HUANGGANG Middle School in Central China's Hubei province, which used to be known for its students' outstanding performance in the national college entrance exam, has failed to provide the province a top scorer in the exam for the past 17 years. Comments:

It is not unexpected that the Huanggang Middle School went on an educational downward trend, because exam-oriented education in the country has already proved outdated and badly needs reforming. The advantaged schools in major cities have attracted an increasing number of talented teachers and students across the country, further marginalizing their counterparts in less developed areas, including Huanggang Middle School. Therefore, it may be the widening gap between school's educational resources that has led to Huanggang's loss of magic.

Si Hanhan, a guest commentator with eastday.com, April 7

The key problem that Huanggang Middle School has to solve is not the lack of financial support. Instead, the development of local education largely depends on whether outdated and inefficient educational methods are abandoned or not. There is not supposed to be any magic to exam-oriented education. Those students who were forced to "compete" in school exams might lose their interest in studying after graduation, even their desire for a better life in the future. The same thing could happen to a school as well.

Wu Fei, a guest commentator with Beijing News, April 7

The failure of the Huanggang "legend" is not only that of the school, but also related to the way schools have been run in the country. Unlike what many assume, the legend makes little difference to the reform of exam-oriented education. On the contrary, more local schools are fighting even harder to stand out in the current educational system by copying Huanggang's mode. In other words, a school's performance in exams has a lot to do with local financial support.

Zheng Yuchuan, a guest commentator with rednet.cn, April 7

(China Daily USA 04/08/2015 page11)