The first week in November, I had the opportunity to participate in The College Board’s 2011 Chinese Bridge to American Schools. This program brought a delegation of 400 American educators to China for a week to learn about China’s public school system and build cross-cultural connections. Though the jam-packed schedule felt like a weeklong boot camp sandwiched between two 13-hour flights, it was an amazing learning experience. Even so, I just scratched the surface of understanding this 5,000-year-old culture and massive country (approximately 1.3 billion people compared to the U.S.A.s approximately 300 million people).
One reads about the rapid and massive development of China as a world economic power, but seeing it first hand really drove home the fact that we, and especially our children, will be relating with this country more and more in the future. I only visited two cities, Beijing (2nd largest in China) and Tianjin (3rd largest in China…yet I had never heard of it), but one strong impression is the incredible building underway: high-rise structures going up literally everywhere. Thousands upon thousands of cranes and structures dot the horizon as far as the eye can see, especially on the outer rims of both cities.
A second impression was the deep commitment of China to educating its children. For the past ten years they have been investing heavily in education. For example, the number of Chinese 18-year-olds attending university has doubled over the past 10 years to 27 million (compared to about 17 million in the U.S.A.). Their education system is quite different than ours. First, it is nationalized. The curriculum, tests, and programs are the same across the country. A recent reform is some “de-centralization” of certain aspects, letting the provinces “respond to local needs,” but wherever one visits, for example in grades 3-12, every student every day receives instruction in Mandarin, English and Math. Another interesting example of national standards is that from primary to high school, every student does two 15-minute periods each day of “collective calisthenics.” Compare this system to our American one with tens of thousands of school district units, 50 state governments and the federal government making various decisions impacting schools and programs.
Another difference is Chinese schools’ intense focus on extremely high stakes testing. Examinations to obtain position in an imperial government have been a heritage of Chinese culture since the time of Confucius. In today's China, that plays out (from what I could see) as "the test" driving the educational system. There are a lot of tests, but the first most critical one occurs at the end of Junior Middle School (9th grade). School attendance is compulsory only through 9th grade. A test is given at this point that determines who is capable of going on to “Senior Middle School” (grades 10, 11, & 12 or what we term ‘High School’), and which quality of high school one is able to attend. Only those who score well are able to go on to Senior Middle School. Since Senior Middle School is optional, parents must pay tuition. Others not qualifying on the 9th grade test finish schooling or attend some type of vocational school for 1 to 3 years (which, unfortunately, we were not able to visit). Fewer than half of Chinese students attend Senior Middle School (High School), only those who score at the top of the 9th grade test. We were told a national goal is to get to 50% of students qualifying at 9th grade for Senior Middle School. The high school curriculum is centered on the "big 3” subjects of Mandarin, English and Math. At the end of 10th grade, students in Senior Middle School are “sorted” into either a Liberal Arts or Science track for 11th and 12th grades. Near the end of June of the 12th grade year, students take the most important test and find out in July if they qualify for university and which ones. This "end test" covers the entire curriculum taught in grades 7 through 12. The senior year seemed to be basically a cram course for the tested areas. They even add a 6th school day (Saturday) that year to give more time to "cram" (the students’ and teachers’ word) for the test in June. Senior Middle School has no credits for completing classes; the results of this end-of-school test determine if you graduate (‘get a certificate') and/or if you get into university. A little different than the typical American senior year. We were told about 40% of seniors pass the university exam that allows them to attend higher education …and the higher the score the better the university. The highest scoring Chinese students are often able to study in U.S. universities. (At Tianjin No. 1 High School where we visited, Harvard University was touted as the primary overseas school of acceptance for their "graduates.")
With this incredible pressure and focus on teaching to a very high stakes test, one understands why Chinese high school students score well on those international tests of achievement (e.g., PISA, where recently students in Shanghai scored at the top). Chinese students labeled as “high school” are not directly comparable to American students labeled "high school" because here we expect to educate every student in a high school curriculum, not just the top 50%. A different way of thinking.
Something U.S. high school students should consider is that the number of top scoring, university-qualifying 12th grade students (selected from the top scoring 9th grade students) is greater than the entire number of U.S. 10th through 12th grade students! Last year there were about 11 million U.S. students in grades 10-12. In China there were 44 million students in grades 10 –12. These are the young people being educated for the future and with whom our children will both compete and collaborate as the world continues to “flatten” and workplaces globalize. While there isn't an “end-of-June” examination driving U.S. 12th graders, our seniors might pause to consider how hard they must work on their learning, even in their fourth year, to be competitive in their future.
I’ve got lots more to share, but for today, this is enough to think on.
Stay inspirED,
Tim Culver
