AN,ACID,TEST

By Ma Miaomiao

For the first time in academic history， students taking this years national college entrance exam， or gaokao， had to take not only tests in Chinese， math and English， but also a special medical test， including having their temperature taken regularly and the nucleic acid test for the novel coronavirus disease （COVID-19）.

Most of the candidates were born around 2003， the time severe acute respiratory syndrome hit China. And they took the college entrance test in the time of the COVID-19 epidemic， which led to them being dubbed the toughest crop of graduating students.

Arguably the biggest organized gathering since the COVID-19 outbreak started on July 7， lasting two-four days with 10.71 million students across the country taking the 2020 edition of the gaokao， it was a defining moment for the future.

One shot for life

The Ministry of Education （MOE） announced in March that the gaokao would not be held in early June as usual；

instead， the date would be pushed to July due to public health concerns.

The onset of COVID-19 in China coincided with the winter vacation in late January. Then the MOE decided to extend the holiday and asked local authorities to introduce online platforms for virtual learning. High school graduates had to spend lot of the critical time for test preparation at home.

Li Xuan， an examinee in Yinchuan， Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region in northwest China， said she and her peers had been on a roller coaster as their classes were first switched from offline to online and then back to offline again.

“The timetable and normal pace of studying were disrupted，” Li told Beijing Review. She studied at home for two months. Though the online courses， provided both by her own teachers as well as other schools in the region， pooled high-quality teaching and learning resources for students， still， they were not as effective as face-to-face communication with teachers. Li said she would lose concentration from time to time. “Though the postponed exam gave us extra time to prepare， I still felt nervous as I was not that self-disciplined，” she admitted.

Over the past few months， the epidemic in China has been put under control with stringent measures in place. Students in different areas were allowed to return to their schools as the number of new domestic infections reached zero. Classes resumed on March 9 in low-risk provinces such as Qinghai in the northwest. But in the hardest-hit province of Hubei， schools remained closed until May 6.

High school graduates in Beijing had seven weeks of offline courses from April 27. Since June 11， the capital saw a resurgence in locally transmitted COVID-19 cases， prompting it to tighten containment measures and students were required to study at home again.

Xiao Rong， Lis mother， said the uncertainties brought about by the epidemic haunted her at first， with all kinds of misinformation flooding in. However， Lis teachers kept in close contact and gave her reassurance.

The school helped build the confidence of parents and students during this hard time. Teachers were in constant contact with students both for their studies and mental welfare before the exam， Xiao told Beijing Review.

Li returned to school on March 25. Since then， she was able to sprint into an all-out preparation mode for the exam with the help of her teachers， who implemented a well-organized review plan until the critical day arrived.

After crossing the finishing line on July 8， Li said the gaokao offers a key to her dream of studying medicine. “I have long wanted to be a doctor， and the unforgettable memories during the battle against COVID-19 reaffirmed my goal，” she said.

Record event

This year， the number of test takers increased by 400，000 from last year. The organization of such a large-scale annual exam highlighted Chinas effective regular epidemic control after it had made decisive achievements in containing the virus.

On June 20， the MOE held a press conference where He Qinghua， an official with the National Health Commission， said all students and staff would need to monitor their health conditions. Their temperatures would be taken daily 14 days before the exam， and before sitting the exam， they would have a final temperature check and have to wear masks.

According to the MOE， more than 7，000 exam sites were set up with around 400，000 examination rooms， while 945，000 people worked as invigilators or service providers.

It was not mandated for exam takers in Beijing to take nucleic acid tests but the local government required all invigilators to take the test within seven days of the exam. All students and staff were required to wear masks throughout the exam， according to Li Yi， a spokesperson for the Beijing Municipal Education Commission.

All designated exam sites in Beijing were under closed-off management before July 7. Backup rooms were set up for emergencies. For example， each exam site had to have at least three such rooms， with each large enough to accommodate nine students at most. Additional exam sites were arranged for students who showed abnormal physical conditions or were still under quarantine. Psychological experts were also present to help relieve students anxiety before the test.

Wuhan， the capital city of Hubei， took similar strict measures to ensure the safety and health of over 59，000 examinees， according to the Wuhan Admission and Examination Office. The exam sites in Wuhan were disinfected before and after each test. However， unlike in Beijing， students in Wuhan could decide whether to keep their masks on during the exam as the city was identified as being at low risk.

Jiang Xinrun， a graduate of the Middle School Affiliated to Hubei University， told Xinhua News Agency， “The epidemic did have some impact on our preparation for the gaokao， but the darkest days have passed. I am confident that our efforts wont be in vain.”

Through rain and hail

According to the National Meteorological Center， large parts of seven provinces and two municipalities along the Yangtze River received heavy rainfall since July 4.

Rainstorms deluged Wuhan and several other cities in Hubei during the gaokao. Students had to wade through flood and rain to take the exam. More than 2，000 rescuers and some 500 disaster relief vehicles were deployed to assist them， according to a China Daily report.

Anhui Province on the lower reaches of the Yangtze in east China， also experienced torrential rains. The heaviest downpour in 50 years hit Shexian County in Anhui on July 7， and the exam had to be called off as rain caused severe flooding. River waters overflowed into downtown streets and most of the 2，000-plus candidates in the county were unable to reach their exam sites in time， according to the local authority.

The MOE rescheduled the Chinese and math tests for the affected students on July 9. Wang Tianping， Director of the Bureau of Education in Shexian， said the supplementary tests used backup test questions.