China: "No Honors Classes Allowed... Exam Score Disclosure Also Prohibited"

Elementary Lower Grades Also Abolish Written Exams

Chinese President Xi Jinping is delivering a speech at the Central Ethnic Work Conference held in Beijing on the 28th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Minwoo Lee] Chinese authorities, who are pushing for an overhaul of the education system including restrictions on private education, have decided to ban the establishment of honors classes and written exams for lower grades in elementary schools. They also plan to prohibit ranking and publicizing test scores or using them for class placement.

According to local media including the state-run China Central Television (CCTV) on the 30th, the Chinese Ministry of Education announced these policies ahead of the school reopening next month. The Ministry emphasized, "Classes must be organized in a balanced manner, and no honors classes should be created," adding, "Teachers should be assigned evenly, and class hours, difficulty levels, and progress should not be arbitrarily changed."

Additionally, teachers are prohibited from teaching new content after school hours. It was also stated that parents should not be burdened with homework checks, nor should students be given repetitive or punitive homework.

Furthermore, ranking or publicizing test scores will no longer be allowed. Adjusting classes or seating based on test results is also banned.

For elementary schools, written exams are completely banned for grades 1 and 2. Other grades are allowed to have only one final exam. Middle schools may conduct midterm exams appropriately by subject.

Restrictions are also placed on exams themselves. Questions that exceed the standard curriculum or class progress are not permitted. Test scores must be evaluated using a grading system.

This series of measures is analyzed to have emerged in the context of realizing President Xi Jinping’s "Common Prosperity" theory, which aims to increase birth rates and strengthen redistribution by reducing academic burdens.

Although the monthly income of 600 million people in China is only 1,000 yuan (about 180,000 KRW), the middle class is known to willingly spend about 100,000 yuan (about 18 million KRW) per year for their children to enter top-tier schools. Therefore, it is interpreted as a decision to improve educational inequality occurring at the education stage through these measures. Previously, the Chinese government also announced "Opinions on Reducing Homework and Private Education Burdens for Students in Compulsory Education" last month, banning profit-seeking private education.

However, there are criticisms that these measures cannot fundamentally solve the problem unless university admission policies change. Since Chinese parents still view the university entrance exam, "Gaokao," as a means of social mobility, changes in university admission policies are necessary to ease the fervor for education.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.