Chapter 221: The Real Purpose of Exams
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
With the end of May came the approaching excitement of two major events that were taking place in June. The intensity of the discussions around one particular topic had been gradually increasing. This topic was a hot debate for all citizens and the countless numbers of netizens.
The Senior High School Entrance Examination, and the College Entry Examination. The two exams that would decide countless fates and perhaps even the fate of the nation would soon arrive. This was the focus of the citizens discussions: How should this year’s Senior High School Entrance Examination and College Entry Examination be conducted?
Some would find it weird. What was there to discuss? It would be done as it had been done in the previous years. Unfortunately, the majority of citizens would roll their eyes in reply to this unchanging perspective. Maintain the old way of doing things? Not changing? Could the old way even be maintained? The old education system could no longer be maintained the day that the autonomous intelligent learning machine was born!
The Department of Education had no choice but to give up on the pilot program and make an overall adjustment. The quant.i.ty of learning machines produced had dramatically increased within the past two months. The total amount sold to date had exceeded 100 million units. A majority of the students who were willing and able to buy one had already done so. The widespread distribution of the learning machine had thoroughly messed up the original plans of the Department of Education. Some kind of adjustments had to be made no matter if it was the Senior High School Entrance Examination or College Entry Examination. The exams had to be adapted to the new circ.u.mstances. Otherwise, a major screw-up could happen.
The current circ.u.mstance could be summed up in one sentence: Top students were everywhere, but the bad students remained the same. Those who were willing to learn and apply some effort to their studies had all basically became top students, whereas those who were unwilling to learn, had zero apt.i.tude for learning, or were disobedient, remained at the bottom of their cla.s.s.
Two levels of change took place within the student body. Those that remained in the middle with average grades had become a minority. This was especially true for the students taking mathematics, physics, and chemistry. They either got between 90 to 100 points in their exams or they got 50 to 60 points. There were not many with 70 or 80 points.
It was all because of the learning machine! Besides the real slacker students that were beyond saving, students who were willing to learn could make use of the learning machine. The learning machine could adjust the structure of the knowledge trees, change the video dubbing, the speed and rhythm of the narration… All these would greatly help to optimize the learning outcomes. As time went on, two groups became clearly differentiated. They were the top scholars, who could now be found everywhere, and the bad students, who remained as they were.
Hence, this was the question. What should we do now that everyone was a top student? And what about those remaining bad students?
There were a limited number of “good” senior high schools and branded universities. They could only accommodate a portion of top students. But, the current quant.i.ty of top students were about three to five times more than previous years. All of them wanted to be admitted into the best senior high schools and universities. However, due to limited capacity, it was impossible for the top schools to accommodate a new student body that had abruptly swelled up to twice or thrice the expected size.
Should the bad students that were “beyond redemption” be left to their dire fate? Should they all be excluded from society then? Most of them were not really bad students. They truly could not retain any information and had no apt.i.tude for studying.
Hence, the focus of the public debates were on these two issues.
…
At the Court of Happiness, at the dinner table, Chen Gang looked at Chen Jin with a frown. “Son, you’ve created a big issue for everyone. The learning machine from your company was distributed too quickly and too abruptly! Everyone had not mentally prepared themselves for the social changes that this will cause. Now, our society is faced with a very tricky issue. If this is not dealt with in an appropriate manner, the whole society will be thrown into chaos! It’s important to earn money, but that should not be your sole focus. You’ve created a huge social issue!”Chen Gang shook his head. His tone was reproachful.
This time, He Li did not side with her son unconditionally. She nodded in agreement. “Son, your father is right. You’ve really been lacking in thought.”
Sitting on Chen Jin’s left, Su Yun started to feel nervous. She looked at him and wanted to say a few words to show her support. However, she looked at He Li and Chen Gang again. After some consideration and fearing their irritation and disapproval, she swallowed her words.
“Tricky?” Chen Jin smiled. “Why, I think that it’s not tricky at all. Instead, the problem has become clearer and even easier to resolve.”
“You—” Chen Gang was angered by his nonchalant att.i.tude. “Both exams will be starting in a few days and you can still laugh about it? You…” He really was getting angry.
“Dad, can you listen until the end? Why are you so angry when I’ve not even finished explaining my solution?”
Bang!
Chen Gang slammed the table with his fist. “Say it then! If you can convince me, I’ll apologize to you immediately!”
He Li looked at Chen Jin and said, “Say it, son. Mom will listen.”
Su Yun looked at him with curious eyes.
“The problem can be very easily solved.” Chen Jin slowly said, “I’ll use the senior high school entrance examination as an example. As this is a comprehensive exam that tests the results of the nine years of compulsory education, and the content tested are all basic knowledge, it is not necessary to reform the exam system. The exams will be conducted as they have always been!”
Chen Gang opened his mouth in shock. Not changing the mode of the senior high school entrance examination?
