Gaokao Upfront Essay

Lots of pressure from testing has been put on students. In China, students take a test called the gaokao, which determines if they go to college. The stakes are unimaginably high for students because most of the ones who fail go into manual labor along with their parents, while others go on to college and a different life. In America, the stakes are not as high but tons of pressure is still put on students using tests. These tests include the SAT, ACT, state tests, and even the SHSAT for New York City students. The gaokao test in China and the standardized tests in America both put a lot of pressure on students.

In China, the gaokao is a test that determines a student’s future, which puts an unimaginable amount of pressure on students. For example, students are sometimes “hooked up to intravenous drips to give them the strength to keep studying.” This shows the intensity of studying for this test. Another example is, “Yang’s childhood friend, Cao, tanked on the exam…. His family couldn’t afford a repeat year… Cao really had just one option: manual labor….  He would end up on a construction site, just like his father.” This shows what really is at stake for students, whether or not they go to college and start a new life or join their family in jobs such as manual labor on a construction site. The gaokao puts incredible amounts of pressure on students because it determines a student’s future.

In America, students take tests such as the SAT, ACT, state tests, SHSAT, etc. These also count for the future and put lots of pressure on students. For example, in New York Citry, 8th grade students have the opportunity to take the Specialized High School Admissions Test, or the SHSAT, which determines if they get into a specialized high school. The test prep for it is very intense and the test puts a lot of pressure on students. Another example is, students in grades 3-8 take standardized common core state tests, which tests the curriculum as well as the teachers. In America, students take tests that put pressure on them and decide things about their future.

In conclusion, the gaokao and various American tests put pressure on students and determine their future. However, the studying and effects of the gaokao are more intense than the majority of the tests in America.