In the past two weeks, I noticed the New York Times reporting on college entrance exam preparation in South Korea and in China. The U.S. media often covers how stressful and college entrance exams are in Asia, but rarely do I come across how other region’s higher educational systems admit their students, let alone the academic pressures faced by those students.
Unlike in the United States, “applying” to college in South Korea, China — or for that matter, a lot of other Asian countries like Japan and India — is fairly simple and straight forward: you take one exam, and how well you did on that one exam, will determine which college you can attend (and sometimes which major you can major in):
“In this country, where people’s status and income at 60 are largely determined by which college they entered at 18, South Korean parents’ all-consuming task is to ensure that their children enter an elite university. And that requires a high score on the college entrance exam.”
…
“The Chinese test is in some ways like the American SAT, except that it lasts more than twice as long. The nine-hour test is offered just once a year and is the sole determinant for admission to virtually all Chinese colleges and universities. About three in five students make the cut.”
There are no other factors; no high school grades, no teacher recommendations, no athletic abilities or extracurricular activities which determine whether or not you get into college. And in those countries, which college or university you attend can have a HUGE influence on the rest of your life, setting a path for someone to be a future president or prime minister or future business leader in that country.
In many ways, I admire the simplicity of these examination systems, and in other ways despise them; whether or not these college entrance exams are accurate ways to measure the ability of a high school to succeed in college (or in life, for that matter) may be questionable, I’ve always thought that there was something very orderly, transparent and meritocratic about the process.
Growing up, it has always bothered me that factors such as whether or not a student was the child of an alumnus (the worst unspoken affirmative action program in the United States, if you ask me) or if someone excelled at a sport nothing to do with whether or not they were deserving of attending an academic institution they would have had no chance of getting into. If Asian American immigrant parents realized how important some of these non-academic factors — especially athletics — can play in college admissions, many Asian parents wouldn’t be so singularly focused on academics and draw concern.
However, I do think it is ridiculous to put so much pressure and expectations on a high school student in Asia on one exam that will essentially determine the future of that student into late adulthood. Add to that the fact that Asian educational systems depend on rote memorization, whereas the American system fosters the sense in students to pursue their interests, passions, and an important differentiator, creativity. Memorizing and studying, just for the sake of an entrance exam, to get into the right college seems like a complete waste of time and effort for any society. Singapore has come to realize its educational system’s failures, most notably in the area of creative thinking, which it considers absolutely necessary to compete in the future.
The great irony of the Asian systems is that even as graduate studies improve in Asian countries, the predominate preferred choice for Asians are to still to pursue graduate studies in the United States.
Of course, the American educational system is far from perfect, but it seems that the American media seems to exotify the Asian test taking process a bit too much; I’d much rather read a more balanced approach as to what are the strengths and weaknesses of the educational systems in the United States versus Asia, as well as other parts of the world.
(Image Source: The New York Times)
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5 Comments to “Oh, You Crazy Test Studying Asians Trying to Get Into College”
csc3 wrote:
Neither system is perfect, obviously. But if I had to choose one over the other, I'd definitely choose the US' system.
ONE test should not determine your whole future–that's just ridiculous.
Posted on 16-Jun-09 at 12:35 pm | Permalink
lazybye wrote:
1. It is not true that all Asians prefer graduate studies in America. In fact, few Japanese students go to school in America, and we all know that does little to weaken the quality of Japanese science and engineering. In fact, 8 Nobels in science have been won since 2000 by Japanese scientists and, according to Inside Line (an online automotive magazine), Japan is the world leader in eco-technology. Also, AnnaLee Saxenian has shown how the so-called Brain Circulation has cross-pollinated technology innovation between Taiwan, India and California. Indeed, much of the original design work on the iPOD, iPhone and American laptops is done in Taiwan. Apple's vaunted touchscreen on the iPhone was created by TPK holdings and Naldec, both Taiwan firms.
2. It is a little bit of hubris to say that America foster creative thinking and Asia does not. I went to American public schools, and I think the push toward 'creative' thinking and expressing yourself, so early in life, does not so much foster creativity as it creates a false sense of accomplishment and confidence that prevents one from truly listening and learning what one can from experts and teachers, those who have devoted their lives to a given subject or trade. I think Asia's emphasis on “rote” learning is more like this: master the material first, and show you are an expert. Then, you can make your own contributions. Russian and Chinese and Eastern European school systems aren't known for their “creative” learning structure, yet it's not like students and researcher from those places can't compete with Americans. Often, they are better.
3. I think you're taking the article too seriously to say that one exam determines their prospects into late adulthood. I would like to see evidence of this. It would make sense for those going into academics, where research centers are far more centralized and limited to a few schools in nascent Asian countries. But for the great majority of vocations, I seriously doubt this. Probably the reason why it looks like successful Asian leaders come from a few schools is that, first of all, there are far fewer schools, and second, top firms tend to be electronics and industrial firms, and most of the leaders happened to have been engineers first.
Posted on 18-Jun-09 at 7:02 pm | Permalink
tung2sai wrote:
Competition for education in Asia is quite insane, for several reasons. I remember reading some articles regarding this topic for quite some time and formed a few personal opinions.
Even though there is a strong tradition for revering education, the availibility of education or compulsory schooling is relatively new for many countries. There's a lot of criticims about education here in the States so it shouldn't be a surprise why there's a lot in other places. Education is another huge works-in-progress type of issue for all societies.
I'm aware that the American system does emphasize a lot on thinking outside the box but whether or not the students do that or teachers encourage that is another matter. Creative thinking is hard to judge and quite subjective or circumstantial. I noticed among many individuals that it's not really in Academia but their workplace or home is where their creativity is expressed to the fullest potential. One rumor I heard from the Mainland Chinese individuals I met is a lot of their best and brightest work for their government indirectly (not as in public officials but like hired for specific projects) or became entrepreneurs.
There's also something I read online which I don't is true or not. Regarding China's college entrance, on some of these lists on how one got accepted, there's this small column I noticed where a small number (thousands) got in through the “exceptional ability” bracket rather than the high scores. I'm wondering if maybe some got in through connections or wealth or their so-called actual “exceptional ability”.
Posted on 20-Jun-09 at 12:14 pm | Permalink
jeffat8asians wrote:
Asian legacies are starting to emerge. One of my Asian-American college friends just got his kid into an Ivy as a legacy. Doesn’t mean that it is any more right, but I thought I’d point out Asian-Americans are starting to take advantage of that avenue for getting into college..
Also, as I mentioned in this post, I see more and more Asian-American parents trying to get their kids into sports, with an eye toward future admissions. While I think it is good that parents want their kids to be well rounded, I dislike the checklist mentality I see with some parents who think that if they force their kids to complete a laundry list of good grades, sports, maybe some music, arts, or volunteer work, they get into the school of their choice.
Posted on 21-Jun-09 at 7:04 pm | Permalink
johnklin wrote:
Yes, Asian Americans will benefit as legacy admits in the long run through their children, but I still think legacy admissions is ridiculous. Hopefully your friend's kid is academically prepared for college…
Posted on 22-Jun-09 at 4:57 pm | Permalink
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