cuts apart. It gives lop-sided emphasis on the dissemination of knowledge covered by examinations but neglects the overall development of students. Examination is a means for evaluation but, in examination-oriented education, it becomes its own purpose.
       Many teachers, experts, students and parents have noticed the problems of examination-oriented education. In 1986, an education journal carries an article which proposes the concept of "quality-oriented education" as against "examination-oriented education." Quality-oriented education should respect the personality development of primary and middle school students and aim to enhance their comprehensive quality, the article says. This concept is a good summarization of what the educational circles had been pondering on principles of education and triggered extensive discussions. Education should be oriented toward improving the overall quality of students, rather than toward examinations. This has become a consensus among an increasing number of people.
       "Quality-oriented education" is for all students. It is geared toward creating conditions for an overall development of students, that is, morally, intellectually, physically and aesthetically. Education also covers the learning of labor skills and social practices on the part of students. Quality-oriented education emphasizes the cultivation of students' innovative spirit and ability to do

things. A shift from examination-oriented education to quality-oriented education requires changes in educational concept, teaching content, teaching materials, teaching method, cultivation mode, system of evaluation, enrollment and examination systems and school administration. Such a shift also sets higher requirements on the quality of teachers. The most important goal is to protect and foster students' creative and innovative capabilities and enhance the overall quality of every student. Enforcement of quality-oriented education has become the central theme of educational reform for primary and middle schools; it has also taken center stage in the reform and development of education in China.
       Reform measures for the enforcement of quality-oriented education are being carried out. The Ministry of Education has eased the difficulty of teaching materials for primary and middle schools, cut or reduced in existing teaching materials outdated knowledge, trivial details and content that goes beyond students' cognitive ability, and added practicing activities. In primary schools, the 100-point scale has been replaced by an evaluation system for rating examinations. In big cities, primary school pupils can enter nearby junior middle schools without taking an entrance examination. For junior middle schools, graduation examinations are held, separate