Heather Larsen – Educational Article

Educational Article: Is China’s Education System Keeping Up With Growing Superpower? By Jessica
Hopper ABC News

In China all students prepare in school to take the gaokao or the high exam, which is a grueling, multi-
day college entrance exam. It’s basically like a monster standardized test. Six years ago 9.5 million high
school students took the exam competing for only 6.5 million university positions.

To prepare for the exam the students begin primary school around age 6 or 7 like the U.S. and have
similar subjects that they prepare for. Compared to the U.S. students aren’t exposed to creativity
subjects as much and they spend far more time in school. Students spend 41 more days a year in the
classroom and average 30 percent more hours of instruction every year.

The Chinese education system says over and over again that their education system does not allow
creativity. It is a very strict program. The teacher will speak and the student repeats. What is the result
of this education system? The students that score high on the gaokao become instantly famous because
of their score, but they don’t go on to be Bill Gates or Mark Zuckerbergs. “After surveying more than a
thousand top scorers from 1977 to 2008 none of them stood out in the field of academics, business or
politics.”

1. In America we are striving towards building more creative and abstract thinkers. For my first
question I ask: why are we tied to such standardized tests that clearly enforce non innovative
thinking?

I read another short article in that quoted quite a bit of the first article, called Education in China V.
America: The Question of Standardized Tests posted by the Huffington Post.

Basically this article talks about how China wants to change its education system to create more
innovative thinkers. One quote from the article,

“When faculty of a major Chinese university asked [Professor Jonathan] Plucker to identify trends
in American education, he described our focus on standardized curriculum, rote memorization,
and nationalized testing. “After my answer was translated, they just started laughing out loud,”
Plucker says. “They said, ‘You’re racing toward our old model. But we’re racing toward your
model, as fast as we can.’”

When he says “our model” he’s meaning the hope in creating innovative thinkers.

2. For my second question, what part of our education system is good and should be magnified
more than the standardized tests?

Hopper, Jessica. "Is China's Education System Keeping Up With Growing Super Power?" ABC News
(2010). Website.

Post, Huffington. "Education In China v. America: The Question Of Standardized Tests." Huffington Post
(2010). Website.

http://abcnews.go.com/WN/China/chinas-education-system-helping-hurting-superpowers-growing-
economy/story?id=12152255

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/17/education-in-china-testing-diane-sawyer_n_785016.html