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Chao News Client Reporter Ji Yuya Jiang Xiaorong

The 2024 high school entrance exam has come to an end, and most of the candidates will go to various high schools after the summer vacation to continue pursuing their dreams. However, a few Hangzhou candidates have decided to take the mid-term exam to fight for their dream high school again.

The middle school repeater class seems to be a little-known track for further study nowadays. But in the 1980s and 1990s, many students made the middle school repeater class a trend in order to get into technical secondary schools. In recent years, with the continuous development of education and changes in policies, the middle school repeater class has gradually faded out of people's sight.

Recently, the reporter learned from the repeat classes and junior high schools in Hangzhou that the number of students who choose to repeat their studies this year has increased significantly compared to last year. What is the reason? What kind of students are suitable for repeating their studies?

The number of patients in Hangzhou has increased significantly

On the morning of the 29th, when the reporter arrived at Chunhui Middle School on Mashi Street, Shangcheng District, Hangzhou, the principal Xiang Junqiang was still busy receiving parents who were seeking advice from the school on WeChat.

"The number of students who signed up for the high school entrance examination in Hangzhou this year has increased significantly, from about 500 in the past two years to about 800. The number of people who signed up for the Chunhui high school entrance examination has almost doubled compared to last year, reaching about 120." Xiang Junqiang said that he has run the high school entrance examination in Hangzhou for 15 years. According to his observation, the number of students who signed up for the high school entrance examination this year has become the second highest peak since the establishment of the high school entrance examination. The highest peak of the high school entrance examination occurred in 2020. Due to the impact of the epidemic, some candidates did not perform well in the high school entrance examination and chose the high school entrance examination. Taking the Chunhui high school entrance examination as an example, the number of students enrolled that year reached more than 150.

Xiang Junqiang also made a new discovery: since this year is the first time that the province has unified the questions for the high school entrance examination, many parents of high school students from other cities in the province, such as Ningbo and Wenzhou, have come to consult Hangzhou's high school entrance examination classes. "In the main urban area of ​​Hangzhou, Hangzhou high school students who have been re-enrolled can take the high school entrance examination again as 'individual students'. But the policies in other cities are slightly different. For example, Jinhua and Quzhou have some restrictions on the application of high school students who have been re-enrolled in the second high school entrance examination. Therefore, many parents from other places have come to consult, but most of them are still in a wait-and-see state. It is estimated that there will be more high school students from other places in Hangzhou's high school entrance examination classes next year."

"Compared with previous years, the number of students choosing to repeat their studies has indeed increased." A junior high school principal in Hangzhou told reporters that in previous years, very few graduates of the school chose to repeat their studies, with only one or two in each grade. This year, five or six students have the intention to repeat their studies.

Failure to get into the grade or poor performance are the main reasons for repeating a grade

Xiang Junqiang analyzed the data of students who applied for repeating the high school entrance examination this year. He found that among the students who repeated the exam in the past, those whose scores were about 20 points higher than the excellent high school line were considered high-scoring repeaters, and most students' scores were about 30 points lower than the excellent high school line. This year, several students who were almost 40 points higher than the excellent high school line and had been admitted by good excellent high schools also chose to repeat the exam. Students who were 10 or 20 points lower than the excellent high school line became the main force of repeating the exam.

"On the one hand, it shows that some students who are relatively strong in science failed to be admitted to their favorite high schools because they failed to widen the gap with their classmates or performed poorly in social subjects, and ultimately chose to repeat their studies. On the other hand, this year there are more students who applied for admission but were not accepted than in previous years," said Xiang Junqiang.

During the interview, several parents who chose to let their children repeat the high school entrance examination also expressed similar views to Xiang Junqiang. "My son is good at science, but this year's science test paper is relatively simple, but the score of social studies has increased. We did not do well in the test, only more than 70 points, and the total score was only more than 580 points, more than 20 points less than usual." Ms. Su, whose child attends a public junior high school in Hangzhou, said that after consulting her child, the family decided to try again next year.

"At that time, it was said that the difficulty of the province-wide unified questions would decrease, and the teachers were mainly encouraging when filling out the simulated applications. This gave us some illusions and made us overconfident when filling out the applications." A parent of a third-year junior high school student reviewed the application process of his child. According to the child's normal level, they should have filled in the tail end of the excellent high schools, but they only filled in the first few excellent high schools, and the child did not perform well, so he was rejected.

A principal in Hangzhou told the reporter that in addition to scores, changes in the admission method also had a certain impact. Most of the students who had good grades before were able to enter relatively ideal high schools, either through the allocation of students or through the unreserved examination. "The original allocation of students was based on their regular grades, but now it is based on their high school entrance examination scores, which is more of a test of students' psychological qualities. Some students who failed the exam but are unwilling to accept it will choose to repeat their studies."

Zhongfu is only suitable for some students

Although repeating the exam this year is much more popular than in previous years, in fact, repeating the exam is not suitable for many students and parents who want to do so.

"In my opinion, there are only three types of students who are suitable for retaking the high school entrance exam. The first type is those who made mistakes in filling out their application forms; the second type is those who have good study ability in normal times, but because of playing games and other reasons, they delayed their study time and did not do well in the exam; the third type is those who did not perform well in the high school entrance exam due to physical reasons." Xiang Junqiang said that for students who were able to get into key high schools that year, he would advise them that retaking the high school entrance exam is too risky, and it is better for them to go to high school first, and they can get good scores in the college entrance exam through three years of hard work in high school.

Xiaowen, a boy from Hangzhou who is currently studying at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, chose Zhongfu five years ago. "When I was repeating the exam, I couldn't help but feel anxious, after all, my classmates were all going to high school. When my grades fluctuated, the feeling of helplessness and loss would seriously affect my mood." Xiaowen said that he adjusted his mentality and treated Zhongfu as a "preparatory class for high school entrance exams", and finally achieved very ideal results in the high school entrance exam. But in his opinion, students who are unwilling to give up and have dreams in their hearts are more suitable for Zhongfu. If a student is a go-with-the-flow type in daily life, repeating the exam will hardly change the final result.

"The day after the high school entrance exam results were announced, I received a call from a mother who said her child had performed poorly and scored 603 points. She wanted to consult with Zhongfu. She almost cried on the phone." A principal in Hangzhou recalled that because he had frequent contact with this mother, he knew that she was usually strong and the child was under a lot of pressure. "We still advised her to be cautious and first consider the child's own ability to bear and his own ideas. The child will face tremendous pressure after the Zhongfu."

During the interview, many junior high school principals mentioned that it is not only the test scores that affect the future development of children, but also the development and changes of the whole society. For example, when the integration of junior high school and undergraduate education was first introduced a few years ago, most parents were very hesitant, but in recent years, the scores have been getting higher and higher. "Every child's growth path is different. Which high school to go to is just a small step in life and cannot determine a child's life." Zhao Qi, principal of Hangzhou Qianjiang Foreign Language Experimental School, said that at the moment when the integration of junior high school and undergraduate education is heating up, parents need to do a comprehensive thinking and judgment.