Are You Smarter Than A Chinese High School Senior?
"In the U.S., where No Child Left Behind has made standardized testing a core article of faith in assessing student readiness, you have more and more parents worried about the lack of rigor in our curricula, and fearing the rise of China and other nations that excel in international math-science competitions." WSJ 6-26-2012
On the other side of the world what is China doing? Their high school seniors must take the Gaokao, a grueling three day long exam that will determine whether they go to university or not. Tao Jones of the WSJ described the gaokao this way,
Many of us who took the SATs remember them with little fondness. Well, the SATs are child’s play compared to the gaokao. If the SATs are the academic equivalent of, say, a brisk footrace, the gaokao is an Iron Man triathlon. Across a minefield and through a piranha-infested river that ends in a waterfall. With people throwing ninja stars at you the whole time! Freaking ninja stars.Students' senior year is entirely devoted to preparing for this exam. Roadways are closed off around testing