The Policy of Selection in University Entrance Examination Clarified by the Analysis of Questions in the Biology Field

Abstract

University entrance examinations are the first step in the selection process of students possessing the knowledge and ability that is necessary in the various fields of science. Questions on the entrance examination are therefore considered to reflect the policy of selection at each university. To confirm this hypothesis, I analyzed the questions in entrance examination in the field of biology from the following two perspectives: (1) the degree of consistency between the idealized content of high school level studies in the field of biology as viewed by high school and university biology teachers for those who intend to advance into faculties (departments) in the field of natural sciences (i.e., science, engineering, agriculure, medicine, dentistry, etc.) and actual questions in the entrance examinations of national and non-national universities during the period of 1990~95 and (2) the frequency of combination-type questions, (i,e., questions that combine various subjects from differing courses of study), in the entrance examanation of each university prior to (1988~89) and subsequent to the introduction of the National Examination Center tests (1995~96). The results indicated that there were relatively few questions requiring extremely detailed knowledge most likely included for the purpose of elimination. I found that of the 88 items that were surveyed, about 90% were consistent with the idealized subject matter. This would seem to be an expression of the intentions of universities to select students who had acquired a basic knowledge of high school level biology. In addition, compared to the time prior to the introduction of the National Examination Center tests, combination-type questions increased by a factor of about 1. 3 subsequent to introduction. I conclude that this reflects the desire of universities to select students who have acquired a broad range of knowledge and possess the ability to integrate this basic knowledge in other fields of natural science.