Argument Essay-Upfront

In China, one massive exam determines every student’s future. China has hundreds of “cram schools”, where students go from early in the morning to late at night, memorizing huge amounts of material for a single test. This monster test, the gaokao, is the only thing that matters for admissions to Chinese universities. Some believe that a test is an accurate measurement of a student’s ability. However, I think that it is extremely unfair for someone’s future to be based on a single test.

The process of preparing for the gaokao is incredibly stressful because the results determine a student’s future. Because of these high stakes, students are put under extreme pressure for years before taking the gaokao. In order to have a chance of getting into college, they must attend a “cram school”. Because of the intense pressure of the test, these schools are run with military precision. One of the best schools is called Maotanchang. This school’s curriculum is the same as any other—everything taught in 10^th and 11^th grade focuses on what the gaokao tests, and in 12^th grade, students just review, study and memorize what they have already learned—but their system is much stricter than other schools. “Maotanchang’s teachers dole out lessons, and frequently punishments…security guards roam the 165-acre campus in golf carts and on motorcycles, while surveillance cameras track students’ movements” (15). At Maotanchang, cellphones and laptops are not allowed, the dorms have no electrical outlets, and dating is banned. People say that your teen years are the best years of your life. Is it fair that these years are spent cramming for a single test? The pressure becomes even more intense as the gaokao nears. Teen suicide rates tend to rise, and a student posted a shocking picture online of a classroom of students who had been hooked up to intravenous drips so that they could study past the point of exhaustion. Yang Wei, a graduate of Maotanchang says, “ ‘If you connected all of the practice tests I’ve taken in the past three years…they would wrap all the way around the world” (13).

The results of the gaokao determine a student’s future. This is incredibly unfair. Even the best student could do poorly because they are having a bad day or they didn’t get enough sleep or they’re nervous. For example, Cao Yingsheng, Yang’s childhood friend and a fellow student at Maotanchang did not do well on the test. His future was manual labor—working in factories or on construction sites like his father. “His father had worked 12-hour days, 50 weeks a year, building high-rises in eastern China to pay the Maotanchang fees” (15). Cao would end up on a construction site just like his father. Students from poor families did not have equal resources and schools, meaning that there was less of a chance that they would do well enough to get into a college. Children from wealthy families could pay for tutors, and some even bypassed the system all together, enrolling in private international schools in China or going to school abroad. “But for those of limited means, like Yang, there is no alternative to the gaokao; a few points either way could determine whether he qualifies for a degree that could change his life—or nothing” (14). This system means that poor families have more obstacles to overcome and their children generally stay poor, while wealthy families stay at the top.

Some may argue that a test is a completely fair and accurate measurement of a student’s ability, especially because there is so much time to prepare for it and many do make it into college. In 2013, about 80% of Maotanchang students who took the test made it into college. However, this is only possible through the students’ sacrifice of any free time. School started at 6:20 in the morning and ended at 10:50 at night, even on the weekend. Electronics were banned, and there was no form of entertainment in the town. At Maotanchang, “There is nothing to do but study” (15) says Yang. Only through this abysmally strict system can a student hope to succeed. Some may argue that the gaokao is an opportunity to for students to attend college at all, instead of automatically becoming farmers or factory workers. Although this is an opportunity, it is extremely unfair to the students that deserve a college education, but cannot pay for the fees that a successful school like Maotanchang charges.

Cram schools put extreme pressure on students, just so that they can pass one test. A few points can be the difference between a life of hardship and manual labor, and a degree and a good, well-paying job. A student should not be judged on one test score. It cannot possibly reflect their ability as a student—only their ability to memorize material and whether or not they are good test-takers. While the rich can cheat the system, the poor have no choice but to take the gaokao. It is unfair for a single test to determine a student’s future.