The Gaokao

Today's lesson is about the Chinese Gaokao. It is the big test that all seniors in high school in China take at the end of their senior year. Their scores will determine what university they go to - and there is very intense competition to get into the best schools.
The senior year in China consists of review only. They do not learn anything new. All they do all year is intensive review and study the past exams that have been given.  They are in school 6 days a week, often until 10 pm. During this period in the students' lives, most parents relieve them of any duties they may have at home - no chores, no cooking, no cleaning (not that they may have been doing that anyways). They devote their lives to the Gaokao. The Chinese describe this period of their lives as horrible - and the day after the Gaokao is their release from hell.  The importance of this test underlies much of the way their education system is run. The only thing that matters is the final score.

Here at Gaoxin International High School, the students do not take the Gaokao because they are planning on going to a foreign university (the Gaokao is used only for placement to Chinese universities). Replacing the Gaokao are the AP tests. Their scores on the AP tests, along with their SAT scores and English Proficiency test (Toefl) results, are used to gain entry into U.S., Canadian, and English universities. And, unlike the Gaokao, their emphasis is on the junior year, because they need these results during their senior year to apply for admissions (AP test results do not arrive until the middle of the summer). With the AP tests geared up to start in less than 4 weeks, they are in full-on review mode. Many of them are taking as many as 6 AP exams - and I wouldn't classify any of them as easy... Because the majority of their AP tests are taken the junior year, their senior year is one of kicking back. It is extremely hard to motivate them. They may still take a couple AP tests, but they will not be used to get admitted to a college. GPAs are not used here as there is no good way to calculate them (the classes are team-taught with Chinese teachers who have completely different philosophies). When a GPA is submitted to a university for a student, no one (including the student), has any idea how it is arrived at. But it always seems to be 90% or better! Because of all this, my 2 senior classes are among the worst I have ever taught. What we do until the end of the school year (which this year is July 4) after the AP exams is anybody's guess right now...

The weather has taken a turn for the good the last couple days. I have even seen the mountains in the distance from the window of my apartment. That is rare indeed. Today is supposed to climb up to 85. Time to break out the short sleeve shirts!

One of my colleagues here bought a mahjong table for his apartment. This has led to some late nights on the weekends. It is not a difficult game to play, but the pace is fast and chinese characters on the tiles make it challenging for me. My next challenge is to learn Chinese chess!!