What's wrong with me, a school principal, listening to students' suggestions?

The results were not made public immediately.

Lin Yucai deliberately delayed the process for two days, allowing the data to go through the internal education system first.

But the truth will out.

On Wednesday morning, staff from the Information Department of the Tomato City Education Bureau discovered an extremely unusual data point while sorting through mid-term exam data from various schools.

No. 13 Middle School.

The school's overall average score was 387.2, an increase of 74.7 points from the previous semester's final score of 312.5.

This improvement rate ranks first among the 32 high schools in the city.

First in the positive numbers.

The undisputed leader in first place.

The school ranked second, with the average score of the whole school increasing by 12 points.

The No. 1 High School, which ranked third, saw its average score increase by 8 points.

The improvement rate of No. 13 Middle School is six times that of the second-ranked school.

The young man from the IT department rubbed his eyes, thinking he had made a data entry error.

I checked the original data again and confirmed that it was correct.

He printed out the data summary table and sent it to the various departments of the Education Bureau according to the established procedures.

Liu Jianguo received the form that afternoon.

He sat in his office, looking at the number in the "13th Middle School" column on the form, his fingers unconsciously tapping on the table.

387.2 points.

An increase of 74.7 points.

What is its ranking in the whole city?

His gaze shifted to the side.

The school's overall average score ranking rose from 32nd (last place) last semester to 30th.

Although it's still at the back, it's no longer at the bottom.

More importantly, it's about the magnitude of progress.

An improvement of 74.7 points is unprecedented in the history of education in Tomato City.

Liu Jianguo's fingertips stopped.

He slowly flipped the form over and placed it face down on the table, then picked up his thermos and took a sip of goji berry tea.

It's cold.

When Zhao Hongliang pushed the door open and saw Liu Jianguo's expression, he knew the situation was bad.

"Director, about that school uniform approval plan..."

"Leave it for now," Liu Jianguo said in a low voice, as if he were squeezing it out from between his teeth.

"But Lin Yucai attached a document from the provincial department, stating that the school uniform reform falls under the category of distinctive school management..."

I said to leave it for now.

Zhao Hongliang shut his mouth, placed the document on the corner of the table, and quietly left.

Liu Jianguo sat alone in his office, staring at the sky outside the window for a long time.

74.7 points.

He originally thought that the performance of No. 13 Middle School would stagnate or even decline.

Canceling morning and evening self-study sessions, building e-sports arenas, reforming school uniforms... none of these things seem to have anything to do with "improving grades".

But strangely enough, the grades did improve.

And the increase is so outrageous.

He couldn't figure it out.

But he doesn't need to figure it out.

He only needed to know one thing: this result rendered his entire planned report obsolete.

He couldn't possibly present a report card showing "the highest improvement rate in the city" to the city government to suggest merging with No. 13 Middle School.

That wasn't just slapping Lin Yucai in the face, it was slapping yourself in the face.

It's about the same for Qian Wenhua.

The school's average score improved by 8 points this time.

8 points.

Compared to the 74.7 points of No. 13 Middle School, this number is so pitiful that it is unbearable to look at.

Even worse, No. 1 Middle School added evening self-study until 10:30 pm and made-up classes on Saturdays.

The students endured immense hardship, only to see their scores improve by a mere 8 points.

The No. 13 Middle School canceled morning and evening self-study sessions and opened interest classes and an e-sports hall, resulting in an improvement of nearly 75 points.

When Chen Zhigang placed the data comparison table of the two schools in front of Qian Wenhua, Qian Wenhua stared at it for a full ten seconds without saying a word.

Then he picked up the teacup and took a sip.

lay down.

He picked it up again.

Then I put it down.

"That's impossible."

He finally spoke, his voice as dry as sandpaper.

"The data comes from the Education Bureau's Information Department, and the raw scores for each school are verifiable."

Chen Zhigang spoke very cautiously.

He cheated.

"The midterm exams were proctored and graded by the school's own teachers. If he cheated on a large scale, it would be impossible to hide it from everyone."

"and……"

"And what?"

"Although No. 13 Middle School has made great progress in its academic performance, its absolute scores are still among the lowest in the city."

