Gaokao: China's National College Entrance Exam

JsCh

Junior Member
Gaokao cheaters face dire consequences
By CHENG YINGQI (China Daily) Updated: 2016-06-07 07:28

b083fe95d63018c04c6601.jpg

An exam supervisor at Beijing Dongzhimen High School shows a monitoring device that can detect invisible earpieces used for cheating. The school is one of this year's gaokao sites.[LIU CHANG/CHINA DAILY]

After passing through multiple checkpoints, including facial recognition, fingerprint verification and a metal detector, students will finally be granted access, not to a bank vault, but to a radio-shielded room where they will take the national college entrance exam.

Chinese authorities are imposing strict measures to prevent cheating in this year's test-known as the gaokao-and those who cheat could get three to seven years in prison.

The anti-cheating measures also include the printing and transportation of test papers and the selection of exam supervisors.

Local education bureaus are collaborating with public security bureaus to introduce advanced technology that can identify cheaters.

For example, the Inner Mongolia autonomous region will use finger vein recognition-a new-generation biometric authentication technique that goes beyond fingerprints-to verify the identity of exam takers.

In Luoyang, Henan province, local authorities will use drones hovering 500 meters overhead to intercept any radio signals around the test buildings.

In a number of cities and provinces including Beijing and Guangzhou, all smartwatches that can transmit data will be banned.

Despite the deterrent value of harsh penalties, some cheaters are still willing to take the risk in other national-level exams.

For example, leaks of test documents to be used in this year's civil service exams occurred in Jiangxi and Anhui provinces.

"Under the current talent-selection system in China, exam performance is decisive for one's future. As a result, the general public pins high hopes on the fairness of large national exams such as the gaokao, the national postgraduate entrance examination and the civil service recruitment exams," said commentator Wang Jie of Beijing-based Science and Technology Daily.

Guo Dan, a Beijing mother whose daughter will take the gaokao in two years, said, "There is a benefit chain behind leaking test papers and organized cheating. So adopting stricter exam regulations will bring more fairness.

"That's why I support the new policies."

This year's gaokao will take place on Tuesday and Wednesday. About 9.4 million people are expected to take the exam.

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solarz

Brigadier
The GaoKao IS the Imperial Entrance Exam. Only the content changed. How it is administered, the process of study for it, and its importance, are all the same.

Cheating is rampant.
CCP members would get multiple fake ID's, get a smart friend to sit for it, and pass so they could go to Tsinghua or Beijing Normal or such.

I had two people tell me this to my face, that was how they were going to pass with their terrible grades. Dad was buying his way in. They do this in USA, as well as for the SAT and other international entrance exams.

It is also given around the days of June 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 to keep all the youth busy studying during the Tienanmen anniversary to quell any trouble.

Nearly all young Chinese, when they get outside China, know nothing of this and need to be pointed to websites for a day to catch up on reality.

My friend's wife turned to me in disbelief and said "Is this real?"

More ridiculous BS from the resident troll.

Gaokao was established in 1952, interrupted during the Cultural Revolution, and re-established in 1977. It's held in June because that's when the semester ends. The idea that it has anything to do with Tiananmen is ludicrous.

There are more than 60 million CCP members in China, the vast majority of whom are ordinary middle class people who joined to further their careers. Over 9 million students take part in the exam, so even if a tiny fraction of them cheat, that will still be a lot of cases in absolute numbers. It is absolutely BS to claim that only CCP members cheat.
 
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vesicles

Colonel
Yeah, the comment about the CCP members sounded a little weird to me as well. There is very few CCP members in high schools. It is notoriously difficult to join the CCP even in college. Joining the CCP as a high school student is almost unheard of. One in a million, I would say... The youth league maybe, but definitely not CCP.

And for those few who actually managed to join, their records must be impeccable. That most likely means they must be excellent, to the point of exceptional, students. Then there is no need to cheat.
 

phynex92

New Member
Registered Member
The GaoKao IS the Imperial Entrance Exam. Only the content changed. How it is administered, the process of study for it, and its importance, are all the same.

Cheating is rampant.
CCP members would get multiple fake ID's, get a smart friend to sit for it, and pass so they could go to Tsinghua or Beijing Normal or such.

I had two people tell me this to my face, that was how they were going to pass with their terrible grades. Dad was buying his way in. They do this in USA, as well as for the SAT and other international entrance exams.

It is also given around the days of June 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 to keep all the youth busy studying during the Tienanmen anniversary to quell any trouble.

Nearly all young Chinese, when they get outside China, know nothing of this and need to be pointed to websites for a day to catch up on reality.

