A nation should require all of its students to study the same national curriculum until they enter college.

Given that education has played a more and more significant role in the development of our society, numbers of reforms and updates are constantly conducted to make sure that the education system can better serve the modern world. Many agree that elementary education is the most fundamental and essential part, and thus should be carefully designed and considered. One typical concern regarding this is whether students should have the same national curriculum until they enter college. As is always the case, opinions tend to differ. As far as I am concerned, however, it will be more beneficial if we do have the same national curriculum, although different curricula can encourage diversity and can sometimes be advantageous.

To begin with, the same national curriculum makes the grades more comparable, which is extremely helpful in selecting talents. One typical example is the college entrance examination in China (also known as Gaokao). Students in most parts of China have to learn the same courses when they are in junior and senior high school, after which they will be tested against the same standard and same exam. This is not the unicorn in the world, and the method has also been adapted to many countries. It’s true that this kind of education somehow kills students’ interest and may leave students who are specialized in certain areas inundated. But this unification does provide a fair platform for everyone to showcase their capability, and offer a credible measurement to help universities in selecting newly-admitted students. After all, the same curriculum ensures that every student will experience similar difficulties and complexities, and their final grades can effectively measure their study.

Besides, instead of being beneficial in the process of talent selection, having the same courses can also improve students’ study efficiency when they enter universities. In almost every country, high school students are required to have basic knowledge of math, physics, chemistry, biology, history, geography and so on. These requirements make students start at the same level when they embark on their university study, under which scenario professors can directly begin their lectures, with no need to worry that some students may not be able to follow. In this way, students can learn more in a shorter time, which renders them to spend more time exploring the unknown world and contribute more to our society.

However, I have to admit that there are indeed some drawbacks to having the same curriculum and standardized exams. One issue that is concerned by a lot of people is that maybe not all students are suitable for the predesigned curriculum. For example, they may be disabled and have difficulty in learning the same materials as normal students do. Also, some may live in rural areas, where teaching resources are even not possible to get access to. There may also be cases where a genius in piano can never make sense of a math formula. It’s true that these exceptions are all that we should think about, for example, we can give them exception approval or some privileges to make it easier for them to get admitted to college.

Although given these exceptions, I still hold the view that for the majority, a country should set a standardized curriculum that takes the benefit of most students into consideration. In this way, we can provide a fair platform for students to make benign competitions and better their efficiency when they embark on their higher education.