介绍:
ust one day before the government report was delivered, on March 4, the Education Ministry of China announced that it will reform the Gaokao system and education enrollment, in order to further the educational fairness. On its official site, the ministry has published 40 key points of focus for this year.
The reforms include changes in scoring of Gaokao, which will come in a new 3 plus 3 format. Vice principal of the High School Affiliated to Beijing Normal University, Liang Yuancao, explains what it is.
High School Affiliated to Beijing Normal University
(Soundbite 1: Liang Yuancao, Male, Chinese)
"The three major subjects of math, Chinese and English are still kept in the unified exam of national or provincial level. In addition, students have to choose 3 scores out of the elective subjects including politics, history, geography, physics, chemistry and biology to be included in their overall scores of Gaokao. The elective subjects should be chosen according to both their own interests or superiority, and the requirements of the university they want to enroll."
Zhou Xingguo, principal of AnShan No.1 Middle School in northeast China's Liaoning province says that universities will not base their judgment of applicants solely just on scores in the future.
AnShan No.1 Middle School
(Soundbite 2: Zhou Xingguo, Male, Chinese)
"We also take in consideration of comprehensive assessments on elective classes as well as evaluations on morality standards, physical health, art cultivation and social practices. It is a multivariate enrollment system."
Professor Pang Weiguo from East China Normal University in Shanghai expresses positive attitude toward the reform:
Professor Pang Weiguo from East China Normal University
(Soundbite 3: Pang Weiguo, Male, Chinese)
"Students will be evaluated by their overall performances in their high school or even longer periods. For instance, some students who have strong capabilities on interpersonal communication or community and public welfare activities, which are hard to reflect on the test papers of Gaokao currently. So the comprehensive assessment is a more reasonable evaluation method."
Professor Li Ruifeng, deputy to the NPC from Taiyuan University of Technology in the province of Shanxi, says though having long been scolded for suffocating creativity, Gaokao has still been fair in selecting high-scoring students for the country's limited higher education institutions. However, he says the reform is a necessity and also an improvement to the current system.
Professor Li Ruifeng, deputy to the NPC from Taiyuan University of Technology
(Soundbite 4: Li Ruifeng, Male, Chinese)
"First of all, it changes the system of determining your future with a set of tests during a few days. Especially the English exam. After the reform, students can take the test twice in one year, and pick the better result to add to their total score, which will ease the pressure from both the students and their families. And, the elective subjects policy of the comprehensive evaluation system gives both the universities and the students better chances to make better choices."
Li says, the elective-class teaching method breaks the traditional fixed class arrangement in Chinese high schools, and encourages students to plan for their academic future when they are in secondary schools.
Under the current system, students bury themselves in studying for 12 years of primary and secondary education, and only start to think what they would do in the future after the Gaokao. The reform will help inspire students' potential and encourage in-depth pursuit of their interests.
Principle Liang Yuancao voices his support for the change.
(Soundbite 5: Liang Yuancao, Male, Chinese)
"The new system also allows academically gifted students to advance to a higher-level class according to their interests and talents, after they meet the common requirements on other subjects."
Principle Zhou Xingguo also confirms high schools in Liaoning province will change their curriculum to align with the Gaokao reform.
Professor Pang Weiguo believes under the new enrollment scheme, colleges may favor a student by taking into consideration the score of one of the student's three elective classes. This is a glad tiding for those who are particularly good at one certain subject.
[photo:baidu.com]
(Soundbite 6: Pang Weiguo, Male, Chinese)
"It's a common phenomenon in the earlier age of Peking University and Tsinghua University to accept students not only based on their overall scores but also on their elective classes. Famous historian Wu Han, well-known writer Qian Zhongshu, and top scientist Qian Weichang would not have been able to attend college under the current system. The reform also take in consideration of these kinds of students, it's good for them."
Pang also says the reformed Gaokao becomes similar to the American Scholastic Assessment Test, or SAT.
David Moser, Academic Director at CET Chinese Studies of Capital Normal University in Beijing who comes from the United States, gives a comparison of the two biggest college entrance examination in the world.
David Moser, Academic Director at CET Chinese Studies of Capital Normal University
(Soundbite 7: David Moser, Male, English)
"As some people may know that the SAT test for college entrance is only one of several criteria that colleges use to evaluate students in the United States. Some feels that it is a better system because it is a more comprehensive evaluation that looks at students from other angles, besides just the performance on the test. I think it is a good move for Chinese students to reform the Gaokao."
The reforms have also sparked discussion over how to ensure fairness of the Gaokao.
Many education experts say the reforms could objectively and comprehensively reflect students' improvement in middle school.
On the other hand, there are public concerns about the abuse of power. People are worried that the admission
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