Aside from the coronavirus, students in China are getting stressed as Gaokao exams draw near.
Students in China are feeling the pressure of Gaokao
Annually, millions of high school students in China take the National College Entrance Examination or commonly known as Gaokao. For Chinese high school students, this is what they consider as the toughest and career-defining test of their lives.
The Gaokao is a nine-hour long exam that lasts for two days. Even though there is no failing mark on this exam, universities in China have acceptance requirements that are based on the results of a student’s Gaokao. Students who acquire low ranks from the exam have the option to retake the exam the following year, in hopes of achieving a better rank than the current one.
Gaining a high score gives a student the opportunity to top-caliber universities in China. So far, there is no record of someone having a perfect score in Gaokao history. The exam is originally scheduled in the month of June, but with the coronavirus incident, the Chinese government moved the schedule to July 7 and 8.
Key cities during coronavirus outbreak
With the Gaokao exam schedule being moved to July 7 and 8, students in China taking the exam are feeling the anxiety and pressure as the date closes by.
For some schools located outside of Beijing and the Hubei province, physical classes will start to resume by April 27. Unfortunately, for students located in key cities hit by the coronavirus, they will remain in online learning until further notice.
The Gaokao is said to be an SAT exam on steroids. Students can only take the exam once a year, which means, getting a low score this year will make you wait another year to take another shot on improving your score.
Pressure from obtaining a high score in the exam accompanied by the COVID-19 outbreak puts a toll on the mental health of the examinees. Some students want the exam to be conducted earlier to relieve them from the stress of an additional month of waiting, especially when COVID-19 is just lurking around, waiting to strike back again.
