The pressure to do well in school, is very high in Sudan, Africa. There are two major exams throughout a whole high school career. One exam to get into high school, grades 9-11, and one to get into college. If these exams are not passed, the whole grade will have to be repeated. For example, not get a high score on the exam in 11th grade, you will have to repeat that grade. The dropout rate in Sudan is very high compared to The United States which, "declined from 12 percent in 1990 to 7 percent in 2010."
Once the exam for college is taken, the score depends on what university you are able to go to. To me, I believe this system is similar to the american concept of SAT's. Instead, their scores affect what kind of career field you can go into as well as the college. For example, if you get a 155 out of 160, you are most likely able to go to a college specializing in medicine. Where as, in the United States, The SAT's play an important role in enrolling in college, but it's not the most important.
An interesting perspective. I guess it must be the enculturerated american in me, but I didn't know how similar the Sudan school system was to ours. Did you take the college exam? If so, what career did you get? Also, do you have an estimate of how high the drop out rate is in Sudan, or is it hard to find? Very insightful post overall.
ReplyDeleteThis is great information, but I'd love to know more. Just as you get started, it feels like we lose the rest of the conversation. What's on the test? What's the pass rate for first-time takers? How are these tests in comparison with end-of-year exams in U.S. high schools?
ReplyDeleteAlso, can you tweak the formatting so that you don't have highlights on the quotes?