THE HIGHEST EXAM

Testing, testing…

China’s gaokao is the nation’s “highest exam,” administered to everyone who wishes to attend college. A legacy of the ancient imperial exam structure, the gaokao provides the opportunity for anyone, irrespective of background, to shine academically. Doing well on the exam ensures admission to a leading university and, afterward, to membership in the elite economic, social, and political strata of modern China. This book by three scholars presents a history of the exam, told through their personal experiences and framed as a socioeconomic study of Chinese ambition in the 21st century. The gaokao serves as an example of the highly centralized structure of Chinese life. Just as central planning governs much of urban and rural life, so too does the system of learning come from the top. The exam structure reflects not only the highly technocratic foci of Chinese advancement, but also its long-standing values. Hard work remains the most important thing. China, however, is no straightforward meritocracy. “It’s not that China’s people are idealists who only believe in the power of an exam to predict intelligence,” the authors write. “Rather, China is a society known for connections and petty corruption—hence, the weakness of its institutions.” Children spend their lives taking exams, and family connections help with tutors and retesting. Teachers are not just paid; they are often personally compensated for a child’s education. The “murky waters of corruption in China” wash over this highly centralized system of advancement. And while success is quantified by score, and while that score stays with the student throughout life, failure is equally branding. This book paints a landscape of vast inequality passing itself off as meritocracy—an exposé of an increasingly powerful global nation and a warning to any society, east or west, that still believes in teaching to the test.

A detailed history of China’s educational testing system illuminates the nation’s values in a competitive world.