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26 sheep + 10 goats = a lot of flak over Chinese primary school maths exam question
Education authorities defend unusual test of pupils’ critical thinking
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Wendy Wuin Beijing
An education bureau in southwest China came out in defence of a primary school maths test when one of the questions flummoxed some online readers, a news website reported on the weekend.
Grade five pupils at a school in Nanchong, Sichuan province, were asked to determine the age of a ship’s captain if there were 26 sheep and 10 goats on the vessel, Scol.com.cn reported.
The pupils offered various responses.
“The captain should be at least 18 years old because a minor is not allowed by law to operate a vessel,” one answered.
“The captain is 36 years old. He is quite narcissistic, so the number of animals corresponds to his age,” another pupil said.
Wendy Wu joined the Post in 2015 to report on China. Her journalism career spans more than a decade, covering a range of topics including economy and diplomacy. Based in Beijing, she is China Editor of the Post, following her stint as Political Economy Editor.
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