Daniel Asher Greenman

802

Thursday, 4•9•14

Gaokao Argument Essay

Every year, millions of students in China take a test that will determine the rest of their lives.  The test is very long, and places a lot of pressure on students. It is also incredibly important for just one test. The schools that train students for this test, therefore, have to be extremely demanding. The gaokao is an unfair and overly demanding test for chinese students.

The gaokao is an unreasonably important test, and so the pressure placed on the students who take it is extremely high. Says the article “China’s Cram Schools” by Brook Larmer, “Failing the gaokao likely means ending up in a factory or construction job.” This would obviously be very stressful for students. The article also says that there is pressure from individual families on their children to help the family by achieving a certain score. This shows that the gaokao is often too nerve-wracking for children while taking the test.

The test schools created to help with the gaokao are extremely demanding. As described by a former student at Matochang High School, Yang Wei, the school has “nothing to do but study.” Matochang tries to eliminate distractions by having no electrical outlets, no forms of entertainment, and generally isolated lifestyles detrimental to the health of a teenager. In another testing school, students were using intravenous devices to stay awake to study. Extreme techniques like this lead to student suicides as well. The extremely difficult, and sometimes depressing environment of test schools are unfair to students.

The gaokao is not fair to the millions of Chinese students who rely on its scores for so much of their future. They do not fare well under the pressure, and the options that help them only create more stress, which might only further lower their score. Hopefully, a less stressful system will be devised.