Make a Fortune and Become Well-off [90] - Chapter 151

He Xiaofang liked that Jiang Ning was praising her for having good judgment.

Seeing her leaning against Jiang Ning, Xu Xiuli didn’t mind. On the other side, she held Jiang Ning’s hand, and the two girls of about the same height swayed back and forth with leisurely postures.

Director Wang wanted to arrange a joint exam, so he first told the principal of Wuzhong. The principal of Wuzhong had no objections, and then went to discuss the joint exam with the principal of No. 1 High School and the director of the Academic Affairs Office.

Principal Sun of No. 1 High School could easily see Director Wang’s intention to suppress them. No. 1 High School had always been the control group for Wuzhong.

He couldn’t help but frown, saying, “The new students have been here for less than a semester, and the final exam is coming soon. What’s the point of taking a joint exam now?”

He looked very serious—tall, always dressed in black, exuding an imposing presence. At first glance, he looked like a boss from a TV show.

Director Wang from Wuzhong High School had long been used to Principal Sun’s cold demeanor. He smiled and said, “They’ve been studying for more than half a semester. It’s a good time to see how they’ve done. Don’t think that just because they’ve only just graduated from junior high school that it’s too early, and they can relax in the first year of high school. If they slack off, you need to keep them on track.”

Principal Sun poked the desk with his pen. “To judge how they are studying, don’t you have monthly exams every month? There are also weekly exams in the class.”

Director Wang was also tall and thin. He was not afraid of Principal Sun’s cold demeanor at all. A smile remained on his face. “Principal Sun, don’t you want to know how they rank in all of Wucheng? Usually, these kids think that because they’ve entered No. 1 High School, or Wuzong School, they’re the best in the world. It just so happens that we can take advantage of the joint exam to let them know that there’s always a higher mountain and there’s always somebody better than them. If no one gives them some stimulation, how will they know how to work hard?”

The students of Wuzhong thought that they were the best in the world, not the ones in No. 1 High School. Principal Sun knew that Director Wang was seeking excitement for Wuzhong’s students.

Being used as a tool to stimulate students from other schools made Principal Sun, who had always believed his school and Wuzhong were two key schools standing side by side, a little angry. He was angered by the arrogance of Director Wang from Wuzhong, but he didn’t show it on his face. Instead, he stood up, walked over to the wooden sofa chair in the office, and poured a cup of tea for Principal Wuzhong and Director Wang. “Okay, if you want a joint examination, then do it. Which schools will participate?”

“I haven’t called to confirm yet. I’m here to discuss it with you,” Director Wang said politely with a smile. No. 2 High School would definitely participate. Every time there was a competition, No. 2 High School actively participated, eager to compete with Wuzhong and No. 1 High School. But in Director Wang’s view, it didn’t matter whether other schools participated or not. What was important was that No. 1 High School should participate.

No. 1 High School was like the control group for their school. If it didn’t participate, then what was the point of the joint examination? It would be as good as Wuzhong School taking the test casually within their own school.

Only by beating No. 1 High School in the exam could Wuzhong be considered a true winner.

“If you want to participate, I’ll talk to the Education Bureau here to determine which schools will join, how to set the test paper questions, who will administer it, and when the test will take place. Should we hold the test now or after the students’ final exam next year? Should we conduct the exam for just one grade, or for all three grades in high school?”

Principal Sun couldn’t help but think of Jiang Ning, the young talent that Teacher Wang had spoken about.

After both Teacher Wang and Teacher Ji said that she had great potential, Principal Sun took the time to learn more about her. After all, such a promising student didn’t come through the school scholarship program, so her high school entrance examination scores must not have been outstanding. He reviewed Jiang Ning’s entrance exam results and her scores after entering No. 1 High School.

Like the other teachers who were concerned about Jiang Ning, Principal Sun was also worried that she might be the kind of student who would crumble under pressure during a major exam and not perform well.

Examinations like the joint exam were rare and significant tests. It wasn’t out of the question to use this opportunity to train her.

With a serious expression, Principal Sun put his hands on his knees, sat upright, and said calmly, “Since it’s happening, it must be an examination for all three grades. How could it be only for senior high school students?” 

In the last six months, a major exam would help them get used to the atmosphere of the college entrance examination.

Director Wang, still smiling, replied, “We agree, Principal Sun. The three grades will have exams. That’s settled for now. After I talk to the Education Bureau, we’ll confirm the participating schools together. We can discuss the test papers later.”

People from the government were quite familiar with the Education Bureau, often meeting them in sessions, so it was really just a matter of exchanging a few words with them.

The joint examination papers for the three grades had to be agreed upon by the deans of several schools after the participating schools were determined.

Although Wuzhong was leading the initiative, it wasn’t as if their school would create a test paper, print it, send it to each school, and have them take the test directly. Each school had its own tutorial arrangements. For instance, in Wuzhong, freshmen and sophomores learned the entire high school syllabus. After completing all the teaching content, they spent the third year of high school in comprehensive review.

But not every school’s teaching process was so tight. Many schools followed a step-by-step approach, with students learning each year’s syllabus and leaving time for review at the end.

The test paper given to second-year high school students might contain third-year content. If students from other schools hadn’t studied it, the joint examination would simply become a stepping stone for other students.

Other schools participated in the joint examination to gain practice. At the same time, they also wanted to see how big the gap was between them and key schools such as Wuzhong and No. 1 High School. When students applied for colleges in the future, which ones would be safe to apply for?

After all, the papers their school usually produced were not as difficult as the college entrance examination papers, which must be much more challenging. Although the papers issued by Wuzhong and No. 1 High School were not as tough as the college entrance exams, in terms of difficulty, they were definitely close to the real thing.

That was their purpose in taking the joint examination.

So when they received a notice from the Education Bureau that Wucheng was going to hold a joint entrance exam and asked if they would participate, these schools all agreed.

It was just that they still needed to discuss the timing.