What is Gaokao?

Gaokao (gaokao) is a higher education entrance examination system held nationwide in China (excluding the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the Macao Special Administrative Region), equivalent to university entrance in Japan.

Commonly known as "Gaokao," since China has a September school entrance, the Gaokao is held every year on June 7 and 8 (in some provinces, over three days from June 7 to 9).

This year, due to the impact of the novel coronavirus, it was postponed by one month and started simultaneously nationwide on July 7.

The importance of Gaokao

Gaokao can be said to be the most important exam for Chinese people. Unlike Japan, Chinese universities decide admission solely based on Gaokao results, so getting good scores on the Gaokao is essential to entering a good university.

It is no exaggeration to say that starting Gaokao preparation from elementary school is common knowledge for Chinese students.

Regional differences

As for the exam content, in many provinces the subjects are Chinese, mathematics, and English, each worth a maximum of 150 points, plus a comprehensive science or liberal arts section worth a maximum of 300 points, for a total possible score of 750 points.

However, although Gaokao is said to be a nationwide unified exam, the questions are not the same everywhere, and the difficulty level differs by region. It is divided into "National Paper I," "National Paper II," "National Paper III," and "independently developed questions." For example, provinces with large numbers of test takers and fierce competition, such as coastal regions (Zhejiang Province, Jiangsu Province, Shandong Province) and Hubei Province and Hunan Province, are called "major Gaokao provinces" and use independently developed questions.

Also, the cutoff scores for the same university differ by province. For example, if examinee A from Hunan Province and examinee B from Xinjiang Province both want to enter the architecture department at ax University, ax University sets the cutoff score at 500 points for Xinjiang Province, where the difficulty is lower, while for Hunan Province, where the questions are more difficult, only those with 550 points or more are admitted.

Another point I would like to introduce is the preferential treatment given to ethnic minorities for advancement to higher education. Preferential treatment means adding points to the scores of ethnic minority examinees. In China, all citizens use the standard language, but some ethnic minorities have their own languages. Ethnic minority examinees can be awarded an additional 10 to 20 points, and those ethnic minorities that have their own ethnic language can be given several dozen extra points added to their total score.

It's brutal

You may have heard that competition for university entrance exams in China is brutal. Every year there are as many as 10 million examinees. In China, there is a saying, "一分战胜一操场," which means that gaining one point is like beating a thousand rivals.

I, too, went through my third year of high school filled with stress and despair in order to advance smoothly to the next stage of education.

Finally, I hope all examinees get good results.