What Are The Similarities Between Gaokao And The SAT

In Maotanchang, China, students call their standardized test, the Gaokao. An article, “Inside a Chinese Test-Prep Factory” by Brook Larmer, takes a closer look on a student's experience with the Gaokao. It explains Yang Wei's struggles and the consequences of the Gaokao in order to get into a good college. Although there are some similarities between Chinese students' experience with the Gaokao and American students' with the SAT, the two are very different. The Gaokao and the SAT both have one goal, to succeed. In order to succeed, these standardized tests are what can help us get into a good college. If we get a higher score on the test, we have a better chance to get into the college that stresses on these scores. Sometimes, people who have money can hire tutors to help them with Sats and Gaokaos. These tests make Yang Wei and I nervous because we need to get good scores. Getting high scores can help us get financial aid and make it cheaper to go to
There is a lot “pressure” on trying to get high scores because we would like to go to a better school and “become the first family to attend college.” We want to further our education that our parents did not get, giving us the chance to have more opportunities for ourselves in the future. Despite their similarities, the Sat and the Gaokao are very different. The Sat happens every year while the Gaokao is “administered every June over two or three days.” For the Sat, I have to focus more on reading, writing, and math, however; Yang Wei has to focus “on science [and] on humanities.” He has to “start memorizing and regurgitating facts [that] weighs on Chinese students from the moment they enter elementary school.” For American students, they do not have to start “memorizing” facts because going to school is a gradual learning. Starting from grade school to high school, American students start to grasp the things on the Sat. The Gaokao focuses more on knowing just “facts” while the Sat