Gaokao

The Gaokao lasts approximately nine hours for a period of two or three days, depending on the provincial administrative regions where it is held.

Generally, the exam takes place from 7 to 8 June every year, though in some provinces it can last for an extra day.

[4] The Nationwide Unified Examination for Admissions to General Universities and Colleges marked the start of the reform of National Matriculation Tests Policies (NMTP) in the newly established People's Republic of China.

Against the backdrop of world revolution, millions of such young people joined the ranks of farmers, working and living alongside them.

[citation needed] In addition to being an important part of university admissions since its reintroduction in 1977, the Gaokao has represented meritocracy in contemporary China and reflected strong cultural values derived from the old imperial examination system.

Consequently, most of the hopefuls who had accumulated during the ten years of the Cultural Revolution and many others who simply wanted to try their luck took the examination.

The Ministry of Education allowed the College Enrollment Office of Shanghai to employ an independent exam in 1985, which was the beginning of the provincial proposition.

[citation needed] In 1970, less than 1% of Chinese people had attended higher education, and less than 1/1000 of the population of China was admitted to universities.

According to incomplete statistics, from 1966 to 1977, institutions of higher learning recruited 940,000 people who belonged to the worker-peasant-soldier group.

This move was made in consideration of the adverse effects of hot weather on students living in southern China and possible flooding during the rainy season in July.

[citation needed] Under the Xi Jinping administration, some provinces have instituted reforms to eliminate extra points for ethnic minorities and students who exhibited "ideological and political correctness.

Of these, 8.8 million (93%) took the Gaokao and 27,600 (0.28%) were exempted (保送) as these students demonstrated exceptional merit in the quality of their work and understanding of the academic subjects.

[9] Source:[11] The number of higher education institutes in the People's Republic of China has risen annually since 1977.

[citation needed] As a pilot examination system used in order to promote education system reform, this examination system was implemented in most parts of the country, including Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Liaoning, Jilin, Heilongjiang, Anhui, Fujian, Guangdong, Jiangxi, Henan, Shandong, Hubei, Shaanxi, Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan, Shanxi, Chongqing, Gansu, Qinghai, Inner Mongolia, Guangxi, Ningxia, Xinjiang and Tibet.

The system was used in Zhejiang Province, with the last exam offered in 2016 to "Class-of-2013" (2013级, meaning admitted to senior high school in 2013, i.e., being Grade 10 in 2013) while "Class-of-2014" students have been taking the reformed version of Gaokao since 2017.

The registration is usually completed on the official website of the provincial academy of educational recruitment and examination, and examinees are required to fill out an online form, which includes name, gender, date of birth, identification number, address, domicile, political status, school, phone number, and other information about the examination and admission.

It is arranged at the end of the spring semester and secondary school graduates across the country take the examination simultaneously over a two to four-day period.

As the advanced educational resources (number and quality of universities) are distributed unevenly across China, it is argued that people are being discriminated against during the admission process based on their geographic region.

In recent years, varied admission standards have led some families to relocate for the sole purpose of advancing their children's chances of entering university.

As a student is required to take exams in the region where their household registration (under the Hukou system) is located, the qualification of migrant children becomes controversial.

[22][23] There are special concessions for members of ethnic minorities, foreign nationals, persons with family origin in Taiwan, and children of military casualties.

For teachers, because Chinese society heavily focuses on the rate of admission into universities, they work to prepare every student for the exam.

This teaching methodology, colloquially referred to as "cramming", involves students memorizing large amounts of information fed to them by teachers and undertaking many practice exercises in order to optimize exam writing ability.

One of the disadvantages of this method is the lack of focus on teaching critical thinking and ignoring students' emotions, values and personalities.

[25] Behaviors surrounding the testing period have been extreme under some reports, with doctors in Tianjin purportedly prescribing birth control pills to female students whose parents wanted to ensure their daughters were not menstruating at the time of examination.

Students successful in taking the Gaokao can give themselves a boost heading into a youth employment market in China with 20.4% unemployment.

[28] Due to the pressures surrounding the Gaokao exam, there have been reports of Chinese families and educators being 'jealous' of more western teaching styles.

"[29] The results of this exam affect family honor and the future of the Chinese youth, creating a ‘gaokao-above-all’ mentality and high pressure for students and parents alike.

[30] This may be why there has been an increase in 'sang' culture in China, which refers to the reduced work ethic, a lack of self-motivation, and an apathetic demeanor among Chinese youth.

[31] An increasing number of young people describe themselves as sang because they feel that it is futile to pursue traditional notions of success.