Cambridge uses gaokao scores as part of its admission criteria for Chinese students. CFP
Chinese high school students who want to enter the University of Cambridge may find that their scores on the national college entrance examination, or gaokao, will help their applications in the future.
想要就读剑桥大学的中国高中生或许会发现，自己的高考成绩会对将来的申请有所帮助。
The University of Cambridge said in March that it has been using scores on gaokao as part of its admission criteria for Chinese students for several years, according to its official weibo account.
今年三月，剑桥大学在其官方微博上表示，该校承认中国高考成绩并不是新闻，已执行有数年。
However, it does not admit students simply based on their test scores. In addition to top scores on gaokao, Chinese applicants also need to meet English language requirements, participate in an interview and take a subject-specific written admission assessment.
但剑桥大学招生并不“唯成绩论”。除了优异的高考成绩之外，中国申请者还需要达到英语语言水平要求，通过面试以及特定科目的入学笔试等。
Internet users have broadly welcomed the move, saying this is a blessing for Chinese students who want to enter the university, though the bar is set high, according to China Daily.
据《中国日报》报道，这一举措受到了广大网友们的欢迎，他们认为这对于想要前往剑桥深造的中国学子而言是一大幸事，尽管该校的录取门槛并不低。
The gaokao has been criticized by some as a one-shot exam that focuses on rote learning rather than creativity. However, recent years have seen more and more foreign universities begin to accept gaokao scores as part of the application process. For example, the University of New Hampshire became the first US state university to use the gaokao in its entrance criteria in 2018. A handful of universities in Europe, Australia, Canada and Singapore have also adopted similar policies.
此前一些批评声认为，“一考定胜负”的高考更看重死记硬背，而不是学生的创造力。但近年来，越来越多的国外高校开始接受高考成绩，将其视为申请材料的一部分。例如，2018年，新罕布什尔大学成为首家在招生标准中纳入高考成绩的美国公立大学。欧洲、澳大利亚、加拿大以及新加坡的多所高校也采取了类似的招生政策。
“We are aware of the many criticisms that have been made of the gaokao,” Stanley Nel, vice-president of international relations at the University of San Francisco (USF), told China Daily. USF also accepts gaokao scores as part of the application process.
“我们注意到了很多对于高考的批评声，”美国旧金山大学国际关系部副校长倪思达在接受《中国日报》采访时表示。旧金山大学在申请过程中也承认高考成绩。
“But it has the advantage of being what educational experts call a ‘criterion-referenced’ exam: It tests whether students are able to master a given body of knowledge, as well as their ability to work hard and consistently.”
“但高考拥有教育专家称之为‘标准参照’考试的优势：它考查学生是否能够掌握所学的知识体系，以及持之以恒、刻苦钻研的能力。”
Paul Fitzgerald, USF president, believes that there’s no perfect predictor of academic performance. He noted that the SAT isn’t perfect, either. “Many studies have shown that the SAT is not a very good predictor of how well students will do at university,” he told Quartz.
旧金山大学校长保罗·菲茨杰拉德认为，对于学业成绩，不存在完美的评估指标。他指出，（美国）学业能力倾向测验（SAT）也并不完美。“许多研究表明，SAT考试并不能很好地预估学生们的大学学业表现，”他在接受Quartz网站采访时曾如此表示。
Despite the gaokao’s growing acceptance among US universities, “there is a long way to go before the US education circle fully recognizes the gaokao, as there are still many US universities that don’t accept it as part of their application process,” Chu Zhaohui, a researcher from the National Institute of Education Sciences, told the Global Times.
尽管越来越多的美国高校承认高考成绩，但“要让美国教育界完全承认高考成绩，还有很长的一段路要走，因为还有不少美国高校在申请过程中并不承认高考成绩，”中国教育科学研究院研究员储朝晖在接受《环球时报》采访时表示。
