Did you read the analysis of this year's Shanghai college entrance exam? I heard colleagues discussing it in the office today. They said math questions are no longer just about calculation skills.

Yes, I did. Experts said it's about 'more thinking, less calculating.' For example, trigonometric functions were tested through the speed patterns of CNC machine tools, and probability and statistics were tested using the density of waste-gas components. It's quite connected to real life.

That sounds good. Students used to ask me what the knowledge in textbooks was actually useful for. If questions relate to topics like technology and environmental protection, they may find them more meaningful.

The Chinese exam is similar. The essay asked students to discuss the relationship between technological progress and imagination. It's not something you can write well just by memorizing a few universal examples.

But this also challenges teachers. In class, we can't just have students do endless practice questions. We also need to help them truly understand the textbooks and express their own ideas through connections to real life.

Exactly. The article mentioned 'alignment between teaching and testing,' meaning that what is taught in textbooks is what exams assess. Classical Chinese vocabulary and literary commentaries, for example, are all related to the curriculum.

I like this direction. We can't neglect the basics, but we also shouldn't train children to be people who only know how to apply formulas and templates.

That's right. The number of questions and the structure remain stable, and the difficulty is reasonable. The key is who can apply what they have learned flexibly.

Tomorrow I'll discuss this with my students in class and remind them not to keep asking, 'Will this be on the exam?' Instead, they should first ask themselves, 'Do I really understand it?'