Posted on 12/04/2019 4:10:48 PM PST by SeekAndFind
Chinese teenagers ranked as the world’s best students according to results from a closely watched global survey announced on Tuesday. But unlike in the rest of the world, in China, the victory was met with a resounding shrug.
The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) is a standardized test for 15-year-old students around the world in reading, math and science. It’s administered every three years, with 79 countries participating.
The Pisa, as the test is widely known, is regarded as one of the most important ways to directly compare different educational systems. China beat out education powerhouse Singapore and its results far outstripped the West.
However, for some Chinese educators, the top scores in Pisa are an unwelcome confirmation of the systemic flaws in Chinese education.
“It is misleading to take the Pisa test result as a vote of confidence in our education system,” Xiong Bingqi, deputy director of the 21st Century Education Research Institute in Beijing, told Inkstone.
He said China’s high test scores often result in teachers neglecting important soft skills that are integral in real-life situations.
As a standardized test, Pisa encourages the exact kind of rigorous test-prepping education that Chinese students spend years perfecting, said Xiong.
“Chinese schools are very behind in sparking students’ interest in learning or nurturing a creative and curious mindset,” he added.
In recent years, China has been trying to reignite education reforms that emphasize creative thinking and life skills over test-preparation. But this has been trialed on a regional, not national, basis.
Regional reforms have faced strong opposition from parents. They argue that the gaokao, a grueling college entrance exam, defines the education system in China.
Unless it is overhauled nationally and systemically, their kids run the risk of performing poorly on the gaokao against school districts that emphasize rote learning and test preparation. A student’s performance in the gaokao may impact them for the rest of their lives.
A parent in Jiangsu province, one of the regions selected for the most recent Pisa test, said in October that it was “irresponsible” for working-class Chinese families who see standardized testing as the only fair way to improve their social status to stop their kids from studying hard.
Chen Jing, a Shenzhen-based social commentator, agreed, telling Inkstone: “The win in Pisa is good news for those parents who are boycotting education reforms to make school easier.”
Chen, who is against making school easier, said that by emphasizing grades Chinese schools create an environment that promotes hard work. Many Chinese parents fundamentally disagree with the concept that education should be enjoyable, encouraging and happy, he added.
One of the other reasons why some Chinese experts were less than enthusiastic about the Pisa win was the perception that the students tested in the assessment do not represent the entire country.
The test takers were from relatively wealthy areas: Shanghai, Beijing, Zhejiang (the province just south of Shanghai) and Jiangsu (the province just north of Shanghai).
“By choosing students from these four regions, we have elevated China’s performance,” said Chen.
China’s eastern provinces of Jiangsu and Zhejiang have consistently ranked in the top 5 of the country’s wealthiest regions. The capital city of Beijing and the eastern metropolis of Shanghai have long been China’s, and increasingly Asia’s, top-ranking cities for education.
Rather than taking a victory lap, the results of the Pisa test were another reason for Chinese experts to debate the merits and flaws of the country’s brutally competitive test-based educational system.
I read today Chinese students are four years ahead of our students. I had a wonderful new insight...
The proper way to put this is that our education bosses are four years behind the Chinese bosses. Our Education Establishment is totally incompetent or corrupt, take your pick.
Bruce Deitrick Price
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