Chen Jin continued, “Z country’s nine years of compulsory education is the most successful and the most advanced in the global field of basic education. With the basic education in our country, our students have the best mastery of basic knowledge. Their basic knowledge is very secure. Nurtured by our education system, our outstanding junior high schoolers are equivalent to the high schoolers of other countries. We’ve done relatively well in the area of basic education. There is not much room for criticism. The problem lies in what happens after the senior high school examination. Students will be streamed into normal and top senior high schools. This differentiation is unnecessary. This has caused excellent education resources to be overly allocated to top senior high schools. As such, some parents who want their child to be admitted into a better senior high would spend large amounts of money on tuition and school selection fees. Students with ordinary qualifications could also get into a top senior high. Not only does this greatly raise the cost of education, this has also caused many outstanding students to be rejected by the top high schools. This is very unfair.”
Chen Jin paused, then said, “With the appearance of the learning machine, the average grades of the students have greatly improved. There is insufficient top senior high schools to accommodate these students. What should anybody do? Either get rid of the top senior high schools, or turn all high schools into top senior high schools! The allocation of the best education resources, including teachers, would be evened out across all senior high schools. All students will be able to get into the best senior high school.”
Turn all senior high schools into top senior high schools?
Chen Gang shook his head fiercely. “Then, what’s the meaning of the senior high school entrance examination? The purpose of exams is to select the best students. Now that everyone can get into a top senior high school, what’s the purpose of the entrance examination?”
“They do have meaning!” Chen Jin said, “The significance of the selection process still remains. Top students and bad students are clearly filtered. Those with no apt.i.tude for studying would be separated from those who do. As long as you have some kind of apt.i.tude for studying and are able to achieve a pa.s.sing mark, then you’ll be able to get into the senior high school that you want, as long as not too many people apply for it too (if there are too many applicants for one school, another exam could be held or a balloting process could be implemented; there would be another round of selection of some kind). But, I think that with the a.s.sistance of the learning machine, most students would choose the senior high school that’s the closest to their home.”
Chen Gang asked, “So, according to you, the current purpose of the senior high school entrance examination is to eliminate the students with no apt.i.tude for learning by not giving them the opportunity to study in a senior high school?”
“I don’t agree with the idea of ‘elimination’.” Chen Jin shook his head. “Many of the bad students are not really bad at all. They simply don’t have the apt.i.tude for learning. There’s no point forcing them to learn. But, they could be talented in other areas. If some of them were interested in the learning machine, they could apply to a technical school and become professional machine operators. They could also learn welding or fitting, becoming outstanding blue collar workers. If they were interested in vehicles, they could learn how to drive, learn auto repair, learn how to operate an excavator, and other construction machinery. These industries require a huge amount of manpower. Those with a talent for sports could become soccer players, basketball players, track and field athletes, or swimmers… Achieving honor and glory for the nation in the stadiums. Or they could learn chinese painting, art, voiceovers, theatre, etc… Countless occupations with good prospects await them. Actually, the purpose of exams is not to select the geniuses and tras.h.!.+ We should not simply differentiate the students into ‘good,”average,’ and ‘bad’ based on their exam scores! This approach is a grave mistake! It’s the embodiment of laziness and incompetence! The real purpose of exams is to find out what their individual strengths are! It’s to help everyone find the most suitable path for themselves! It’s not a success to get into a good senior high school or university. Walking their own paths in society and creating a life for themselves based on their own personal values is the real success!”
The country that had achieved the best results in this area was Germany. The proportion of university students in Germany was not large. But, there were many vocational senior high schools and training schools. The local industries also partic.i.p.ated closely with these schools to provide ample opportunities for practical learning. As such, Germany’s industrial sectors were very strong, and in terms of sports, they were the best in the global soccer field.
“One examination does not decide the rest of your life! I hope that all the parents, teachers, and students can change their perspectives. There is more than one road to success. You can stop forcing yourself when you realize that using the learning machine is a futile effort, that you really have no apt.i.tude for studying and have become a ‘bad student’ in others’ eyes. But, you don’t have to worry. You could be a genius in other fields. You could achieve a success that is unimaginable to others. This is the real significance behind the introduction of the learning machine.”
As he listened to these words, Chen Gang had an epiphany. He nodded gravely as he muttered to himself, “I understand now. The purpose of exams is not to separate the geniuses from the mediocre but to find out the individual strengths of every student… This is a very good point.”
He Li clapped in excitement. “I understand now too. Son, you mean that if they are a top student, then they could continue studying through senior high to university. If they are not good at studying, they could become technical workers, learn auto repair, operate excavators, or partic.i.p.ate in sports. In any case, there are good ways to achieve your full potential.”
Chen Jin nodded. “I’ve sent these suggestions to the Department of Education half a year ago. Recently, the state media reported the establishment of various vocational high schools and signaled that they would eliminate the label of ‘top senior high schools.’ It seems that top officials have adopted my suggestion.”
“Good! Good!” Su Yun clapped her hands in approval. She was so excited and happy that her face had become flushed. Her gaze as she looked at Chen Jin was filled with adoration and wors.h.i.+p.
Chen Gang apologized, “Son, I’m sorry. I’ve wronged you, you’re a good man!” He felt extremely proud that he had a son like Chen Jin.
However, Chen Jin was reminded of something. His expression suddenly changed to one that was extremely grave.