The joint entrance exam's demise brings new worries

The government is seeking to reduce students' school pressure by abolishing the Joint College Entrance Examination (大學聯招) after this year, but most teachers, students and cram-school managers don't believe the goal can be achieved as long as testing in any form exists.

The joint entrance exam -- a test that for 48 years has determined which university senior high school students will attend becomes a part of history today, to be replaced by the Diversified College Enrollment Scheme (大學多元入學方案).

"There is not much difference between the two initiatives in terms of the pressure undertaken by students. Ironically, instead of being tortured once -- like they are now -- students will suffer three times under the new scheme," said an administrator surnamed Lee (李), who works for a cram school in Taipei.

Under the new diversified enrollment scheme, all students will be required to take a competency test (學科能力測驗) in February but can retake it in April if they are not satisfied with their initial grade, Lee said.

Together with their competency test scores, students have to either formally apply to a university or submit a recommendation from their school. Schools will write recommendations for only the best students -- the rest will fill out applications.

Universities will then use these criteria -- the test score and the written application or recommendation -- to decide which students to accept.

Rejected students will be able to take a "designated course examination (指定科目考試)," after which they can apply again. The second exam is in July and is equivalent to the current Joint College Entrance Examination.

Lee said some 40 percent of the students would likely gain admission during the first acceptance round while the rest will have to take the second exam.

Lee doesn't see the new initiative alleviating the anxiety of students in any way, given that the business in cram schools continues to prosper.

Parents also complained that the Ministry of Education has not done enough to clarify the complexity of the new scheme.

Although the ministry has distributed pamphlets to senior-high schools to provide detailed accounts of the new program, parents said the effort appears to be insufficient because most students and parents are still at a loss when talking about how to follow the new system next year.

For the students who fail this year, next year proves more of a challenge if they would like to stage a comeback.

"[If they fail this year,] students not only face a new examination system, they will also have to deal with new materials," said Lee.

This year was the last time standardized textbooks compiled by the National Institute for Compilation and Translation (國立編譯館) were used by senior high school students.