11/10/2026
๐ต๐๐
๐ฎ๐บ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ฐ๐ต ๐ป๐ฎ๐ป๐ฎ๐บ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ต.
๐๐ถ๐ฑ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐ธ๐ป๐ผ๐?
๐ The history of exams goes back nearly 2,000 years! The world's first large-scale exam system was China's imperial examination, called ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ท๐. Its roots trace to the Han dynasty, and it was first administered in 605 CE under the Sui dynasty to choose government officials by merit instead of birth. ๐จ๐ณ
But exams in public schools started much later. In 1845, in Boston, education reformer ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ป and his allies on the Boston School Committee gave one of America's first major written exams to students, replacing the old oral questioning. He is the person most often credited with bringing written exams into public schools. ๐ซ
In the Philippines, no single person brought written exams. Modern public schooling began in the American period, when ๐๐ฐ๐ ๐ก๐ผ. 74 (1901) established the Department of Public Instruction. In 1925, educator ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐๐น ๐ ๐ผ๐ป๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฒ led a survey of the Philippine education system, which shaped later educational practice. ๐
So the next time you shade your answer sheet, remember you are part of a tradition that is centuries old! โ๏ธ
๐ Sources:
Chinese imperial examination (Kฤjว), Springer journal article: https://link.springer.com/doi/10.1186/s40468-022-00201-5
New World Encyclopedia. Imperial Examinations (Keju): https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Keju
Reese, W. J. (2013). Testing wars in the public schools: A forgotten history. Harvard University Press: https://history.wisc.edu/publications/Testing-Wars-in-the-Public-Schools-a-Forgotten-history/
Philippine Commission. (1901). Act No. 74: https://ldr.senate.gov.ph/legislative-issuance/act-no-74
Board of Educational Survey. (1925). A survey of the educational system of the Philippine Islands. Bureau of Printing: https://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/who/Philippines%20Board%20of%20Educational%20Survey
