Politics still counts, however, "A very high percentage at P.U. are at least Communist Youth members if not Communist Party members," Wen says. "But some of the Party members I've met are among the least revolutionary in their thinking. It doesn't mean as much about your politics as it did before."

The idea to get hold of the tests and analyze them was born in the brain of Dr. Robert Barendsen, a Far Eastern specialist in the USOE's Division of International Education. "In 1978 lots of Chinese students began appearing on our shores and we had to integrate them into our university system," he says. "Since we were just getting into the business of academic exchange with China and since these were the first nationally standardized tests since the Cultural Revolution we wanted to use them to get a feel for the kind of background college-level Chinese had in several subjects."

The tests were "partially available through official channels and party through pickups by private visitors to China" he explains. Barendsen assembled a staff of US experts to evaluate the tests, which consist of short-answer and essay questions.

Out of all the tests, only math, physics and chemistry easily lend themselves to cross-cultural comparison, and U.S. college-bound students are generally better prepared in these areas, according to the test evaluators, Nevertheless, the Chinese youth come out pretty well, and may even surpass U.S. students in some of the liberal arts areas of the test. Educational Testing Services in Princeton has several copies of the USOE report and "they are analyzing them carefully," Barendsen says.

When they take the test, students list four or five colleges in China they would be willing to attend, and officials assign students who pass to specific institutions. "It's incredibly nerve-wracking--the prospects of not passing are so dismal," Wen says. "I had a roommate at P.U. who was just 20 and had an ulcer already."

"I met a cabdriver in Peking who told me his son had worked very hard but failed the test the first year," she continues. "The driver told me, 'Now he spends every day in the library studying. I don't have much culture and I can't help him. I hope he passes."'

To help prospective applicants, China's Ministry of Education in April 1978 put out a review outline in each of the eight subjects for nationwide distribution. Just like a Barron's College Outline, only you read it vertically. No one can say just how far the Americanization of Chinese education will go. Maybe they'll institute MCAT's to screen out incompetent barefoot doctors. One thing will never be the same though--they can never lure Mr. Test over to Peking to proctor the exams. Not for all the tea in China.

SAMPLE QUESTIONS FROM THE POLITICS EXAM

Short Answers

1] Explain the following terms:

class

practice

universality of contradictions

2] What social forms does human society pass through in its development from a low to a high stage?

3] According to Mao's theory of three worlds, what countries and regions are included in the first, second, and third worlds?

ESSAY

Using the principle of material things first and consciousness second, discuss the importance of the Party's excellent workstyle preceeding from the actual situation and seeking truth from facts.

Clockwise from top left:

Peking students going to take test; The caverns of Mem Hall; Chou did well enough on his tests to make it to the top; these people did slightly worse.