Ed309x Review EssayDavid Tu
HIGH STAKE EXAMS AND STRATIFICATION IN TAIWAN
DAVID TU
Stanford University School of Education
June 9th, 2006
EDUC 309x: Contemporary Issues in China
For final project Review Essay purposes only
Please do not cite or quote without permission from the authors
ABSTRACT
This review essay examines the research streams on education stratification in Taiwan, in the context of high stake exams and its effects on educational equality. Being motivated by the recent exam reform trend in Asian countries, where multiple countries are in the process of moving from the single National College Entrance Exam as the sole criteria for access to higher education, to the multiple admissions method using applications, exams, and recommendations, this review essay is an attempt at a preliminary look on how these changes might affect educational equality. In all, two preliminary insights can be drawn: 1) when considering previous education preparations, high stake exams by itself do not lead to education inequality, and 2) high stake exams do propagate education stratifications that happens early on in the students’ educational paths.
1INTRODUCTION
High stake exams are not new to Asian countries. In countries such as China, Taiwan, Korea, and Japan, college entrance, and sometimes even high school entrance, are decided by a single national exam. This often creates too much pressure for the students, leading to a wide array of societal problems. Particularly for the students who fail, they often become dejected and stigmatized. Further, they may be at a loss to define their role in society, thus effectively becoming an outcast in the society. Additionally, high stake exams may lead to problems for learning, such as the misalignment between what should be learned and what the students actually tries to learn. Anecdotal evidence tells us that it is prevalent for the students to sleep in class while outside of class, spend the rest of their day in cram schools to memorize facts for the national exam. What is being taught in school is thought to be unimportant, because it is not on the exam.
Thus, much research studies have focused on the above-mentioned issues about high stake exams: the pressure that the student faces and the alignment in learning. Indeed, studies about the impact of high stake exams on education are very important. In Buchmann and Hannum’s review paper, the authors made a great illustration on the factors impacting education outcomes:
(Figure 1: Research on Education and Stratification in Developing Countries)
(Buchmann and Hannum, p. 79)
As can be seen in the illustration, the impact of State Policies, such as the National College Entrance Exam, impacts a host of other factors such as family, school, and community, which then in turn impacts educational outcomes. Therefore studies of these high stake exams and its reforms are indeed very important. Further, these studies have already resulted in very positive changes. For one, exam reforms has focused on changing the exam format to incorporate more integrated critical thinking skills, rather than rote memorization. The intent here is to encourage students to acquire problem-solving skills and wider range of experiences that are relevant for the real world. Such is the intent of the 2000 exam reform in China, known as the “3 + x” system (Cheng, p. 12). However, can exam reform in the context of high stake exams really address the first problem (pressure that the student faces)? After all, passing the exam is still the only mean of social mobility (Cheng, p. 10).
Aside from the exam pressure and alignment of learning, there is one more potential research question regarding high stake exams that is, in this author’s opinion, rather under-researched:
“What is the impact of high stake exams on educational equity?”
It is a surprise to the author that not many research articles specifically address this question in the Asian context, although there seems to be plausible arguments that high stake exams can affect educational equity. For one, since high stake exams are often national, it can be argued that the exam is biased toward the ethnic and socioeconomic majority, therefore biased against ethnic minorities and low SES (socioeconomic status) populations. Additionally, because traditionally men dominated higher education, there might be test bias toward boys and against girls. Further, test bias aside, it seems plausible that because exam preparation requires substantial resources (time, money, materials), the entire process indirectly favors those groups that are endowed with such resources (Chen and Liu, p. 3). In all, it seems likely that dependence on a single exam for access to further education intensifies educational inequality, or at the very least propagates it. But if it only serves to propagate is, and is not the source, then should anything be done about it? Chen and Liu noted that compared to other college admissions methods, the use of the single National College Entrance Exam is more meritocratic in the eyes of the general population (Chen and Liu, p. 3). At least there is not a way to game the system. In either case, it seems important to study more closely the effects of high-stake exams in the context educational equality.
Thus it is the intent of this review essay to discuss the issues of educational inequality/stratification in the context of high stake exams. In subsection 1.1, a literature review on the definition of educational equity will be discussed. In subsection 1.2, current reforms in National College Entrance Exams will be discussed. In section 2, a case study of high stake exams and the educational environment in Taiwan will be discussed, with a focus on ethnic minorities (2.1), girls (2.2), and low SES population (2.3). In section 3, conclusions will be drawn and in section 4, references are listed.
