China's gaokao and US test-optional trend: AI reshapes global education assessment
By
Y Tony Yang
A baker's-dozen of insight crammed into one ring.
Summary
The article compares two major education systems — China's gaokao exam (12.9 million students) and the US trend of dropping SAT/ACT requirements — and examines how artificial intelligence is reshaping the debate on fairly measuring student ability. It highlights the divergence between China doubling down on high-stakes testing and American universities moving toward test-optional policies, with AI emerging as a disruptive force in both systems.
Key quotes
· 3 pulledThis week, while families gathered outside examination halls across China, some in red qipao for luck, 12.9 million students sat for the gaokao, the world's largest annual standardized test.
Two of the world's largest education systems are heading in opposite directions on the same question: how do you fairly measure a young mind?
Increasingly, artificial intelligence is rewriting the answer.
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