Final answer:
The civil service exam was designed to create a merit-based system for civil service positions, reducing political influence and ensuring competent governance by educated individuals.
Step-by-step explanation:
The main purpose of the civil service exam was to ensure that governmental positions were filled by individuals who were not only knowledgeable and capable but also meritorious based on their abilities and qualifications, rather than through political connections or patronage. During the era of the Pendleton Act, civil service exams were crucial to implementing the merit system, requiring applicants to demonstrate their competence in relevant skills and knowledge areas. Historically, in China, the civil service exams allowed for the assignment of educated administrators to run various levels of government, which was a significant change from rulers achieving power by conquest or inheritance. The exams were based on Confucian teachings and tested a range of sophisticated literary skills, and over time, they opened paths for non-aristocrats to ascend into higher ranks of society, contributing to a gentry based on educational achievement.