Zhongkao
Fallout
as
Backlash
Against ‘Returning Students’
Triggers
Official
Investigation
反对“回流生”引发的中考余波引起官方调查

Xi’an has
relaxed
its
household registration requirements
to attract talent in recent years. Now
authorities
are investigating whether out-of-province students are
taking advantage of
the system to improve their exam chances
following
parents' complaints.

近年来，西安放宽了户籍要求，以吸引人才。现在，当局正在调查外省学生是否在利用这一制度来提高他们的考试机会。

In recent weeks, cities around China have begun announcing the results of this year’s high school entrance examination, or zhongkao, the hugely important milestone for Chinese children that can determine their future prospects
. Some families are happy, some less so — and now some parents are even
crying foul
.

最近几周，中国各地的城市已经开始公布今年的高考成绩，中考对于中国孩子来说是一个非常重要的里程碑，可以决定他们的未来前景。有些家庭很幸福，有些则不那么幸福——现在有些家长甚至叫苦连天。
Over the past week, parents in the northwestern city of Xi’an, capital of Shaanxi province, have been seeking answers from local education officials over claims that a large proportion of this year’s zhongkao takers there were students from other provinces. Since results in the city were announced last Friday, rumors have circulated that
up to 40,000 of the around 100,000 total
zhongkao
takers in Xi’an were such students.

过去一周，西北城市陕西省省会西安的家长们一直在向当地教育官员寻求答案。他们声称，今年参加中考的学生中，有很大一部分来自其他省份。自上周五宣布结果以来，有传言称，在西安总计约10万名中考学生中，有多达4万人是这样的学生。
These students study in schools outside Xi’an but have their household registration, or hukou, in Xi’an. The city has one of the country’s most relaxed hukou systems following reforms
in 2017 to attract talent. The policy also
allows for
Shaanxi parents working in another province to send their children back to take the
zhongkao
in their hometown,
hence
the name “returning students.”

这些学生在西安以外的学校学习，但在西安有户口。在2017年为吸引人才而进行的改革之后，陕西拥有全国最宽松的户籍制度之一。这项政策还允许在其他省份工作的陕西家长把他们的孩子送回家乡接受中考，因此被称为“回流生”。

On Tuesday, Xi’an’s education department responded
to the
controversy
by
clarifying
that 3,608 “returning students” took the city’s
zhongkao
this year,
accounting for
only 3.5% of the total takers.

周二，西安市教育局对这一争议做出回应，澄清今年有3608名“留学生”参加了该市的中考，仅占总参加人数的3.5% 。
The official figure has not
quelled
parents’ anger, however. The main concern is that these “returning students” are
depriving
local students of
educational resources
, making it more difficult to get into good high schools. This is despite the
admissions rate
for regular high schools in Xi’an increasing from 63.13% in 2022 to 66.83% this year.  

然而，官方数据并未平息家长们的愤怒。主要的担忧是，这些
“回流生”
正在剥夺当地学生的教育资源，使他们更难进入好的高中。尽管西安普通高中的入学率从2022年的63.13% 上升到了今年的66.83%，但是这个数字还是有所增加。


China has a
general policy
of sending half of middle school graduates to regular high schools while the other half either go to vocational school or drop out. But the Xi’an parents’ worries extend beyond getting into good high schools, as they also worry that “returning students” would make the national university entrance examination, or
gaokao
, three years later more competitive for their children.

中国的总体政策是，一半的中学毕业生进入普通高中，另一半要么进入专科学校，要么辍学。但是西安的家长们担心的不仅仅是考上好的高中，他们还担心
“回流生”
会让三年后的高考变得更有竞争力。
“Gaokaomigration” is a known phenomenon
in China, as high school students try to take the
gaokao
in places where they
have a better shot of
getting into a good university.
The Ministry of Education
has
cracked down on the practice
. 

“高考移民”在中国是一个众所周知的现象，因为高中生试图在那些他们更有机会进入一所好大学的地方参加高考。教育部已经打击了这种做法。
The latest controversy focuses on
“
zhongkao
migration,” with much of the blame placed on parents in neighboring Henan province.

最近的争议集中在“中考移民”上，大部分责任归咎于邻省河南的父母。
The
acceptance rate
of regular high school admissions in Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan, has been almost 10% higher than in Xi’an since 2021. This suggests that parents of “returning students” from Henan are motivated not just by getting into a good high school but also university, as the
admission cutoff scores
for undergraduate universities in Shaanxi have been lower than in Henan in the last three
gaokao
exams, despite both provinces using the same exam papers.

自2021年以来，河南省会郑州的普通高中入学率比西安高出近10% 。这表明，来自河南的
“回流生”
家长的动机不仅仅是考上一所好高中，还有大学，因为尽管陕西和河南使用同样的试卷，但在过去三次高考中，陕西本科院校的录取分数线一直低于河南。
These educational disparities and Xi’an’s hukou reforms have caught the attention of local educational agencies looking to make a profit. According to local media reports, various agencies in Henantarget their services at students registered as residents in Shaanxi, while others provide consultancy services
to help students register their
hukou
in Shaanxi.

这些教育差距和西安的户口改革引起了当地教育机构的注意，他们希望从中获利。据当地媒体报道，河南各机构的服务对象是在陕西注册的学生，还有一些机构提供咨询服务，帮助学生在陕西注册户口。
In a commentary
, Xiong Bingqi, the
deputy dean
of the 21st Century Education Research Institute, suggested that the controversy is a result of
regional disparities in educational resources
. He
calls on
local officials to
disclose
“returning students” statistics to the public to increase trust, and to ensure that admissions rates do not drop.

21世纪教育研究院副院长熊丙奇在一篇评论中指出，这场争论是教育资源地区差异的结果。他呼吁地方官员向公众公布“回国留学生”的统计数据，以增加信任，并确保录取率不会下降。
“It is necessary to not
mislabel
students as ‘returning students’ if they are not so, as it not only affects the
implementation
of
talent recruitment policies
but also
undermines
the fairness of the high school entrance examination,” Xiong wrote.

熊写道: “如果不是的话，就不要给学生贴上
“回流生”
的标签，因为这不仅会影响人才招聘政策的实施，还会破坏高考的公平性。”。
On Thursday, Xi’an's education department and
public security bureau
launched an investigation to
verify
the
qualifications
of every “returning student.”

周四，西安市教育局和公安局展开了一项调查，以核实每一位
“回流生”
的资格。
“We sincerely thank the students’ parents and the public for their concern and support for Xi’an's education work,” the education department said in its
announcement
.

教育部在声明中表示: “我们衷心感谢学生家长和公众对西安教育工作的关心和支持。”。
继续阅读
阅读原文