The university entrance examination system in China

Abstract

Every year, millions of high school students sit the Chinese national university entrance exam, and their results determine entry into universities or alternatives such as employment. Limited information about the exam is available in the Western literature even though it determines the future of millions of young people, and is increasingly of relevance to Western university educators. This article reviews Chinese and Western reports to provide an up‐to‐date overview of the exam's key features, including the registration and application procedure, exam content/structure, and use of exam results in determining entry into higher education. There is also an analysis of the exam system's limitations, and implications for Chinese and Western educators.

Notes

1. The People's Republic of China consists of 22 provinces, 5 autonomous regions, 4 central administrative municipalities, and 2 special administrative regions (SARs). The present article is not applicable to the SARs (Hong Kong and Macau) because these regions developed different educational frameworks during colonial rule by Britain and Portugal respectively.

2. In China there are over 50 ethnic groups that differ in their customs and traditions; the dominant group is the Han that constitutes over 90% of the population (Dillon, 2001).