Culture Shock(1)----Education---Test Difference

Hello, guys! Since I have already been in the US for two months, I really have a lot of experiences on the culture differences between my home country and America. Everything I have experienced could be valuable for me in the future and I enjoy it very much! Writing these feelings down should be worthy and meaningful! So from today I will record my thinking of the culture shock between these two country, as my personal treasure of studying abroad! I will categorise them into different facets for several times so that make my contents more in detail in every journal! SO, let us go!

As a college student, taking exams maybe the most important thing for us taking care of. Getting a good grade always means a lot! However, tests in America and China are so different. Today I will talk about it from three point of view: the difference in test method, test assessment, and test content.

To begin with, from my point of view, the testing method in these two countries is different on time schedule and formats. In China, we can know the exact day for taking exams only few days or weeks before the exam, which is not convenient to set personal study schedules efficiently; however, in my courses in America, I always receive a time schedule in detail telling you how many exams you will take in this semester and the exact testing day. Some courses may have calendars showing you teaching contents every week clearly. Having a time schedule for exams can be very helpful. You can make the study plan and strategy as soon as possible, which help save time and avoid useless work. The other difference is the test format: it is much more diversified in American college than in Chinese. Students here may have quizzes, exams and assignments using various software on Internet, but in my last two years in my former university of China(I am a transfer student), I never took exams without using paper except several computer courses.

Secondly, I want to talk about the test assessment difference. In china, the final exam is always the most important part and you will have less opportunities to make up for it if missed. In China, students who are not focus on study for nearly the whole semester may also have chances to get a very high score if they work hard in the last few weeks. Like my dorm mate in my former University, she is an A student who never studies until the last month of the semester. However, in America, you need to gain points and scores during the entire semester. In some courses, making up for the missed exams or assignments are also possible. I take CMN102 this semester, we have 4 mid-term exams, and the professor only take 3 of them as your final score. What's more, in most courses,you will have several absenteeism chances or assignments misses without any excuses. I believe the test assessment in America is more scientific. It is a useful and effective way to motivate students keeping on study all the time not just in the exam weeks. Also, the final score could be more fair. The score counts a student's integral academic performance, and everyone needs to work hard to gain points to be a A student.

Lastly, I want to talk about the divergence in test contents area. Before I went to America, I had a misconception that exams in America must be opener and more flexible than in China. However, after passing several exams here, I gradually found the fact was totally the opposite. Actually, test contents in America are more lecture-related. Taking good class notes are much more important to get good scores. Usually, too difficult or challenging questions will not appear in the exams, instead, it may appear in your assignments or papers. Comparatively speaking, exams in china are more challenging: you may face difficult and irrelevant questions in your exams, and sometimes you need to answer very hard essay questions.

Generally speaking, test is very different in China and America. From my personally experiences, we really have different testing method both in time and format, assessment, and the content. As an international transfer student, I share strong feelings about it. I am on my way to adapt to these differences and also have fun!