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Students in Henan, China preparing for the Gaokao. (Photo - chinaSMACK)

Every year in June, Chinese students in their final year of high school must prepare for and take university entrance examinations.  The test is called the Gaokao, or high test.  If students do well, they can get into a better school, which improves future career prospects.  The Chinese test is in some ways like the SAT in the United States, except that it lasts more than twice as long. The nine-hour test is also the only way admission is determined to virtually all Chinese colleges and universities.  Only three in five students even pass.

Students spend hundreds of hours studying for this test, one that will decide the fate of more than 10 million Chinese students each year.  Parents take it just as seriously.  They anxiously wait for hours outside testing centers with promises of gifts, like new cars, if their children are successful.  With incentives like these, students will stop at nothing to do well.  Cheating for the test is extremely sophisticated.  Read more about that topic here.

There are many critics of the exam saying that it promotes memorization over understanding and analysing subjects.  It has become a popular topic now that China has more than 1,900 institutions of higher learning, almost double the number in 2000, with close to 19 million students currently enrolled.

One thing is for sure – China is an education powerhouse.

Below is a video of students celebrating after finishing the Gaokao (You can see how intense it must be).

Tags: Admission, China, Gaokao, SAT, Test