1.1EDUCATIONAL EQUITY (DEFINITION)
Since this review essay is focused on educational equity, it is prudent to first introduce the definition of educational equity. In Chang and Lin, the authors mentioned that in 1948 the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, in which Article 26 says “everyone has the right to education.” (Chang and Lin, p. 3). This article stressed educational equity. Yet, what does this mean in its implementation? Chang and Lin suggest that it might mean equity to access in terms of entry, equity in the educational process and materials, or even equity in educational attainment. All these are very different perspectives, potentially leading to different conclusions about educational equity in a particular environment. In Tsai, the author noted that there is shift globally in looking at the inputs of education to the outputs of education, as one considers educational equity. Tsai mentioned the shift in England, where the 1967 The Plowden Report introduced the idea of positive discrimination, which basically advocated providing additional resources for students of low socioeconomic status (Tsai p. 112-113). Further, Tsai mentioned the shift in United States, where the 1966 Coleman Report introduced the idea of compensatory education (Tsai p. 113). In all, Tsai suggest that in the history of educational equity, researchers have moved from focusing on access to education to educational attainment.
1.2CURRENT REFORMS IN NATIONAL COLLEGE ENTRANCE EXAM
Having defined the perspective for looking at educational equity, one must wonder why look at National College Entrance Exam, as opposed to the host of other factors mentioned in the Buchmann and Hannum paper, such as family, school, and communities? What is appealing about studying National College Entrance Exam at this point of time is the type of common reform that is going through the various Asian countries. It seems more than coincidence that all the countries listed below are undergoing a reform that pushes more toward university-level admissions, or at the very least less dependence on the National College Entrance Exam. Perhaps it is a move to alleviate the pressures that the students face and to put learning back into the classrooms. But, it will be interesting to see the impact on educational inequality on the long-run.
1.2.1Taiwan
The following information came from a news article in ChinaTaiwan (ChinaTaiwan). The article claimed that the first university in Taiwan was started in 1946 during the Japanese occupation and was started by the Japanese. The university is now National Taiwan University. Now, in 2000, Taiwan has 53 public universities, 74 private universities, and 23 vocational colleges. In all, the higher education student population is 109,000. What is interesting about the National College Entrance Exam reform in Taiwan is that in 2001, Taiwan adopted an alternative college application method than the traditional one test process. Now, the applicants have the option to directly apply to the universities, using a combination of application, recommendation, and alternative tests. On the university side, each individual university now has their say in how to accept students. This is a departure from the one exam system, where students are placed in universities depending on test scores. Of course, the traditional method is still present and many students still choose to use this traditional method as a last resort.
One thing to note is that according to the Ministry of Education data, since the adoption of the exam reform, acceptance rate by exam increased dramatically. This is primarily because of the oversupply of new universities/colleges, an issue that will not be discussed in this research essay.
1995 / 1996 / 1997 / 1998 / 1999 / 2000Acceptance by exam / 55604 / 61381 / 74346 / 71826 / 72471 / 75281
Acceptance by application
Exam acceptance rate* / 44.31 / 49.24 / 60.18 / 60.45 / 59.83 / 57.7
Application acceptance rate
* ( ) indicate number accepted divided by number that actually turned in a request for admissions card
2001 / 2002 / 2003 / 2004 / 2005 / 2006
Acceptance by exam / 75281 / 77450 / 78562 / 87059 / 88939 / 88991
Acceptance by application / 21645 / 20850 / 21588 / 23286
Exam acceptance rate* / 57.7 / 61.35 / (80.41) / (83.22) / (87.05) / (89.08)
Application acceptance rate / 65.63 / 62.33 / 67.02 / 66.89
* ( ) indicate number accepted divided by number that actually turned in a request for admissions card
(Table 1: Higher Education Acceptance in Taiwan, Ministry of Education)
1.2.2China
Similar to Taiwan, China is undergoing a series of National College Entrance Exam reforms. According to Chinesenewsnet (Chinesenewsnet), in March of 2006, Fudan University in Shanghai adopted a new application process. Instead of the National College Entrance Exam, 300 students (10%) will be accepted through an application process. The application process includes a three-hour test, application essay, transcripts, recommendations, and awards received. Additionally, a nearby Shanghai Communications University will also adopt a new application-based application process. In all, it reflects a general trend toward multi-aspect college application process as opposed to the one exam National College Entrance Exam method.
1.2.3South Korea
In the meantime, South Korea is undergoing National College Entrance Exam reform also. According to Chinabroadcast (Chinabroadcast), in August of 2004 South Korea adopted a new college admissions plan slated for 2008. Similar to the other Asian countries mentioned, the plan incorporates a more comprehensive entrance criterion, taking into account not only the exam score, but also the student’s performance in schools. This is again to address the problem associated with high stake exam and to encourage participation in regular classrooms.
2TAIWAN CASE STUDY
Due to the lack of data and research on the topic, the following section will focus on Taiwan as a case study. First of all, although it would be interesting to study China, as it is the world’s largest education system, data is unfortunately hard to come by. Additionally, although it would be interesting to conduct a longitudinal study on the effects of the education reform toward multiple admissions criteria, again the time frame since the change (2001) is too short for such analysis. Therefore, the following section is limited to the study of stratification along the dimensions of ethnic minority (2.1), girls (2.2), and low socioeconomic status (2.3), in the context of the old National College Entrance Exam.