My friend's wife turned to me in disbelief and said "Is this real?"

Gaokao is pretty much just a more intense version of the SAT that serves a differential factors for universities to pick the students. Contray to your claim, the test only takes place for 2 days of the year and the assertion that it is timed to keep the students busy for June 4th so that they don't cause troubles is simply groundless. This year for example, the dates are set for June 7th to 8th and it has been similar for dates ever since 1977 when the system was resumed (Tiananmen Square didn't happen until 1989 FYI).

My dad was tasked to mark the Gaokao tests a few times when we were residing in China and it is probably the most strict marking process of any test in this world. They were practically locked in a compound for a week to do the marking with PAP guards patrolling the entire premise.

If the Gaokao system can be rigged with such ease than how do you explain the meteoric rise of China in terms of science, culture and economics ever since system's reintroduction in 1977? While it is by no means perfect, it is probably the best system of selection a large country like China can implement that is reasonably fair to the greater population. Many members of my family have their lives changed because of this test (no one worked for the government before) and to say that they did it by cheating or due to their affiliation to the party is quite offensive.
 

solarz

Brigadier
Gaokao is pretty much just a more intense version of the SAT that serves a differential factors for universities to pick the students. Contray to your claim, the test only takes place for 2 days of the year and the assertion that it is timed to keep the students busy for June 4th so that they don't cause troubles is simply groundless. This year for example, the dates are set for June 7th to 8th and it has been similar for dates ever since 1977 when the system was resumed (Tiananmen Square didn't happen until 1989 FYI).

My dad was tasked to mark the Gaokao tests a few times when we were residing in China and it is probably the most strict marking process of any test in this world. They were practically locked in a compound for a week to do the marking with PAP guards patrolling the entire premise.

If the Gaokao system can be rigged with such ease than how do you explain the meteoric rise of China in terms of science, culture and economics ever since system's reintroduction in 1977? While it is by no means perfect, it is probably the best system of selection a large country like China can implement that is reasonably fair to the greater population. Many members of my family have their lives changed because of this test (no one worked for the government before) and to say that they did it by cheating or due to their affiliation to the party is quite offensive.

The Gaokao receives a lot of attention and the students are under a lot of pressure because it is mandatory (at least if you want to go to university). However, if we define difficulty as number of people who "pass" (i.e. get a desirable outcome), the Civil Service exam is a lot more difficult.

Gaokao typically has a 60-70% "pass" rate. You might not be able to get into your top choice university, but you'll still be able to go to a university. On the other hand, depending on the position you are applying for, the average success rate of the Civil Service exam is 1 in 26, with the most desirable positions having a rate of only 1 in 1000!

If you think about it, the Imperial Exams were designed to pick the best of the best among the entire country's scholars. The top 3 were slated for high posts in the imperial court, and were met by the emperor himself. Many scholars prepared for a life time for the exam, with some only succeeding in their 50's or 60's.

Compared to that, the Gaokao is just a bunch of kids taking a glorified final.
 

texx1

Junior Member
Cheating is rampant.
CCP members would get multiple fake ID's, get a smart friend to sit for it, and pass so they could go to Tsinghua or Beijing Normal or such.

I had two people tell me this to my face, that was how they were going to pass with their terrible grades. Dad was buying his way in. They do this in USA, as well as for the SAT and other international entrance exams.

It is also given around the days of June 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 to keep all the youth busy studying during the Tienanmen anniversary to quell any trouble.

Nearly all young Chinese, when they get outside China, know nothing of this and need to be pointed to websites for a day to catch up on reality.

My friend's wife turned to me in disbelief and said "Is this real?"

Be careful everyone,

Z5jdWTr.png



Reason (1) Tiananmen incident is a forbidden topic on sinodefence forum.

https://www.sinodefenceforum.com/sd-forum-rules-of-behavior.t7851/#post-359929

Reason (2) Post is full of anecdote stories trying to pass off as evidences in order to elicit responses.

Reason (3) Statements regarding CCP conspiracy are ridiculous as solarz have already pointed out Gaokou was established long before Tiananmen had taken placed. According to wiki, Gaokao (National Higher Education Entrance Examination) was established in 1952.

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Reason (4) Occam's razor, end-of-term examinations usually take place at the end of terms. June/July is usually the end of summer term. Simple logic with least assumptions dictates that Gaokao takes place in June because high school summer term is about to end.

