Chinese Education vs US Education

1 China vs. U.S. education China and the U.S. have education systems that share similarities and differences, which extend to the challenges they face and how they manage them to promote quality. The differences in how each system manages academic challenges impact learners' growth and employability. China and the U.S. have approached kindergarten enrolment issues and standardized tests differently.

China has an issue with kindergarten enrolment due to its regulation of ownership of preschools. In 2009, 51% of the country's children aged between 3 and 6 were enrolled in kindergarten, meaning that almost half of the children population did not attend school.

However, by 2019, the kindergarten enrolment had d raised to about 83%. The percentage is still below expectations, hence the need to address the issue. The use has applied comprehensive learning standards for pre-kindergarten programs to increase enrolment of children in elementary education systems. In China, for-profit organizations are restricted to not more than 20% of the ownership of kindergartens, a factor that contributed to the scarcity of enough facilities to accommodate preschool children

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2 On the other hand, the U.S. education system is more liberalized, allowing private entities free space to start and run kindergartens.

The Laissez-faire approach to kindergarten education in the U.S. has helped the country increase the enrolment of children in preschool. The percentage of enrolment in kindergarten improves as children become older. In the U.S., about 86% of children aged 5 years are enrolled in kindergartens (Neimann & Stelson, 2019). The private sector plays an integral role in ensuring sufficient facilities to accommodate preschool children. Moreover, local authorities offer kindergarten services rather than the federal government. In China, the central government is relied upon to fund the development of infrastructure for preschools, which accounts for the inadequacy of kindergarten. Strong government controls have limited the involvement of the private sector in the education sector (Neimann & Stelson, 2019). As this happens, the government itself does not have enough resources to run kindergartens. In this respect, China can learn lessons from the U.S. to improve enrolment rates in kindergarten.

Standardized Tests The U.S. uses standardized tests to assess learners, which has raised concerns about the overemphasis on teacher-centered instruction at the expense of learners' background, innovation, creativity, and critical thinking. However, standardized testing does not mean that students will be subjected to the same questions or activities to determine their intelligence and qualification for placement. The model only gives a common framework by which learners across the U.S. should be assessed (Graves, 2011). The test has to meet a certain threshold to determine a learner’s academic success and future potential. The U.S. relies on continuous tests to grade learners, which helps to ease the pressure to some degree. A single exam at each level of education is not used to grade learners for the purpose of placement in the next academic level

3 (Hu & Zhang, 2017). In this respect, a learner who did not perform well stands a chance to balance performance in the next round of tests.

Standard tests lead to pressure and stress among learners because they are to score high to get placement in prestigious high schools and later universities. Students are pushed to do all they can to attain high grades, regardless of the differences in socioeconomic status (Neimann & Stelson, 2019). The U.S. has affirmative action to try and protect minority groups' interests in the education system. However, it should be noted that affirmative action applies to high school and colleges, implying that a learner who does not score highly on tests at elementary levels, regardless of background, cannot get a chance to study in good schools (Neimann & Stelson, 2019). Sponsorship for education is also pegged on good grades, especially for post-high school education. The learner has to get the cut-off points to be maintained on an education scholarship.

China uses national exams to ensure that learners are subjected to standard tests. A single exam per academic level is used to determine placement in China, which leaves students under more pressure. It is imperative to note that children across China do a common national exam at each level of education to determine their placement in a high institution of learning. Schools evaluate; earners solely based on scores on tests (Hu & Zhang, 2017). The emphasis on scores has seen some Chinese arrange students' sitting based on performance in texts, separating high scorers from low scorers.

Chinese education system addresses stress and pressure on learners through counseling programs. However, the programs are not well developed. Parents sometimes prefer that their children join school early before they are of age because this would give them an added advantage over their peers. This adds pressure on the learner and affects growth (Hu & Zhang,

4 2017). Children spend little time on outdoor activities because much of their time is spent on academic work.

The Chinese system, unlike the U.S., offers learners the freedom to choose whether to continue with education at high school, which eases pressure. Elementary education is compulsory, after which learners and or their families can determine the best interest to pursue.

This allows children with special talents and other ambitions to quit academics (Neimann & Stelson, 2019). However, the flexibility of the education system at higher levels does not imply that the education system does not subject learners to a lot of pressure. The emphasis on the Gao Kao and other exams leaves students with high pressure and stress. This has led to many students suffering from diverse behavioral and mental challenges in China. A 2016 report published in China Daily revealed that the national examination accounted for 79 suicides among elementary and high school learners in 2017 (Neimann & Stelson, 2019). The suicides are an indication of the pressure that students are subjected to through the test-based education system. High grades are more glorified than success in non-academic areas.

Conclusion China's education system and the U.S. have contrasting challenges in enrollment in kindergarten and standardization of tests. China has had an enrolment in preschool because of stringent rules regarding the percentage of kindergartens that private for-profit organizations can own. On the other hand, the U.S. has successfully improved enrollment by giving private organizations much freedom to establish and run kindergartens for profit. Standardized tests in both countries are a problem that stresses academic grades at the expense of excellence in creativity, innovation, and critical thinking. The U.S. education system is centered on academic excellence, which is determined through regular tests. The Chinese education system has no

5 proper framework for managing stress and pressure that arises from a grade-based education system, which has increased students' vulnerability to mental health challenges.

6 References Graves, J. (2011). Effects of year-round schooling on disadvantaged students and the distribution of standardized test performance. Economics Of Education Review, 30(6), 1281-1305.

Hu, W., & Zhang, W. (2017). The comparison of stress between Chinese high school students and American high school students. US-China Education Review A, 7(6).

Neimann, T.D., & Stelson, U.M. (2019). Challenges and Opportunities in Global Approaches to Education. IGI Global.