Final exam in China: 15 hours of study a day, tremendous tension and competition

The Gaokao exam is the most important ticket for Chinese students to the best universities in the country, so the preparation requires three years of high school.

For two years, students learn everything related to the exam. The final year is spent in repetition, test writing, homework, and pilot tests.

“Generally speaking, the last year is to prepare for Gaokao and it is the most difficult year of the entire school term,” said Chen Xiaojie, who took the exam four years ago, adding that that experience will never be repeated.

Home – only after the 10th night

The Gaokao exam consists of three required exams: Chinese Language and Literature, Mathematics, and English. The value of each of the exams is equal to 150 points. Students choose elective exams – humanities or natural sciences – according to the desired major.

“Students can choose or retain history, politics, and geography, or physics, chemistry, and biology. Each of these parts is worth 100 points. In general, each student takes an exam in six different subjects, ”explains Chen.

And how long is the routine of Chinese students in school last year?

Students have to go to school at six in the morning and be there after an hour, because when the clock strikes seven, a half-hour “morning reading” of the things to be memorized for the test begins.

“We repeat historical facts, Chinese poems, English words, grammar,” says Chen.

At the end of the repetition, the students perform sports exercises in the open air, where, despite the weather conditions, they must run two or three laps around the stadium.

“When we run, we chant certain slogans and congratulate ourselves on a new day,” recalls Yijia Gao, who just graduated from school.

We usually don’t have time to rest.

After returning to class, there are four lessons of 45 minutes each. Lunchtime begins at noon. While the lunch break lasts about an hour and a half, lunch, as Chen says, didn’t take long, just half an hour.

“It just came to our notice then. Instead, we do our homework and sleep in classrooms the rest of our time, with our heads on the tables,” he says.

After eating and taking a break, the students return to class, where three more lessons await them, followed by a dinner at school.

But the day does not end there.

“After dinner, around seven in the afternoon, we go back to class, where we study independently until the tenth night. For three hours, each student does their homework in silence, ”says Chen.

It is not possible to speak while doing homework on your own, and a caregiver is assigned to the class so that the silence is not interrupted.

At ten o’clock in the evening, the Chinese students can finally travel home. However, most of those who return are in no rush to rest: they continue to do their homework. There is so much homework at school that it is not enough for students to complete a full day at school.

“Even if we finish our homework, we are always preparing for the exams. I usually go to bed around midnight,” Chen recalls.

“I’m almost broke”

There is no shortage of pilot exams for Chinese students in the later years of school. They go to school frequently, almost every month, so students are no longer surprised.

“After such tests, our scores are ranked from the one with the best score to the one with the worst score. The lists are posted in the classroom, so that everyone can see how their classmates did on the test,” he says. Chen. In this way, students want to be motivated.

As soon as I had a minute to spare, I could fall asleep pretty much anywhere.

Xiyue Liang, a student studying for the frequent mock exams at Shanghai University, identifies it as the biggest preparation challenge: “Also, everyone can see your score, so every time you try to look your best, it’s hard “.

Although preparing for the exam was not easy, she says she was happy at the time. Teachers, parents and classmates supported the student and she gained a lot of new knowledge herself.

However, Chen admits that the exam preparation period is exhausting both emotionally and physically. She recalls a time when she could not sleep due to the stress she was experiencing, she felt constant fatigue: “As soon as I had a free minute, I could fall asleep almost anywhere.”

Emotionally, such intense preparation, he says, is also depressing. Classes in China take place from Monday to Saturday, so there is only one day left: Sunday.

“We are expected to devote all our energies to preparing for Gaokao. Although I studied well, I was still worried before the big exams,” says the interlocutor.

The competition in China, he said, is huge, so every point is important in the test.

“I remember a time when I couldn’t sleep, I cried in the middle of the night, but I still got up in the morning and spent the whole day,” Chen mentions of the difficulty.

“I’m almost broke,” he admits. Mom helped to survive the difficult period, according to herself.

He just desperately wanted to perform well on the exam.

Yijia felt similar emotions while preparing for the exam. She says she even stopped talking to other people at school last year: “It wasn’t because of stress, but because I didn’t have time, I desperately wanted to do well on the test.”

Yijie Zheng, a student at Wuhan University of Technology, who spoke about his declining grades in his senior year and his unstable psychological state.

“It’s good that I overcame all obstacles and in the end my performance on the exam was good,” he said.

After graduating from school this year, Ruohao Jia added that the situation was also aggravated by the atmosphere in the classroom, which, according to himself, was “tense” and classmates were alarmed.

Emotional and psychological problems due to intensive preparation, Chen believes, China has more than one. Most try to adapt to the situation, they do not talk about it, but some experience stress and tension that leads to suicide: “And others just find their own ways to survive.”

It all depends on the score

In Gaokao, the overall score, which is crucial for admission to universities, is important. After the announcement of the exam results, the students have the opportunity to enter the desired universities. Each university has a minimum admission score, which means that only students whose eligible score are admitted to a particular university.

Due to the high competition in China and the limited number of places in the best universities in the country, the exam in all subjects must be passed perfectly.

“You cannot learn some things well and others badly, because the overall score will continue to be quite low and you will not be able to get into good universities.

Even if you want to study math and pass the math test perfectly, but not very well in English, the Chinese test means you still don’t go to a good university, ”Chen says of the procedure.

All the world 15 minutes Student interviewers admit that getting into a good university in China is difficult because there are too many students and too few good universities.

You cannot learn some things well and some things poorly because the overall score will remain quite low and you will not be able to get into good universities.

“All students work very hard, but if they fail the exam, all efforts are in vain. As a result, almost all students feel great pressure against Gaokao. It all depends on the score,” Chen concludes.

And are there frequent instances of exam fraud in China?

“I have not met and do not know the person who passed the exam,” says the interviewee.

The examination procedure in China, according to him, is very strict. Only a limited number of items can be taken for students on the exam. Before entering the exam rooms, each student is screened using special machines. Each class has cameras and about three teachers supervise the exam participants.

“I find it very difficult to defraud Gaokao, even if they do occur, they are subject to certain penalties, for example, scammers are not allowed to take the test for two or three years,” Chen said of the consequences.

“Sometimes students cheat, but it rarely happens. In routine school exams, students cheat, but in Gaokao’s exam, they don’t because they know the consequences. It is illegal, “Xiyue said.