Reason (5) Blanket statements regarding young Chinese not knowing anything about Tiananmen is at best dubious. There is a difference between not knowing and not wanting to talk about with possible judgemental foreigners where conversions about it will most likely be awkward.
 

vesicles

Colonel
If you think about it, the Imperial Exams were designed to pick the best of the best among the entire country's scholars. The top 3 were slated for high posts in the imperial court, and were met by the emperor himself. Many scholars prepared for a life time for the exam, with some only succeeding in their 50's or 60's.

Well, not exactly like that. Picking only the top 3 in the Imperial Exams was only the most glorious part. The top 3 got the most of the attention because they were the best in the nation from that exam. However, that does not mean they were the only ones benefiting from the exam. Far from it.

The old Imperial Exams were consist of many levels of tests, from county level, city level, provincial level and then national level. The top seeds in the county level could be advanced to the city level. Top seeds in the city then advanced to the provincial level. Then the top seeds in the provincial level went to the national level.

And the Imperial Exams was NOT a win-or-nothing deal. Of course, only the top seeds in the each regional level exams got to advance to the next level. However, you would only need to do reasonably well to get the benefit of the whole exam systems. Let me explain. even at the lowest level (county level), as long as you could place in a county level, which was not so difficult (something like top 10/20 in the county), you would be placed on a waiting list for govnt positions. As soon as there was a vacancy, they would enlist you and you would become an official in the county. However, you did NOT need to be an official to get the benefit. As long as you were put on the waiting list (even if you were not hired by the govnt), you would get a sizable pension (enough to live a comfortable life) and a free house along with other benefits.

Getting into top 10-20 at the county level was not as hard as it sounds. Back then, not many people could even read. So not many people attended the exam in the first place. And many people simply took the test, got into top 10/20, lived a comfortable live for the rest of their lives with the govn't pension and houses and everything. These people did not have to work a single day in their lives. So to many, passing the exam was indeed the ultimate goal. If they wanted to be more ambitious, they could get rich because of their unique status as a scholar and their titles. Yes, as soon as they placed in the exam (even at the lowest county level), they were given a title. these titles would not only gain them respect but also other real benefits.

In my opinion, this is why Chinese and other East Asian people with Chinese influence pay so much attention to education. Because in this exam system, there is less discrimination. Of course, people with influence and money could buy their way into the top seeds. However, there were always enough positions, especially at the lower levels. Thus, many poor youth managed to get in the top 10/20 and got a title. Then they could either live a comfortable live (with the pension and the house, etc), which was so much more than what they could hope for without taking the exam. or they could become an goon't official IF they were lucky enough to be picked. This was the ONLY way that the poor people could hope to change their lives. Any other ways would involve political and financial influence, none of which would be available to the poor. thus, education was the ONLY possible way for any poor youth in Imperial China to get out of their situation.
 
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bd popeye

The Last Jedi
VIP Professional
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YINCHUAN, June 7, 2016 (Xinhua) -- Parents of candidates who take the national college entrance exam wait outside an exam site in Yinchuan, capital of northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, June 7, 2016. China's national college entrance exam started from Tuesday. (Xinhua/Peng Zhaozhi)

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TAIYUAN, June 7, 2016 (Xinhua) -- Parents of candidates who take the national college entrance exam wait outside an exam site in Taiyuan, north China's Shanxi Province, June 7, 2016. China's national college entrance exam started from Tuesday. (Xinhua/Cao Yang)
 

taxiya

Brigadier
Registered Member
Gaokao cheaters face dire consequences
By CHENG YINGQI (China Daily) Updated: 2016-06-07 07:28

b083fe95d63018c04c6601.jpg

An exam supervisor at Beijing Dongzhimen High School shows a monitoring device that can detect invisible earpieces used for cheating. The school is one of this year's gaokao sites.[LIU CHANG/CHINA DAILY]

After passing through multiple checkpoints, including facial recognition, fingerprint verification and a metal detector, students will finally be granted access, not to a bank vault, but to a radio-shielded room where they will take the national college entrance exam.

Chinese authorities are imposing strict measures to prevent cheating in this year's test-known as the gaokao-and those who cheat could get three to seven years in prison.

The anti-cheating measures also include the printing and transportation of test papers and the selection of exam supervisors.

Local education bureaus are collaborating with public security bureaus to introduce advanced technology that can identify cheaters.

For example, the Inner Mongolia autonomous region will use finger vein recognition-a new-generation biometric authentication technique that goes beyond fingerprints-to verify the identity of exam takers.

In Luoyang, Henan province, local authorities will use drones hovering 500 meters overhead to intercept any radio signals around the test buildings.

In a number of cities and provinces including Beijing and Guangzhou, all smartwatches that can transmit data will be banned.

Despite the deterrent value of harsh penalties, some cheaters are still willing to take the risk in other national-level exams.

