9 votes

China orders halt to history tests for students seeking credits for US university courses

1 comment

  1. Zeerph
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    To add context, the test-preparation industry is rather large in China1. There are not just "schools" devoted to teaching to pass the Advanced Placement (AP) tests2, but teachers who've made it...

    To add context, the test-preparation industry is rather large in China1. There are not just "schools" devoted to teaching to pass the Advanced Placement (AP) tests2, but teachers who've made it their specialty, as well as schools who devote resources to holding the actual tests. In addition, Chinese students use AP tests as a way to further expand their applications sent to Anglophone universities, not just the US, and differentiate themselves from other Chinese applicants.

    That being said, generally the relatively affluent students who want to take the AP tests are perfectly capable of travelling to other countries or areas where these exams are offered3. As such, this will only push people who want to take these exams, to take them outside of mainland China. It won't actually stop students from "learning"4 the material, or most students from taking the test. In the end, the policy has limited effectiveness and only serves to further separate those in China that can afford a truly international education and those that cannot.

    However, their true aim could be to totally ban AP exams from China and this is the first step toward that goal.


    1 The test preparation industry is huge in China and other East Asian countries and is used as a way to get ahead of (read: keep pace with) other students
    2 Students can also take classes devoted to teaching them techniques to pass the SAT, ACT, TOEFL, IELTS, and A-levels, among others
    3 Students are already ferried about south-east Asia in order to get better scores on the SAT
    4 Their main tactic for learning is rote memorisation and regurgitation for the exam

    4 votes