The top two Chinese education officials in east China's Zhejiang Province have been fired while remaining two are under investigation, after allegedly botched grading policies and unfairly skewed the score for many Chinese high school students in the national college entrance examinations commonly known as gaokao.
The case came under the spotlight on November 24 as many students reportedly found their English exam, which took place in November, scored unexpectedly low or high than what's estimated.
The Zhejiang Province announced the results found for the grading scandal during a press conference on Wednesday. /VCG Photo
It led parents to question the principle behind the grading method for the test, the college entrance exam notorious for its competitiveness.
In response, the Zhejiang provincial government concluded in a statement on Wednesday that there had been a "poor policy decision” by the Zhejiang Education Department, according to the results found by an inquiry committee established to investigate the matter, CCTV reported.
It added that the original score of the students would be reinstated.
Chen Genfang, a provincial authority apologizes during the press conference. /VCG Photo
The English score was previously "curved" by the officials to level the exam's difficulty levels, as some of the exam's reading and essay questions were said to be harder this year than the ones of the previous year, according to the Beijing news reports.
Subsequently, the move changed the outcome for many students, as some received disproportionally low scores on open-ended questions like an essay, while high on objective questions such as multiple choice, or vice versa.
Some students even received "negative scores," it added.
However, the decision to curve the exam lacked adequate assessment before it was applied, said the provincial government in Wednesday statement.
The provincial government calls the move to modify the grades "a serious mistake." /VCG Photo
It's worth to note the latest case in Zhejiang Province, comes following a new reform system for gaokao which was announced last year aimed to be applied nationwide by 2020.
It's reported that Zhejiang Province, among other Chinese regions, is spearheading the reform. It will give high school students more than one chance to take the test in various subjects in a bid to enter college, according to China Daily.