For example, leaks of test documents to be used in this year's civil service exams occurred in Jiangxi and Anhui provinces.

"Under the current talent-selection system in China, exam performance is decisive for one's future. As a result, the general public pins high hopes on the fairness of large national exams such as the gaokao, the national postgraduate entrance examination and the civil service recruitment exams," said commentator Wang Jie of Beijing-based Science and Technology Daily.

Guo Dan, a Beijing mother whose daughter will take the gaokao in two years, said, "There is a benefit chain behind leaking test papers and organized cheating. So adopting stricter exam regulations will bring more fairness.

"That's why I support the new policies."

This year's gaokao will take place on Tuesday and Wednesday. About 9.4 million people are expected to take the exam.

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!
The old imperial practice is back. A TV drama some years ago showed how imperial exams were done, participants are strip-searched before entering the compound. The test lasts several days. The participants are not allowed to leave the compound until finished all tests, food are delivered by relatives, friends or restaurants at the gate and checked by security guards. Participants sleep in the same cell where they take the exam. The cell is about less than 3 square meters. It is essentially a prison.

The only time in the Chinese history that there is a trust and honesty (that people don't cheat) was from 1949 to early 1990s. During this brief time, the only visible measure is the monitors (right word?) are from different schools than the students.
 
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solarz

Brigadier
Well, not exactly like that. Picking only the top 3 in the Imperial Exams was only the most glorious part. The top 3 got the most of the attention because they were the best in the nation from that exam. However, that does not mean they were the only ones benefiting from the exam. Far from it.

The old Imperial Exams were consist of many levels of tests, from county level, city level, provincial level and then national level. The top seeds in the county level could be advanced to the city level. Top seeds in the city then advanced to the provincial level. Then the top seeds in the provincial level went to the national level.

And the Imperial Exams was NOT a win-or-nothing deal. Of course, only the top seeds in the each regional level exams got to advance to the next level. However, you would only need to do reasonably well to get the benefit of the whole exam systems. Let me explain. even at the lowest level (county level), as long as you could place in a county level, which was not so difficult (something like top 10/20 in the county), you would be placed on a waiting list for govnt positions. As soon as there was a vacancy, they would enlist you and you would become an official in the county. However, you did NOT need to be an official to get the benefit. As long as you were put on the waiting list (even if you were not hired by the govnt), you would get a sizable pension (enough to live a comfortable life) and a free house along with other benefits.

Getting into top 10-20 at the county level was not as hard as it sounds. Back then, not many people could even read. So not many people attended the exam in the first place. And many people simply took the test, got into top 10/20, lived a comfortable live for the rest of their lives with the govn't pension and houses and everything. These people did not have to work a single day in their lives. So to many, passing the exam was indeed the ultimate goal. If they wanted to be more ambitious, they could get rich because of their unique status as a scholar and their titles. Yes, as soon as they placed in the exam (even at the lowest county level), they were given a title. these titles would not only gain them respect but also other real benefits.

In my opinion, this is why Chinese and other East Asian people with Chinese influence pay so much attention to education. Because in this exam system, there is less discrimination. Of course, people with influence and money could buy their way into the top seeds. However, there were always enough positions, especially at the lower levels. Thus, many poor youth managed to get in the top 10/20 and got a title. Then they could either live a comfortable live (with the pension and the house, etc), which was so much more than what they could hope for without taking the exam. or they could become an goon't official IF they were lucky enough to be picked. This was the ONLY way that the poor people could hope to change their lives. Any other ways would involve political and financial influence, none of which would be available to the poor. thus, education was the ONLY possible way for any poor youth in Imperial China to get out of their situation.

The lowest level degree granted by the Imperial Exam, 秀才, would probably be the equivalent of a bachelor degree. However, it was a lot more difficult to become a 秀才 than it is to graduate from university. For example, they would need to be able to recite by rote all of the most important classics (such as 论语,孟子), totaling about 400,000 words.

The benefits they received were minimal: the right to wear robes, being exempt from kneeling in front of magistrates, and a very small stipend that wasn't nearly enough for a living.

The next level, 举人, comes from county or provincial level exams. In order to even be qualified for the exam, the candidates need to pass annual exams. The probability of passing that exam (中举) is less than 10%. These are the guys that are on the waiting list for becoming low level officials.

After that, if they pass another exam at the provincial level, they can go to the capital to for nation level exams. The success rate is about 5%, but if they do succeed, they become 进士, which is the highest academic degree possible.

It bears noting that many students can't even become 秀才. A lot of people study well into their 60's to pass the lowest level exams.
 
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