"The average score of 387 ranks 30th out of 32 schools."

"If he cheated, he should have made his grades look better."

Qian Wenhua fell silent.

Chen Zhigang makes a good point.

While a score of 387 represents a significant improvement, it is not outstanding within the citywide rankings.

If it were truly fabricated, there would be no need to create fake data downstream.

"So...that means there's really been progress?"

This conclusion was even harder for him to accept than the cheating.

A high school ranked at the bottom in the city canceled morning and evening self-study sessions, built an e-sports arena, and reformed its cafeteria...

Then his midterm exam score jumped by 75 points?

He had been a principal for over twenty years and had never seen anything like it.

……

The third day after the results were announced.

The students at No. 13 Middle School already know their scores.

Discussions could be heard everywhere – in the cafeteria, in the corridors, and on the playground.

Most students reacted with a mixture of surprise and delight.

They knew they had been working hard, but they didn't expect their grades to improve so much.

"I got 78 on my Chinese test! 78! I've never scored above 70 before!"

"I improved my math score from 32 to 55. Although I still haven't passed, I've improved by 23 points."

"I passed English! Sixty-three points! I'm going to call my mom!"

The most sensational news came from Class 4 of Grade 11.

Li Daqiang's total score is 298 points.

He scored 93 points on the final exam last semester.

This time, 298 points.

They improved by 205 points.

Although 298 points is not a good score in any school, for someone who once scored 93 points, this improvement is terrifying.

When Zhao Wenjie was reading out the grades in class, he paused for a moment when he read out Li Daqiang's name.

"Li Daqiang, with a total score of 298, ranks 28th in the class."

"At the end of last semester, I ranked 42nd in the class, an improvement of 14 places."

Applause erupted in the classroom.

Li Daqiang sat in his seat, head down, his hands gripping the edge of the table.

298 points.

The highest score he ever got in his life.

He didn't know what to say, so he gripped the edge of the table tightly, his knuckles turning white.

The classmate next to him patted him on the shoulder, and he looked up and grinned.

Her eyes were a little red.

Zhang Yang's grades were also good.

He scored a total of 476 points, ranking fourth in the class.

They improved by two places compared to the end of last semester.

Although the progress wasn't dramatic, for a student with a decent foundation, two points of improvement meant he was steadily improving.

More importantly, his English grades.

My score rose from 47 points last semester to 68 points.

It increased by 21 points.

The words I memorized every night were ultimately not wasted.

When the skinny monkey saw Zhang Yang's English score, his mouth dropped open.

"Yang-ge, how come your English has improved so much?"

"have no idea."

"Is it helpful that you memorize vocabulary every day?"

"Shut up, who memorizes it every day? It's only occasionally."

The skinny monkey chuckled and didn't press the matter further.

But he noticed that after Zhang Yang folded the report card, he put it into the inside pocket of his school uniform.

They no longer just throw things into the trash can as they used to.

That night, Lin Yucai stood on the playground.

His phone rang all night.

Parents called, teachers messaged, and even two colleagues from other schools called to "learn from our experience."

He replied to them one by one.

The last message came from Su Qingyan.

The photo shows the wall of the teachers' office.

There was an A4 sheet of paper pasted on the wall with a line of large characters written in red pen.

"No. 13 Middle School achieved the highest improvement rate in the city!"

Below are the teachers' signatures.

A star was drawn next to each name.

Su Qingyan did not add any text.

But Lin Yucai looked at the photo for a long time and finally saved it.

The moon was very bright, illuminating the playground in a silvery white light.

The air conditioner outdoor units are lined up on the roof, like a row of quiet guards.

The silhouette of the e-sports arena stood silently in the distance under the moonlight.

The construction tarpaulin on the second floor billowed slightly in the wind, as if it were breathing.

I passed the midterm exam.

But Liu Jianguo will not give up easily.

He needs a bigger bargaining chip.

His gaze fell once again on the second floor of the e-sports arena.

Beneath that still-unveiled curtain lies the key to his next plan.

But that's a story for later.

Right now, all he wants to do is have a hot pot meal.

He took out his phone and sent a message to Su Qingyan.

"Let's have hot pot on Saturday night, you choose the place."

"I've already made my choice."