June7,2017:Onthefirstmorningofthegaokao,parentsarewaitingrightoutsideanexamsitewiththeircellphonesreadytotakephotosassoonasthekidswalkout.AYouthful,BrutalArena
Thisyear’sgaokaodrew9.4milliontest-takers.Asalways,mostoftheirparentswaitedrightoutsidetheexamsites,withcellphonesreadytotakephotosassoonasthekidswalkedout.
Afewotherwaystogetadmittedtocollegehaveemerged,suchasrecommendations,enrollmentpriortotheexamorstudyingabroad.ButforthemajorityofChinesestudents,thegaokaoremainstheirbestshotatgettingintoagoodschool,andmostworkextremelyhardinthehopeofachievingtheirdreams.
Hengshui,about300kilometersfromBeijing,isalittle-knownmedium-sizedcityinHebeiProvince.Itfirstcaughtattentionbecauseofitspositionatthebottomoftheprovince’scitiesintermsofGDP.Notsotoday.Overthelastfewyears,HengshuiHighSchoolhasbecomeagaokaopowerhouse.In2016,itsstudentsreceivedthetopfourscoresintheprovinceand139graduateswereacceptedtoTsinghuaandPekinguniversities—twoofthemostprestigiousinstitutesofhigherlearninginChina.Thatwasmorethanhalfofallthestudentsintheprovincetobeadmittedtothetwouniversitiesthatyear.Notsurprisingly,itispopularlyreferredtoasa“gaokaofactory.”
Andtheterm“factory”iswarranted.Students’schedulesaredefinedtotheminute:Riseat5:30a.m.,runwithabookinhand.Thenmorningself-study,breakfast,and13classeswithalunchsomewhereinbetween.Afterschooltheyjogtothedininghallfordinner,andthencontinuestudyinguntilthelightsgooffat10:10p.m.
ZhiChaoyang,27,isagraduateofHengshuiHighSchool.Hisdaysthereremainfreshinhismemory.“Itwasarulethateveryonehadtogotobedwhenthelightswentoffinthedorm,”herecalls.“Ateacherpatrolledeveryhourafterwards.Ifyoueventurnedover,youcouldhaveatalkintheteacher’soffice.”
Zhiadmitsthathishigh-schooldayswereboring.“Myteenageyearswerefilledwithnothingbutclasses,studyingandendlesstests.TheSaturdaytestsandthescorepostingsmadeeveryonenervousallthetime.”ThreeyearsofpainstakingeffortsresultedinhisadmittancetoJinanUniversity,andnowZhiisasenioranalystatErnst&Young,oneofthetopfouraccountingfirmsintheworld.
“Mysterilehigh-schooldaysmadeithardformetoassimilatewiththerestoftheclassduringmyearlydaysatcollege,”herecounts.“TheylaughedatmebecauseIknewnothingaboutHarryPotterorStarWars.Forquiteawhile,Istayedprettyquiet.Evennow,Iwouldmakethesamechoiceagainifpresentedwiththeopportunity.Despitealotofproblemswiththegaokao,Ibelieveit’sarelativelyfairbattlefield.ItwastheonlyavenueformetoshakeoffpovertyandbecomewhoIam.ButIwouldn’twishitonmykids.Iwantthemtohavemoreoptions.”
StudyingAbroad
Wheneveryoneelsewasfidgetinganxiouslyastheywaitedforthegaokaoresults,LiYao,aseniorfromDongzhimenHighSchoolinBeijing,wasascoolasacucumber.Fourmonthsearlier,hehadalreadyreceivedanoffertoenrollintheDepartmentofAnthropologyatMcGillUniversityinMontreal,Canada.Hedidn’tevenhavetoattendschoolinthesecondsemesterandstayedhometoresearchcoursesforMcGill.However,Liescapedthefiercecompetitionofthegaokaobystartingtheracemuchearlier.Mocktestbooksforstudentstoprepareforthegaokaocanbefoundinalmosteverybookstore.Suchbooksaccompanyseniorhigh-schoolstudentseveryday.
AsmoreChinesehigh-schoolstudentsseektostudyoverseas,foreigneducationinstitutionshavelaunchedexhibitionstoattractChinesestudentsandtheirparents.
June5,2016:Nearly1,000high-schoolstudentsfromMaotanchangTown,Liu’anCity,AnhuiProvincetraveltodowntownexamsitesin19buses.Thousandsofparentsseethemoffoutsidetheschool.
AcandidateinBeijingtakesthelastminutesforfinalreviewpriortoanexam.Li’sfinalexamstartedthedayheenteredhighschool.“Anthropologywasalreadymypassion,”hesays.“Itwasmydreamtostudythesubjectatauniversitytoestablishacareer.”Becauseofhispassionforasoftscienceatsuchanearlyage,someonesuggestedhestudyabroad,especiallyconsideringhisimpressivescoresinEnglish.
AnEnglishperformanceexaminationisrequiredforadmittancetoschoolsabroad.Duringasummercampataforeignschool,LiworkedhardstudyingfortheIELTS(InternationalEnglishLanguageTestingSystem)andendedupscoringfarabovetherequirementformostforeignuniversitieswith7.5points,whichwasgreatlyinspiring.
Duringhisfinalyearofhighschool,LipreparedforthegaokaolikehisclassmatesandpreppedonweekendsfortheSATswhilestudyingmaterialsrequiredtoapplytoinstitutesofhigherlearninginNorthAmerica.
“IeventuallychosetostudyinCanadabecauseofatripthereduringprimaryschool,”Lirecounts.“ItwasmyfirstvisittoCanadawithmyfamily,andIwasdeeplyimpressed.”HechoseMcGillforitsreputedteachersinthefield,withhopesthattheycouldbroadenhisvisionandsteerhisfuture.
Thecomparativelyaffordabletuitionwasanotherconsideration.“I’msoluckythatmyparentscouldaffordalltheexpenses.”FormanyfamiliesinChina,anannualrateofabout300,000yuanisfartoomuch.
ButLiYaoisnotanoutlier.
Recentstatisticsshowthatin2017,60,638candidatesregisteredforthegaokaoinBeijing,584lessthanin2016.Totalregistrationhasdeclinedfor11consecutiveyears.
Foreignuniversitieshavetakennoticeofthetrend.SomanyChineseparentsareeyeingforeignschoolsthatmanyhaveestablishedofficesinChina.Streamsofinternationalexhibitionsandeducationfairshavesoldoutinbigcitiesasincreasingnumbersofyoungerstudentsseekundergraduateopportunitiesoverseas.
InsomeChinesemetropolises,highschoolsnowofferinternationalclassesincollaborationwithNorthAmericaneducationalinstitutionsthatfeaturetheexactsystemsettingsofhighschoolsonthecontinent.Chinesecollegesanduniversitiesarealsolaunchingsuchprograms.Someparentssimplysendtheirkidsdirectlytohighschoolabroad.
Thegaokaoandtheattractivemarketforstudyingabroadcanpeacefullycoexist.Today,theoncedefinitivegaokaohasanewflavorinthenewera.Ataneducationalcrossroads,theyoungergenerationinChinaareenjoyinggreateroptionsfortheirfutures.