Beijing banned written exams for ages 6 and 7 on Monday as part of a radical educational reform aimed at relieving pressure on students and parents in China’s highly competitive school system. It’s the latest effort to try and relieve pressure on parents and students in a highly competitive education system.
China’s exam-oriented system previously required students to take exams from the first grade, culminating in a feared college entrance exam at the age of 18. But the education ministry said the pressure is harming the “physical and mental health” of pupils. In a statement, the ministry said: “Exams are a necessary part of school education…. [but] some schools have problems like excessive exams, that cause excessive burden on students…this must be corrected.” The rules also limits the number of test and exams a school can set per term. According to new guidelines released on Monday, “too frequent exams put a strain on students and put a lot of pressure on them,” the Ministry of Education said. In addition, exams for other years of compulsory education are limited to once per semester, and junior high school allows junior high school and mock exams. This measure is part of broader government reforms in China’s education sector, including the crackdown on cram schools, and parents see it as a way to inflate their children’s educational wealth.
