How test-oriented education prevails in school districts: a case study of an urban district in Central China

• In Event: How test-oriented education prevails in school districts: a case study of an urban district in Central China

Proposal

Why is it that in many Chinese school districts high school students do not have a high percentage of admission to key universities, but the whole district is mainly focused on producing students who can enter key universities, ignoring the developmental needs of most students who cannot enter key universities? using a case study of an urban district A in central China, this study is an attempt to reveal the educational management behind the prevalence of teaching to the test. The school system in District A has two types of structures: one is a pyramidal structure, with a "hundred flowers blooming" in elementary schools, a "double-blossoming" in middle schools, and a "one and only" in high schools. The other is a dualistic structure of center and periphery, with obvious differences between urban and rural areas and between key and non-key schools. The study identified three types of management strategies contributing to test-oriented education:First, the siphon effect , i.e., better performing school districts dig up excellent teacher resources and excellent students by voting with their feet, making some schools in District A lose students; second, the pressure transmission mechanism among schools in District A, i.e., using the performance of other school districts as a reference group to set test-taking goals, driven by a narrow view of educational quality, school superintendents, principals, and teachers form a chain in which the pressure for test-taking targets is transmitted from top to bottom.Third, district A has established a competitive teacher honor allocation system and performance assessment system, which has led to the assimilation and imitation of competitive strategies such as vicious remediation, overtime working, and speed-up teaching without regard to student mastery widely used among schools, creating a competitive atmosphere for teachers that there is not time to " wait for her(him) to grow".
In response to the systemic issues generated by exam-oriented governance, this study proposes the need to change the ecology of education, promote equal and well-balanced compulsory education, and empower schools with educational management.

Authors

• hongyan cheng, central china normal university

• Yanhua Luo, Central China Teachers University