Gaokao：Making the Grade

　　One test， one chance—that’s all there is for millions of Chinese high school graduates who prepare for the annual national college entrance exam， known as gaokao， in June， the score of which is the sole determinant of where they will attend college. Perhaps this is why Chinese parents are said to be so strict， especially when it comes to their children’s education. In many cases， at certain times of the year the entire life function of Chinese families is centered around preparing for the exam. Yanna Gong explores China’s examination culture in her first book， Gaokao： A Personal Journey Behind China’s Examination Culture， published by China Books， an imprint of SinoMedia International Group. Recently she spoke with Beijing Review contributing writer Corrie Dosh about the test， and what it’s like to bridge two cultures.

　　Beijing Review： Tell me a little bit about your motivations for writing gaokao. You mentioned the importance of education in your family—did you ever resent it？ Did you feel different from your classmates？

　　Yanna Gong： When I first began this project， I never actually had any plans to write a book. These past few years， there’s been a lot of media attention on China’s education system. For example， in both 2009 and 2012， the Program for International Student Assessment， an international exam that looks at the abilities of 15-year-olds’ scholastic performance in math， science and reading， ranked American students’ scores in the late 10s and 30s in these subjects while students in China ranked first. A few years ago at an education summit， Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates remarked that the United States needs to look to China to make education reforms. And for me personally， these seemed like quite dramatic events.

　　I think it was quite justified for me to be curious about this situation， specifically why China’s education system was seemingly so “elite” compared to our own. And given that this was such a hot topic， I decided to compile some information—statistics， data， analyses， and so on—to see if I could write a research paper on China’s education system.

　　After a bit， I realized there was so much more information than I originally imagined. A 20-page research paper would not suffice. So I started to compile all this information， and took trips back to China where I would primarily focus on interviewing students， parents， teachers， and principals and I’d ask them if they could provide any insight into China’s education system. The book kind of evolved from there.

　　In regard to education in my family， I think there were definitely times when I didn’t really understand why I had to do things so differently. I’d study for school， complete all the projects， and participate in class discussions. But then I came home and it was like there was more being expected of me. At times it was definitely frustrating， but through this project I learned the importance of it. And honestly， I value it immensely now.

　　Do you think the gaokao is fair？ On the one hand， it’s a chance for poor， rural students to change their lives； on the other hand， it’s a one-shot deal. What would happen if the gaokao were eliminated completely？

　　The gaokao really is a tricky thing. You’re right， it really could provide a lot of students the opportunity to move up socioeconomically， but on the other hand， what if you’re extremely sick or just have an “off” day？ Unfortunately， you just have to go with it. I think that they try to make the system as fair as possible. But the problem is that China’s population is simply too big for a change in the college admission system. If the gaokao were eliminated completely， I’m not sure how else students would apply. They couldn’t possibly do it in the same way as the United States， where we have essays， grade point averages， SAT/ACT scores， Advanced Placement class scores， and letters of recommendation going into the admissions process. There are so many students， it would take too long.

　　You talk about the cultural differences of Americans and Chinese when it comes to education. Americans may seem to have an anti-intellectualism streak and value resilience and creative problem-solving. Chinese culture values self-discipline and hard work. What values do you think prepare kids best for adulthood？

　　I think it’s important to understand that in order to be prepared for adulthood， it’s best to have equal parts of both. One thing that I think it’s essential to highlight is that both education systems can learn things from each other. They both have their strengths， but a bit of cross-examination could truly help build an extremely powerful education system.

　　As China’s middle class develops， do you think the gaokao will lose its importance？ Will there be more educational and job opportunities for young people who are not the best at standardized testing？

　　Given that the exam has existed for such a long time， I think that it’ll take quite a bit of reform for the gaokao to lose its importance. Chinese society is so focused on it， I think it’d be quite a shock for all to shift gears toward something else. But times are changing and who knows， maybe in a decade， what we once thought will no longer be.

　　If you have children of your own， what approach do you think you will take with their education？ What skills would you want them to have？

　　I never thought I’d say this， but I feel like I might follow the footsteps of my parents. I think I’ll do things a little bit differently when it comes down to the details， but I would really like them to understand both the Chinese and American cultures. I would hope that they would be academically successful in the classroom， but I would want them to foster their creativity and develop their passions.