Grueling Gaokao Tests China's College Seekers

Shanghai ranks at the top in all three areas

(NEWSER) - China is emerging as a world powerhouse, and that extends into the classroom. Shanghai teenagers outscored their peers around the world on the latest Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) survey, and Hong Kong also ranked high in all three areas: second in math and science, fourth in reading. This was China's first year participating in the tests, a generation after the Cultural Revolution badly damaged the country's school system, Time notes. More»

(NEWSER) - China's version of eBay is flourishing despite a crawling global economy and critics accusing the company of abetting black marketeers, the New York Times reports. Started 6 years ago, Taobao.com offers free listings, which forced eBay out of China and lured 120 million users who generate $15 billion in annual sales. Analysts say that number will double next year. “It’s their Amazon and eBay combined," says one expert. More»

The exercise showed China to be the savviest economic operator

(NEWSER) - Last month, the Pentagon hosted a new kind of war game, focused not on a “shooting war,” but on how hostile states might damage the US economy, Politico reports. Instead of decorated military brass calling the shots, shirt-sleeved hedge fund managers, academics, and executives played out scenarios shifting the global balance of power through financial moves. The outcome: China won while the US and Russia got beaten by trying to beat each other. More»

Unexpected 2.2% fall has analysts fearing major crisis for powerful economy

(NEWSER) - China’s exports have taken a sudden, unexpected hit from the global economic crisis, possibly an early indication that the world’s fourth-largest economy is on the verge of crisis. Exports, expected to rise at least 15%, shrunk instead by 2.2%, marking the first such fall in 7 years for the Asian giant, the Daily Telegraph reports. More»

(NEWSER) - Sweet sixteen is the right time to leave high school and leap into higher education, New Hampshire education officials say. Following advice from a blue-ribbon panel that warned of America's educational decline 2 years ago, the state plans to test 10th graders with tough new exams. Those who pass can attend community or tech colleges instead of high school, Time reports. More»