Parents: Gaokao tests were switched
河南家长疑孩子高考答题卡被调包
Disciplinary authorities in Central China's Henan province are looking into possible fraud in grading students' answer sheets in the national college entrance examination, or gaokao.
河南省纪检监察部门介入调查高考考生答题卡疑似被掉包事件。
Authorities are investigating an alleged switch of four students' answer sheets and will publish their findings as soon as possible, the province's education department said in a statement on Monday.
河南省教育厅在周一发布的一份声明中表示，近日，网上反映四名考生高考答题卡被掉包，纪检监察部门正在依法依规进行调查，调查结果将及时向社会公布。

The statement came after the parents of four students in four cities told disciplinary authorities that they suspected misconduct by the local higher education admissions office in switching their children's gaokao answer sheets.
此前，身处四座不同城市的四名考生家长怀疑孩子的答题卡被掉包，并对河南省招生办公室的答复不满意，便联名向河南省纪委和监察委实名举报。
The parents said they became suspicious after their children received half the scores they expected after doing well in mock exams, according to a WeChat post published by Su Hong, of Zhoukou, Henan, the father of one of the students.
来自周口市的考生家长苏洪在微信朋友圈中发帖称，孩子在模拟考试中表现不错，然而高考成绩却比估分低了一半，于是便觉得可疑。
Su accused officials at the admission office of abusing their power and colluding with others, and said the parents had handed over evidence they gathered through various means to the disciplinary authorities.
苏洪举报河南省高考招生办公室相关负责人“滥用职权、组织考试作弊、内外勾结”，并表示家长们已将自己通过各种渠道掌握的“答题卡被调包”的证据提交给纪检监察部门。
Su told the Beijing News that he took pictures of his daughter's answer sheet for the Chinese-language exam at the admission office on June 26. After seeing the pictures, the daughter said the essay was not hers.
苏洪在接受《新京报》采访时表示，6月26日，他在河南省招生办公室看到了女儿名下的语文答题卡和部分作文片段，并拍下照片。看完照片之后，女儿表示作文不是她写的。
Lu Xiaomei, the mother of a student from Shangqiu, told the newspaper the identification numbers of her daughter's answer sheets are different for the four subjects.
来自商丘的考生家长卢晓梅在接受《新京报》采访时表示，女儿4份试卷的准考证号均不相同。
There were also correction marks in the answer sheets that students said were not in their handwriting.
答题卡上还有考生们表示不是他们笔迹的修改痕迹。
The local higher education admission office said on Tuesday that it has repeatedly checked the answer sheets of the four students after receiving reports from their parents and found nothing abnormal.
河南省招生办周二表示，在此之前，根据考生反映，省招办已按规定程序进行了反复核实，确认系考生本人所答，成绩准确无误。
Under China's intensely competitive and stressful gaokao, the central authorities set quotas on how many applicants universities should admit from each area, so students from provinces with larger populations will have a harder time gaining admittance to universities.
在紧张激烈的高考竞争中，高考录取按照省份分配录取名额，所以来自人口大省的考生在考取大学时面临着更加激烈的竞争。
About 984,000 students in Henan took the gaokao this year, the highest number among all provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions.
今年河南省约有98.4万名考生参加高考，是全国各省市中考生人数最多的省份。
Chu Zhaohui, a senior researcher at the National Institute of Education Sciences, said that instead of being organized by education authorities, the gaokao should be run by professional examination organizations to prevent possible power abuse by officials.
中国教育科学研究院研究员储朝晖认为，不应由教育部门来组织高考，而是应该交由专业的考试机构进行组织，从而防止官员们滥用权力。
The gaokao is considered the most important exam for Chinese secondary students, as their scores largely determine their future. Candidates must perform well in the exam to gain admission to the best universities, where graduation guarantees a bright future with status, wealth and possible influence.
高考被视作中学生最重要的考试，因为分数很大程度上决定了他们的未来。考生需要在高考中考出好成绩，才能进入一流大学学习，从而离拥有地位、财富以及影响力的光明未来更近一步。