Day 61

10.06.18

7 out of 7 in the week.
7 consecutive days of teaching. Grindin'. Sunday mornin'. 9am. Rode the bike to work. Good weather. Sweat all over my back. Ready to teach. 2 hour session. 1 kid. Smashed through the lesson.

Gaokao
We had about half an hour left before the session finished. The kid, Jack, a year 10 boy, said he was preparing for finals in a few days. The school had organised classes this Sunday afternoon to prepare them, so he was about to go to class after mine.

Talked about the Gaokao - the college entrance exam that stops the nation. It's been happening the last few days actually. We talked about how it works.

Three main areas: Chinese. Maths. English.
Highest possible score respectively: 160. 120. 120.
Highest total score: 400.
Highest score attained: 390.

Top 20% get into Level 1 universities.
Next 20% get into Level 2 universities.
Rest get into the lower universities. Or something like that

Nanjing's best high school: Foreign language school. 90% of students get admitted to colleges before the gaokao. Therefore, gaokao is not required for those kids. It is also the hardest school to get into. Year 9 entry. There is an associated middle school in Year 7.

The Jiangsu exam is probably the hardest exam: Nantong High Schools have some of the best students in China (the culture is crazy - students have classes every day) - so they make it harder for students in this area.

There's also a bit of affirmative action going on. Provinces like Tibet, Xinjiang get easier tests and easier entry into the top universities. There's a joke that you can sell your house in your current province and buy a house in Tibet just to get easier tests - it truly is a test that can decide your future.