The Chinese National College Entrance Examination

Gaokao and Harmful Competition
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Gaokao and Harmful Competition
Introduction
The Chinese National College Entrance Examination (NCEE) also known as the Gaokao is the single most important determinant of examinees’ future and the driving force behind the whole nation’s education system and curriculum. Gaokao is taken by Chinese students in their final or third year of high school and is the sole criterion for admission into the country’s top universities. The Chinese national college entrance exam has for several years been blamed for the toxic levels of stress that both students and families experience (Zhao et al., 2015). Preparing for the high-stakes standardized exam, which dictates students’ careers, wealth, and even marriage prospects, is a grueling process and most students spend their final year of high school nervously preparing for the tests. While most people criticize the exam for putting overwhelming stress and pressure on learners, most people support the taxing assessment because it gives the disadvantaged a chance to succeed in life.
In a country rife with corruption, Gaokao is often viewed as a fair exam because of its uniform anonymously-graded tests: it is considered as the great equalizer that rewards hard work and an opportunity for anyone to climb the social ladder. However, only 1 percent of the nine and a half million students that take the exam are admitted to China’s top universities. The Gaokao system emphasizes learning sciences and technical skills critical to achieving the country’s goals of industrialization (Wu & Devine, 2017). In a society that often favors credentials over talent or critical thinking, a few points are considered the difference between wealth and poverty. Consequently, the competition between students is often unhealthy because the rewards for passing the exam are real and life-changing. This research paper will study the toxic competitive mindset among students taking the Gaokao and how this affects their future careers.
Background
Although the Gaokao system was started during the early years of university institution in China, the high-stakes testing system has a history stretching back to the Sui dynasty where government officials were selected using a national exam process (Wu & Devine, 2017). With the use of the keju system, applicants competed to be selected for the state bureaucracy. The grueling tests, just like the Gaokao, involved rote memorization of material and high failure rates fueled intense competition among candidates. High-stakes examinations in China have for more than 2,000 years driven unhealthy competition between students because the learning task has always been characterized as a means to social mobility. However, they have also been criticized for failing to promote deep learning and character growth among learners into well-rounded individuals (Yu et al., 2016). While standardized high-stakes tests ensure that everyone is chosen by merit and not by their wealth or lineage, it is not uncommon for students to resort to toxic competitive strategies. The Gaokao system is plagued by cases of cheating a...