China’s college entrance exam begin to reform 中国大学入学考试

The English test will be removed from China’s college entrance exam by 2020, according to details of exam and admission reform revealed by the Ministry of Education. The national college entrance exam, known as the "Gaokao" has been used to evaluate Chinese students for three decades. The Ministry of Education has worked out a plan for reforming exams and enrollment. The Ministry will solicit public opinions before its release.

从中国教育部披露的关于高考考试及录取的细节来看，英语考试将在2020年前退出中国的大学入学考试。全国高等教育入学考试即“高考”，作为用于考量中国学生的工具，这一制度已实施了30年。中国教育部在近期披露了高考考试和招生计划的改革方案，在其正式发布之前，将会征求群众的意见。

Instead, tests will be held several times a year to allow students to choose when and how often they sit the exam so as to alleviate study pressure and change China’s once-in-a-lifetime exam system.

取而代之的是“一年多考”——学生可以自己选择何时考、考几次，从而减轻学生的学习压力并改变中国“一考定终身”的考试制度。

The plan and suggestions for its implementation will be announced in the first half of next year. It will be piloted in seleced provinces and cities and promoted nationwide from 2017. A new exam and admission system will be established by 2020, according to the eduction ministry.

关于高考改革实施的计划与建议将在明年上半年公布。高考改革将在选定省市进行试点改革，并于2017年在全国范围推广。同时，中国教育部也称其将在2020年建立新的考试和招生制度。

The decision has aroused a heated discussion among Shanghai educators and parents who doubted the reform would reduce the burden of learning English or if the substitute test could reflect a student’s English skills and help students learn English better.

教育部的这一决定在上海的教育工作者和家长中引起了热议。他们认为改革并不会减轻学习英语的负担；对于取代高考英语的考试是否能反映出学生的英语技能、帮助学生更好地学习英语，他们也表示怀疑。

“The reform shows China is learning from the West to give students more test-taking chances. But more chances might become more of a burden since Chinese students are likely to repeat the test until they get the highest score,” said Cai Jigang, a professor at Fudan University’s College of Foreign Languages and Literature and chairman of the Shanghai Advisory Committee for College English Teaching at Tertiary Level.

“改革说明中国正在向西方学习，让学生有更多的应试机会。但更多的机会也可能会变成更重的负担，因为中国学生很可能会不断地刷分，直到能考到最高分为止， “复旦大学外国语言文学学院教授、上海高校大学英语教学指导委员会主任委员蔡基刚说。

Yu Lizhong, chancellor of New York University Shanghai, wher classes are in English and students are required to have a high standard of English, said the most important aspect of the reform lay in what to test and how to test.

上海纽约大学校长俞立中表示，改革最重要的方面在于考什么、怎么考。在上海纽约大学，所有课程均用英语授课，学生都需要具备较高的英语水平。

“As far as I see, the reform doesn’t mean English is no longer important for Chinese students after it will be excluded from the unified college entrance exam,” Yu said. “In a way, English is even more important than before since the test would only serve as reference, while every college and university, even every major, can have different requirements of a student’s English skills under a diverse evaluation system.”

“依我看，对于中国学生来说，英语考试将从全国大学入学统考中退出，这项改革并不意味着英语已经不再重要，”俞校长说。 “在某种程度上，英语甚至比以前更为重要，因为考试只能作为参考依据。而每个大学和学院甚至每个专业，都可以根据不同的评价体系，对学生的英语能力作出不同的要求。 ”

Yu said some students will have their study pressure reduced if the major they choose doesn’t need excellent English while others still need to study hard if they want to be among the best students.

俞校长称，如果一些学生所选的专业并不需要优秀的英语，那么这将减轻他们的学习压力；而对于其他一些学生来说，如果想名列前茅，他们仍需要努力学习英语。

The eduction ministry said the reform would not affect students attending the college entrance exam over the next three years.

教育部表示，在未来三年里改革并不会影响学生参加高考。