If one were to name the most widely touted government policy of the last decade, it would probably be educational reform. Unfortunately, the same could be said if one was to identify the most disappointing government policy of the last 10 years in terms of whether the policy achieved its goals, took expertise on the matter into account and was appropriate for the conditions in which it was to be implemented.
Major goals of the educational reform movement were to enable students to study in a happier environment and to rectify the faults of the Joint College Entrance Examination (JCEE) system, in which testing guided the curriculum. To achieve this goal, educational reform policy adopted two strategies. The first was to increase the number of students attending senior high school and college. The second was to introduce more variety in teaching materials, means of gaining entry to schools and evaluation standards.
These measures have all been fully implemented. Taiwan's middle and high school students no longer need to take the JCEE. Written tests and performance in one's courses are no longer the only route to higher education or the only index by which students are evaluated. But have the academic workload and pressure to get into schools been reduced for middle and high school students? Has the situation in which tests guided the curriculum and shaped studies improved?
One need only ask educational staff on the front lines and the students and parents who must suffer the consequences of educational reform to find the answer. The problems have not improved. Rather, they have gotten worse.
Under the old system, in which the path of one's adult life could hinge on a single exam, all of one's cramming was focused on the subjects covered by the JCEE. Now that everything has been "pluralized," material for cram schools has expanded beyond traditional courses. Even extra-curricular activities and the special skills which can be the basis for admission to university have become subjects to cram for. Ten years of educational reform have resulted in even more pressure on students and a wider scope for testing to guide the curriculum.
The most egregious consequence of educational reform, however, is that it has given rise to forgery in schools. Pluralistic evaluation standards for students have led to widespread incidents of schools issuing fake records of extra-curricular activities and other documents to bright students in order to increase their chances of getting into university
These problems haven't just suddenly appeared. They were apparent when the various reform measures were being tried out in pilot programs. Innumerable teachers have pointed out their seriousness time and time again. Countless parents have loudly decried the absurdity of the reforms because they can't bear to see their own children tortured by the educational system.
Regrettably, the promoters of the reforms seem unperturbed. They have no intention of reigning in the policy before it is too late or open-mindedly reviewing whether the reforms have become derailed or if the ideals of reform are too far removed from the realities of the world.
Instead, obstinately clinging to their erroneous views, they have accelerated each of their "pluralization" measures.
The opinions of teachers, students and parents on the front lines were never taken seriously, despite the policy's far-reaching ramifications. The people who actually make such policies are members of the so-called social elite with fancy titles, but appear to have little understanding of the day-to-day practicalities of education. This is the worst possible way to develop government policy.
Huang Jyh-dean is an associate professor in the Department of International Business at National Taiwan University.
Translated by Ethan Harkness
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