The Validity of Chinese College Entrance Exam Is Questioned

Xiaoqi Jin (Jessica) Professor Karen College English Writing 23 July 2012 The validity of Chinese college entrance exam is questioned Introduction The Chinese College Entrance Exam is some ways like the SAT, except it lasts more than three times long as the SAT tests. It is offered just once a year and the result of the two days exam greatly affect the future of any Chinese student. The score determines whether you can receive the college education and what level of the education you can enroll in. For most place of China, only a half of the students are eligible for the college education.
One Chinese compared the exam to a stampede of “Thousands of soldiers and tens of thousands of horse across a single log bridge. ” The time and difficulty it takes for all the soldiers to cross the bridge showcases the students rush to pass the exam. Only a few students qualify to sit and pass the exam. Most colleges rely on the composite score, rather than individual subject scores, the value of the entire exam is questioned by the study (Shum & Zhang 55). History of the exam The exam is a national determinant in the academic council in China.
Taken annually, the exam is a prerequisite in almost all education institutions in China universities. Students are required to take the exam in the last year of their high school education. No age restriction is placed on the individuals taking the exam hence the number of candidates’ increases as years go by (Hargreaves, Lieberman, & Fullan 352). The exam helps the Chinese education system to develop a simple method of placing individuals in the correct course. Regulation of the number of students enrolled in the educational system aids regulating student population growth in the institution of education.

The exam sets to enroll students with specified standards into higher education systems. The procedure The exam runs under equivalent rules as those of SAT. The exam runs to 2 or 3 days with papers offers in Mathematics, Chinese and a foreign language. The entrance exam also requires the candidate to handle papers in six other standard subjects, 3 being sciences and 3 being humanities. The program a student hopes to study determines the subjects examined. On an overall experience, the students go through a science integrity test, a general integrity test, and a humanity integrity test.
The general procedure and requirements of the exam is set within the constitution of the republic of China. The student taking the exam has to have a high school diploma or its equivalent. Health is also an important factor the education system considers. The examination council does not allow for students enrolled in a higher education program to take the exam. Students applying for special courses such as the military are allowed to take the exam with special specifications (Shu 52). The advantages and disadvantages of the exam
The exam is important to the Chinese people as it offers a fair platform for talents presented by the China students. Every student is considered equal before the marks, which makes it fair for students to enroll in colleges. The exam elevated the will of teenagers to accomplish in the academic sector. In a technological oriented country like China, the exam is important as it improves the level of education. Students strive to perform well as it determines their success. The exam works with individual groups within a community who associate with leadership of an area.
This helps gain control over the set territory in the community. The exam helps the country deal with illegal behavior, either as a group or individually (Burger 177). The youth are vulnerable to becoming unproductive gang members as they have all characteristics that meet the gang demands. Various ethnic backgrounds have gangs operating on the streets. Young people become gang members for benefits such as protection, respect, money and power. The vulnerability of the youth provide an easy time for gang leaders, as the benefits are influential. The benefits are the main reason as to why individuals join the gangs.
In most cases, the youth lack the benefits hence; do not hesitate on joining the gang. The community fails in supporting the youth realize success, safety, and financial security hence they opt to join a gang instead. On joining the gang, the youth gain a feeling of identity as they have relations through bonds created in the gangs. Placing the examination provides the students with an opportunity of leaving a better life (Burger 177). Geographical boundaries defined by cultural, social, and economic forces are the distinctive characteristics in taking the examination.
Institutions protecting other institutions are common in identification of which class each education system relates to in the community. Characteristics common to various education institutions across boundaries include social adjustment problems, tribulations or trials of the members, handling the business, and the jobs offered to the members. Most of the youth have no choice but to join these institutions to further their studies. Poverty and unemployment is a significant contributor to the youth enrolling into these institutions.
The reason is the same across boundaries as the youth enrolling in the youth lack needs due to effects of poverty, and unemployment. Once joining the institutions, the youth expect to have a bright future, which is not the case. The exam system makes the students concentrate of blue-collar jobs forgetting the skills they could deploy in practical oriented jobs. Youth that face challenges are prone to joining the job marketing to gain the advantages that come with joining the industry. The study comes with distinctive identities such as money, security, and popularity.
Vulnerable youth with no financial support find refuge in deploying for the exam to match up to pressure from their peers. The educational system does offer individuals from different backgrounds the same environment of study. A less privileged youth falls into gang activity to secure comfort. The youth who are technologically advanced fall prey of joining gangs. The progress is visible in social networking sites. Social networking sites establish as a distinct with graffiti tags, signals, and colors, which attract the youth to joining.
The study attracts individuals from one location as it becomes easy to find them online, and offline. Technology and study grows, and in China, the students elevate the ideas through sharing the ideas on the social networking framework (Shum & Zhang 52). How does the exam affect the well being of the youth in China? The age of individuals allowed take the exam is not limited to teenagers as they come with the characteristics required to run activities. Teenagers are vulnerable to lack money, security, and power. They are willing to earn this at every cost.
The exam controls teenagers easily as opposed to young adults who attain the benefits on their own. Age affects the performance of the exam by setting the limit of the people who can sit for the exam annually. Some gangs have different age sets for different jobs. Research shows that the benefits for the exam include protection, respect, money and power. Individuals who do not meet the exam targets suffer distortion from the leaders. Threatening is common against the members, and their family members if they do not meet the rules set by the exam.
Research displays the benefits of passing the examination with the vulnerable wants that the youth lack. Youth from poor backgrounds lack the pleasures that come with constant financial supply. They become vulnerable to the conditions set by the educational systems (Hargreaves, Lieberman, & Fullan 352). Conclusion Different examinations set to acquire different purposes. Taking the exam requires the individual to pass the set subjects. A target placed on the pass mark is keenly followed, failure to which the member faces consequences.
A student who fails to acquire the pass mark result is subjected to passing the exam once more. China’s system of education may mimic the SAT certification but it plays a role in ensuring that the students acquire basic education before setting to study a higher program in the university. Enrolling the students to university through the examination is essential in setting pace for the right direction. Instilling the importance of knowledge through examination may sieve the success path of many students, but they elevate level to which students find education important.
The rush for students to achieve excellent results remains a challenge as the pass mark rises according to the results.
Works Cited Burger, Jerry M. Personality. New Jersey: Cengage Learning, 2010. Hargreaves, Andy, Ann Lieberman and Michael Fullan. Second International Handbook of Educational Change, Volume 2. New York: Springer, 2010. Shu, Hui. Sojourners in Transition: Chinese Women Undergraduate Students at an American University. New Jersey: ProQuest, 2008. Shum, Mark Shiu Kee and Delu Zhang. Teaching Writing in Chinese Speaking Areas. New York: Springer, 2005.