January 23, 2018

The time has come for end of the semester finals but the sounds of students furiously studying and the sweet smell of caffeine in the air should have already alerted you. Students around the world have to deal with standardized tests but the tests are very different in comparison to others.

The Gaokao Exam was created in China, the motherland of standardized tests. The exam is usually taken by Senior students but there hasn’t been an age requirement since 2001. It is sometimes the only way students can get into college and get a good job. The Gaokao is the basis of what your life will be like after high school. It controls your college that you go to and it determines the maximum level of jobs that you can apply to. Since the test determines a lot of a person’s future, the security around the exam is really intense. Students have to get fingerprint and facial scans in order to go to their testing site but they also have to walk through metal detectors. Police also check body parts and places in their clothing if they are suspected of having cheats. As they take the test, teachers will walk around and there are anti cheating drones flying around the classroom for extra security. If a student does get caught cheating, they won’t be able to retake it for seven years or they will face jail time.

The exam takes about nine hours over the course of two days. Chinese literature, Mathematics and English (in most provinces) are required for all students but they do get to choose between a science oriented area or a natural science oriented area.

In South Korea, the College Scholarship Ability Test (CSAT) was developed. The CSAT is very similar to the Gaokao in terms of security, the police come to protect students and make sure that no one is cheating. If students aren’t able to get there on time, police cars gets dispatched to their homes. The police bar commercial flights from landing/taking off to reduce noise during the test. Business owners open stock markets and banks late to reduce noise and open more subways to reduce traffic. The CSAT shapes their future by slimming down their options for colleges and eventually their jobs. For loved ones who want to wish them luck, they give them a “yut” which is a type of taffy for good luck.

The CSAT is eight hours long and the questions are discussed by the members of the Korea Institute of Curriculum and Educations (KICE). The subjects of 2016 were: National language, Mathematics, English language, Korean history, Social studies/Science/Vocational Education and Foreign language/Hanja. Students choose one of those subjects to take the test on but students are required to take Korean History or else their other scores will be invalid.

At CK, finals start on January 30 and end on February 1. January 30 is reserved for periods one and four, January 31 has periods two and five and February 1 has periods three and six, lasting two hours per final. The percentage of the finals depends on your teacher, ranging from 10 percent and higher. Some teachers have a policy where if students have an A- or higher, they won’t have to take the test. The test is a collection of all of the knowledge that had been taught in that semester. Which may be a little hard to remember but teachers offer many options to study: notebooks, Kahoot!, Google Classroom assignments and Quizlet are good options for cramming.

“I would give students more breaks because the finals are a lot of pressure” said Freshmen Cara Murphy, while Freshmen Angela Chen suggested more snacks because some students aren’t able to eat breakfast in the mornings. In preparation for finals Freshmen Kenna Kuligowski recommends the teachers to have more prep and reviews to ensure that all students do well.

Although the finals here at CK don’t require flying drones or police men running around to catch cheaters, the finals are still important. So do your homework, ask questions, take the extra credit and study for the finals.