Educators yesterday complained that last week's leaking out of exam questions for a practice entrance examination in Taipei is a symptom of how the new admission system to senior high schools is being misused.
The scandal was exposed last Friday, when some 20,000 students at 40 junior high schools in Taipei City, and three others in Taipei County, were jointly taking a practice senior high school entrance examination. Officials at certain cram schools, according to allegations, had obtained the test questions beforehand and leaked them to their students.
The simulation, which was intended only as a preparatory exercise when the joint examination was used as the only method to be admitted to senior high school, has become a standard for junior high schools to evaluate students' qualification for seeking senior high school placement through recommendation procedures.
Different junior high schools have different ways to decide which students should obtain recommendations, with most schools using students' records and their results in the practice examinations. As a result, students compete strenuously to get good results in school and in simulated examinations.
Ding Gih-jen (
Ding said since senior high schools hold tests and interviews for the students, it is unnecessary for junior high schools to select the students in accordance with their academic records. This only puts unnecessary stress on students.
Admission to senior high school has so far remained very competitive, with only around 30 percent of junior high students enjoying the opportunity.
At present, senior high schools offer 30 to 40 percent of their openings for students to gain admission through recommendation, and each junior high school is subject to a small quota based on its size. This means only a few students winning top grades can gain admission.
David Lee (
Chan Cheng-tao (
"The recommendation system will only be meaningful if it offers different evaluation standards for students with different potentials," Chan said.
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