureaucrats for the government. It was a test centered around the ideas of Confucius and how to apply them to everyday life. By making this a normal part of Chinese society, the Han Dynasty was able to extend government official job opportunities to people of all social classes. In addition, because the exam gave these opportunities to all people, all people put more emphasis on
The Han dynasty, instead, viewed their government bureaucracy in more high esteem. The origins of the Han dynasty bureaucracy were in the preceding Qin dynasty. This is described in one passage by Sima Qian, a Han historian, where he describes the first emperor of the Qin dynasty. In these writings he describes the first emperor, Qin Shihuangdi, as a very cruel despot who burned important writings, imposed cruel penalties, and was very arrogant.(FOOTNOTE). However, even Sima Qian acknowledges that he unified China through the appointment of officials to rule provinces, and standardizing their measurements and writing system.(FOOTNOTE). When the Qin dynasty ended in 202 BCE, however their bureaucratic system survived through the Han dynasty.(FOOTNOTE). This is significant because even though the Han viewed the Qin dynasty very poorly, they still enacted a bureaucracy that was very similar. The unique attributes of this bureaucracy was that it was more centralized, and cohesive then that of the Roman empire. Also, as mentioned earlier, it was better staffed and more equipped.
Han China and Imperial Rome used ideologies to shape their society. In Han China, Confucianism was used as a basis to control its bureaucrats and citizens. This ideology, created by Confucius, encouraged moral and cultural unity. It encouraged respect towards authority, and set guidelines for how an individual should act towards people above their social class and people below their social class. Han rulers created one of the first civil service tests, requiring applicants to have an understanding of Confucianism and other early writings to become a bureaucrat. This resulted in a
The children’s whole future hinged on just one test. It is China’s version of the SAT’s, but in China it is called “GAO KAO” or “tall test”. The children prepare their whole life for this one test. If they do pass they get a pick at top
Standardized testing has been ruling over the lives of students, making or breaking them in their education without fair judgement. Tests like the SAT and the ACT count for way too much when applying to colleges, which in turn limits the student 's capabilities to thrive in an environment that would benefit them. There are many problems within a standardized test that deems them to be unreliable as a true test of knowledge. Although designed to test groups of students on intelligence, standardized testing neglects to fairly acknowledge the abilities of each unique student which reflect their true capabilities.
As Wang Yuankang mentions in his book, Harmony and War, “Although the emperor…… held the ultimate decision power, as historian Charled O. Hucker observes, ‘the civil service dominated government to an unprecedented degree.’” There was a tight relationship between the civil service and the military force. At one point, the civil service was strong and powerful enough to control the military in Ming. The officials of the civil service were selected by civil service examinations system based on Confucianism. Emperor Hongwu recognized the value and great influence of Confucianism in Ming governance, “in 1369, he ordered the establishment of Confucian schools in every prefecture and country.” Also, “in 1381, the Ming court engaged in mass production of Confucian classics (the Four Books and the Five Classics) and distributed them to every county school in the country to be used for preparation for the civil service exams.” The civil service examinations took place triennially, and all of the questions were from the Confucian classics, The Four Books, The Five Classics, and Chinese
I do not believe Chua’s essay perpetuates a cultural stereotype; Chinese parents push their children to be smart, they feel this is the best way to show their children they care about them. Chua’s essay simply demonstrates the difference in ideals and expectations between both Chinese and Western parents. This not only shows a difference in Chinese and Western parenting but also in other cultures. My parents, who are Hispanic, would not celebrate or praise me if I brought home an A from school just because that is what was expected of me. Becoming smart was my only job; it was an easy job in their eyes. On the other hand, my daughter brought home an A and she was praised and rewarded for all the hard work she put in to make that happen. My
“High school grades reflect years of effort and are more reliable assessment of college potential than test scores.” Historians detected that standardized testing started back in the seventh-century in China. The government of China began to organize written exams to select people for the civil service. Also many educators try to make sure that they are following the right requirements but some of them don’t and do all sorts of stuff with the results. Many individuals would say that standardized testing is a helpful way of learning from what the student knows and doesn’t, but the consequences that teachers found out of the standardized tests are making the students have a decrease in critical thinking.
The Chinese government set up a wide system of primary schools. For the first time in all of China’s history the majority of the population received a complete basic education. Even though the government’s “Great Leap Forward” program didn’t put
Each country has its own kind of education, and education always plays an important role in affecting students’ life and study on many aspects. Having received ten years of education in China and two years of education in the U.S. I would like to compare and contrast a few significant aspects of these two different kinds of educations. Knowing that no two education systems are the same, the differences between American education and Chinese education allow countries to take the essence and discard the dross through learning from each other so as to improve their own current education systems.
I believe that this individualistic ideal is indeed a consideration in why such a great emphasis is placed on study and academic success both in ancient and modern China. But whilst looking into the topic, I discovered that there was an underlying model of communitarianism with their ethos on study. Chinese people believe that a sound education does not only ensure the future of the individual, but also the future and the development of the family and country on the whole. What this means is the Chinese people believe that that only through study, will China be able to ensure the longevity of its people and nation. The maxim from the Three-Character Scripture (an ancient Chinese writing) states, “if no proper education is given to children, their nature will go bad.” I believe the word “nature” can easily be substituted for the overall health of the future of the nation.
Abstract: Imperial examination in ancient China was developing based on the nine-rank system. From Sui and Tang dynasties to Guangxu year, Qing dynasty, it took more than 1300 years to evolve. The Imperial Examination is officially called Keju Examination in China, which was an important part of education system of feudal society in ancient China. In the mean time, it was a kind of officer-selecting system as well. It played a significant role in cultivating, selecting, and making use of talents. Modern examination system also takes example by the imperial examinations in ancient China. So we should attach importance to researching and studying it due to its enlightenment to the innovation
The differences that exist between the Chinese and American education systems are great and obvious. However, some of these differences don’t play to the strengths of the representative country. American schools allow for greater freedom of movement and choice, while Chinese schools decide the “what”, “where”, and “how” of educational circumstance for the students (Bush, tony, and Qiang Haiyan). These differences in structure should lead to a greater educational standard being held by China, but that isn’t always the case. This paper will examine the differences in education system in the two countries and show that the Chinese system, while
The differences between the Chinese education and the American education are more obvious in people’s mind, not only to the international students, but also to the native students and some people who study on this. As more and more Chinese students come to America to have better education, we should think about why the American education system is better and how could we change our system to have a new education system in China. These differences have some deeply reason, like the American is the nation which loves freedom. It took long time to make such a big difference between the two education systems, and we need longer time to change it. An undeniable