Is Everyone Equal before the System of Grades: Social Background and Opportunities in China

This paper examines how parents' social position influences their childrens' educational achievement in China. In 19 7 7, the government instituted a three-tiered examination system to choose students for junior high school, senior high school, and the university. The carefully laid out rules prevent much of the corruption which undermined the system of the early 1970s. But the system perpetuates and accentuates inequality by selecting a disproportionate numb er of students from the intellectual and cadre families. Given the close family units and differences in social stratifications in China, social background influences educational achievements in ways similar and yet different from the west. It is not so much the economic advantage but the encouragement and coaching of the educated parents that give these children the edge. These children do better in the examination than those from the peasant/ worker families and, in turn, the examination system gives them further privileges and opportunities, widening the gap between them and others.