I study in Taipei, Taiwan, which is not China but uses the same system and has a very similar culture. Studies in Taiwan have shown that the test privileges the wealthy, even within a given city, so that regional variation in China will probably not change the fact that rich kids in Shanghai will do much better than poor kids who live down the block.

Of course the test per se is fair, but the wealthy have access to test prep schools, called buxiban. These institutions are like Kaplan, except the kids enroll in them for years and spend their entire afternoon and even evening there. Naturally, the wealthier you are the more extra schooling you can force upon your child. A friend of mine used to work at the the grammer school, yes grammar school version of one of these. She basically spent the entire afternoon disciplining children into doing their homework and whatever extra work the buxiban wanted to give them. I don't know if China also has buxiban or a similar institution, but given human nature and the cultural importance of a prestigious diploma one can expect that the wealthy will find their ways.

As a grad student at Taiwan's best university, I study with the products of this abusive system. There are only a few students who managed to get this far without the prodding of buxiban instructors. None of my classmates approve of the system, and Taiwan society as a whole recognizes the burden it places on children, but changing it has been a challenge. The government has introduced alternate route acceptances and there are attempts at expanding admissions criteria beyond a simple test score. But "the test" is still the centerpiece of this system and it's hard to imagine it fading away.

You are completely wrong. Like I said in my other posting that ONLY during the first several years since 1977, city kids (who supposedly have better life) performed better than rural kids (who supposedly have hard life). Rural kids completely caught up and many out-performed the city kids, because they are more motivated and work harder than the spoiled city kids!

Don't forget that unlike Taiwan where I guess you have to pay for your after-school tutoring, in China students don't have to pay or pay very little for their education! Teachers including after school tutoring are paid by the government, not the students. But why do teachers and schools do that kind of work, such as after school tutoring? Both schools and teachers want the honors for producing more college-bound students and teachers get special bonus for producing college-bound students!

To be more exactly, when I was in China many years ago, all education were free for all at all level. Individual student's economic level did not really matter, although parents' education level do. But still it would not be the end of the world, if you don't have well educated parents. Because there are so many very dedicated Chinese teachers who will teach you or your kids regardless paid or not! As a daughter of poor city workers who had no any connection or money, I not only got all my normal education free, but also received free after-school tutoring at my high school by several teachers! When I was accepted by one of the most prestigious universities in China, my teachers and the school were absolutely excited. I later heard that all teachers who produced college-bound students received recognition and compensation. But no dime from my pocket.

As China's economic reform going further, the government changed some aspect of the all free education. Now city students (who supposedly have higher income) have to pay for books and materials, but not tuitions. It's still all free for country kids.

Oldchild,

I have lived and worked in the education industries in both Taiwan and mainland China, and I can say that you have hit the nail on the head here. Wealthy Chinese pay tons of money to get their kids the sort of tutoring you describe.

Also, many of the poorest people in China, the migrant workers, have not even been eligible for public schooling, since they are not legal residents of the area. Their kids must attend migrant schools, often substandard, which are very expensive for the families. Even children who are eligible for public schools sometimes cannot attend for financial reasons.

It's disingenuous to claim that Chinese kids have equal opportunity because they take the same test when they've had unequal opportunities to prepare for that test.

Oldchild and Lisaz,

Yes I do agree that wealthy people can spend more money on preparing the exams (everywhere in the world). But this does not exactly hit the point in China.

I don't know how it is in Taiwan (Republic of China, BTW). But in mainland, except Beijing, students in high school normally do not even have enough time for a nice sleep to finish the monthly exams and homework just in their school! So buxiban in mainland normally is for the students who can not catch up with the intensive pace of school or those failed in Gaokao (chinese SAT).

All the high schools in mainland China try their best to attract good students because the university enrollement proportion is very important for them. As a result, they would give you a tuition free or even scholarship if you are really elite and poor. I graduated from a top5 univ in China, most of my classmates are from avg incoming family and rural area, I only know one once been in buxiban.

Judge 1108,

To respond to a couple of your points...

The buxiban is often there to help them with these sorts of exams, so it's not conflicting with their study time. For the middle class, extra tutoring may only be for those who couldn't get high marks on the gaokao, but for the wealthy, such tutoring is standard.

There is also a difference between the poor and the migrant workers in China. Poor students can still qualify for many government benefits, but migrant workers and their families are not eligible for many of the benefits where they live because they do not have hukou (residence certificate) for that area.

As you mentioned, your friends were from average backgrounds, so it makes sense that they did not get the tutoring we describe. We are talking about the wealthy Chinese.

You are right that the situation in Taiwan is different from that in China, but that is mainly because the Taiwanese are more wealthy, so a greater percentage can send their kids to the buxiban. The market is also a lot more developed in Taiwan, but it's growing quickly in China as well. The Shanghai Municipal Education Commission has even put an informal moratorium on new buxiban because it's worried about the rate at which the industry is growing.