It sounds………….a little unreasonable. The kids sleep in their clothes to save time and run between every class. Everything that is not more studying is punished.
15 hours of studying per day, 7 days per week, for three years, all to do well on one exam.
The results are that 90% of the students score well enough on the gaokao to get into a top university, so it’s a way for kids from poor families to become upwardly mobile.
Some interviews with students:
Everyone in class looks sleep deprived and burnt out. One girl said she fell behind and studied so much to catch up that she didn’t have time to wash her hair for 1.5 weeks. This is presented as a good thing.
I don’t think this makes sense to subject to the students, as performance decreases sharply when you grind for the entire day without rest. Your brain organizes data and imprints learning on your off time, and not just when you sleep. That being said, they appear to achieve positive results with their methods. If I were in the place of these students, I would start using
https://edubirdie.com/pay-for-homework to perform some tasks, because not everyone can do all the tasks and at the same time have a little rest. I used this resource to write an essay in college and I really liked it. It can be useful for all students.
Teacher: “Those who advocate the contradiction between quality education and exam education, especially those who regard the gaokao as doing exercises, fail to understand the gaokao. According to my personal experience, the gaokao is very important for the improvement of comprehensive literacy.”
Any gaffers take the gaokao back in the day?