2.1ETHNIC MINORITY
There are several different ways to categorize ethnic minorities in Taiwan. For one, there are the aborigine people, who may reside in isolation in the mountains or intermingle with other ethnic groups in the plains. Additionally, one may look at the different ethnic groups, such as the mainlanders (ruling minority), minnans, and the hakkas. In the following section, studies about ethnic minorities in Taiwan and their education status will be presented.
In the Chen and Lin study, the authors considered mainlanders, minnans, and the hakkas. The authors are interested in studying ethnic minorities in Taiwan because there are two divergent streams of literatures about ethnic minorities in Taiwan. One stream claim that after controlling for socioeconomic background, ethnic differences in years of schooling disappears. The other stream claim that differences on continuation rate and high school track placement are present (Chen and Lin, p. 1). In essence, the differences seem to be the granularity at which one looks at ethnic minority stratification. Thus, the authors wish to revisit the topic using two different data sources: the TSCS (Taiwan Social Change Survey) and the TEPS (Taiwan Education Panel Survey). In particular, the TSCS allowed the authors to look at historical data (1994-1971 birth cohort) and the TEPS allowed the authors to look at current data. In all, the authors hypothesized that two theories might be at play: the Political Exclusion Thesis and the Socioeconomic Reproduction Thesis (Chen and Lin, pp. 3-6).
Chen and Lin contend that if the Political Exclusion Thesis can be substantiated, then ethnic minority stratification exists. What Political Exclusion Thesis basically said is that the ruling minority mainlanders are using their political clout to help their education ambitions, at the expense of the other ethnic minorities. On the other hand, those that contend ethnic minority stratification does not exist may argue for the Socioeconomic Reproduction Thesis, which states that differences in measures of education (access, attainment, etc) are simply due to the student’s socioeconomic background.
Through TSCS and TEPS, Chen and Lin found that overall across the three ethnic groups year of schooling increase along with birth years, and the differences between groups narrow across the years. Additionally, although there is a strong effect from parental education on educational attainment, such effect decreases along with birth years (Chen and Lin, p. 13). Further, father’s occupation is also one of the factors leading to group differences, but it is of a lesser effect than parental education. Lastly, in regarding ethnic minority stratification, the authors conclude that “the gross ethnic differences… are not explained by political exclusion thesis but socioeconomic transfer thesis.” In essence, the authors found that stratification along ethnic lines are not present, although stratification along socioeconomic lines seem to explain a great deal of the differences among ethnic minority groups. Thus in relation to National College Entrance Exam, this suggests that one should look at socioeconomic factors.
In continuing, lets look at aborigine population in Taiwan. In 1992, the Chinese population was around 22 million people, while the aborigine population numbers around 400 thousand, composing 1.82% of the total population. In the meantime, aborigine men out numbers aborigine women by a ratio of 1.07:1 (Su and Chiang, p. 119). With these numbers in mind, the authors then used national statistics to evaluate aborigine and education. In their study, the authors found that the higher the education grouping (ie. high school, college, etc..), aborigines compose less percentage of the group, which suggest ethnic minority stratification. Additionally, even within the same education level, aborigine select vocational school more (Su and Chiang, p. 124). However, one interesting aspect that is related to girls is that in vocational school and regular universities, aborigine woman outpace man (Su and Chiang, p. 125). The authors suggest this is because aborigine man usually stops their schooling sooner and instead tries to find work (Su and Chiang, p. 128). In all, the data suggest that if one considers ethnic lines, either along with the aborigine distinction, or the mainlander/hakka/minnan distinction, observable differences can be seen in education attainment. However, as Chen and Lin suggest, such stratifications might be more of a result of socioeconomic background, rather than ethnic differences.
On the qualitative level, there are reasons to believe that ethnic differences matter. In Tsai’s study, the author suggest that the problems that aborigine faces include 1) living in rural areas where access to education is more limited, 2) teachers that choose to travel to rural areas to teach does not understand aborigine culture, 3) there is pressure to find a job instead, and 4) lots of aborigine children grew up in single family homes (Tsai, p. 110). Further, along the matters of teacher training, there is a high turnover in teachers and the teachers are usually older, which might affect their ability to adapt to the needs of the aborigine culture (Tsai, p. 115). Lastly, there is the ethnic stereotype to contend with, which is a rather surprising factor (Tsai, p. 120). Besides the common misconception of aborigines as “lazy” and “alcoholic”, the government’s favorable policies toward the aborigines also spun animosity toward the ethnic minority group. Su and Chiang describes such favorable policies as essentially “affirmative action”, which includes adding points for the national college exam and even automatic admissions (Su and Chiang, p. 129). Thus, in a sense the aborigines are “labeled”, often leading to stereotypes.