Fairness in China- the Gaotao test

A college education is valuable resource for many rural Chinese students living in poverty. They see a university education as a way out of poverty and an opportunity to grow along with China’s bustling economy. However these hopeful students have a particularly difficult road ahead when it comes to higher education.  That is not fair.

To begin with, most universities in China have fewer open spots available to rural students making the competition that much more intense. Additionally, the entrance exam, known as the Gaotao test, is a must and requires rigorous preparation beyond what could reasonably be expected of even the top students. There is no other way for a student from rural China to prove his or her abilities to a university. The days long exam is the only way. To make matters worse, the sacrifices made to prepare for the exam often break families apart and place an enormous amount of pressure on students. There is no guarantee of success. Students who do not test well enough to enter a university are left with no other option but to settle for whatever hard work they can find. Wealthier students, by contrast, have more options. They can hire tutors or study abroad. They have also been known to bribe universities. It is not fair to poor students to have so much ride on a single exam. The process limits the ability of many worthy students to continue their education.  

Students from rural areas are allocated less college admission spots than kids from the bigger cities. That is extremely unfair. Parents of these poorer students are also under a lot of stress. Yang Wei’s mother gave up her garment factory job and moved with him close to his school because of his 6.20am to 10.50pm classes. This is only one of many sacrifices his parents made for him to have a chance to attend college and be the first in his family to do so (his father is a peach farmer 45 minutes away).

Another unfair aspect is the entrance exam itself. A test score does not always show how good a student is. At Maotanchang , a school where most of the students are from rural areas, “everything taught in 10^th and 11^th grade is focused on what the Gaotao test”. “In 12^th grade, students just typically review and memorize what they have already learned.” None of what is studied includes the arts, creative, or cultural learning. Universities should consider students talents beyond one test score.

The teachers are also under huge stress to make sure they get good results on their student’s tests, their jobs are always at risk if their students don’t perform well. This has also resulted in strict conditions at Maotanchang, there are harsh rules and long hours. The school even prided itself on getting rid of the “distractions of modern life. Cell phones and laptops are forbidden. The dorms, where about half the students live, have no electrical outlets. Dating is banned.” Even outside of campus in the nearest town where the rest of the students live “mostly with their mothers in tiny partitioned rooms, the local government has shut down all forms of entertainment”.

“Rural students are at a severe disadvantage.” People with limited means cannot prepare the same way the wealthier city students can. Wealthy people can “hire tutors, pay for test prep courses and even bribe their way into better city schools.” The rural are even allocated less college admission spots than kids from the cities. That is extremely unfair. Parents of these poorer students simply don’t have the means to provide their children with any other options. The Gaotao exam is the one and only option for poorer students.

The Gaotao exam does not provide equal or fair opportunities to students from poor, rural areas in China. The extremely difficult exam which relies heavily on memorization offers only a make or break opportunity to these students. Students either do well enough to enter university or they must settle for whatever work they can find. As difficult as it is the exam does not measure the full potential of a student.  It does not help that universities have less spots available to students from rural areas. It would seem the cards are stacked against poor students who’s only hope is to do well enough on a single exam that takes years to prepare for. Perhaps in the future there will be a better way of measuring student’s abilities other than the Gaotao.