Gaokao In China

Depending on different specific national conditions, every country has its particular way to select talents. In China, Gaokao is an academic examination held annually and the achievement of it is a premise for admitting into almost all institutions of higher education at the undergraduate level. The exams last for nine hours over a period of two days, depending on particular provinces. Although enrollment rates of Gaokao are diverse in specific provinces, the difficulty of examination are generally high for comprehensive factors. In the following essay, I would like to analyse three main factors of the great difficulty of Gaokao specifically, they are two fundamental factors about psychological and physiological pressure and one realistic factor

So, where does the psychological pressure come from? I’d like to analyse this problem from two aspects. On the one hand, social pressure is a crucial factor, and it also includes school and parents. According to BBC News, “Gaokao is seen as a make-or-break opportunity, especially for those from poor family, in a country where a degree is essential for a good job.(Jiang 2014)” Therefore, it is no wonder that most parents in China put great pressure on their children to ask them to study hard. And for schools, because the society focuses on the rate of admission into universities and judge quality of high schools through these data, they have to constitute rigorous teaching method to supervise students. On the other hand, For students themselves, the anxiety and confusion about future are amplifying their personal fears of Gaokao. Most students firmly believe that this test have an impact on their majors and future career path, so they force themselves to put Gaokao in the first place. Moreover, according to CNN, “success or failure can not only shape the lives of those who take Gaokao, it can also shape the lives of their families even Chinese dream.(Tan

We can find that the great difficulty of Gaokao certainly has some drawbacks, such as it may increases drop out rates, and even increases rates of teenage clinical depression in China. However, Gaokao is the most equitable and effective way to select talents in such a populous country at present. Imagine what the society would be like if we cancel Gaokao, in my view, there will have some people who are entitled to enjoy many advantages and privileges, and it will leads to a polarized society. In a word, I am confident that Gaokao will be reformed constantly with the development of China, and it will become a wonderful selection method one