China's Ministry of Education has issued a circular on strengthening the management of school examinations during compulsory education, in a bid to effectively reduce the pressure faced by students.

教育部日前出台关于加强义务教育学校考试管理的通知，以有效减轻学生所面临的压力。

No paper-and-pencil exams should be arranged for first and second graders in primary schools, and final examinations should be organized by schools every semester for other grades, according to a ministry press conference on Monday. Midterm exams can be arranged for junior high students in light of the real terms of different disciplines, the ministry said.
教育部有关负责人在8月30日的新闻发布会上表示，小学一二年级不进行纸笔考试，义务教育其他年级由学校每学期组织一次期末考试，初中年级从不同学科的实际出发，可适当安排一次期中考试。

It also asked schools to reasonably control the difficulty of examinations and restrict the scope of examinations to their syllabuses and teaching schedules.
学校期末考试命题要合理控制考试难度，不得超越国家课程标准和学校教学进度。

Local education authorities should not organize regional or interscholastic exams, and schools and classes should not organize weekly or monthly tests, the notice said.
各地不得组织区域性或跨校际的考试，学校和班级不得组织周考、月考等其他各类考试。

Moreover, the exam results should be divided into four or five grades, without giving specific scores, the notice added.
学校期中期末考试实行等级评价，一般分4至5个等级。

The schools should not use test scores to label students or to determine which class to assign them to or where they should sit in class.
不得按考试结果给学生调整分班、排座位、"贴标签"。

Parents and students should be notified of the results in appropriate ways, and the results should not be ranked or published.
考试结果不排名、不公布，以适当方式告知学生和家长。