Gaokao: The High-Stakes Exam Shaping China's Educational Landscape

In June 2025, China once again comes to a standstill for the gaokao, the country's national college entrance exam. This high-stakes test affects 10 million students and their families, with the top scorers in each province practically guaranteed a spot at an elite university.

The gaokao is the culmination of a 12-year educational journey, where a student's score on this single exam determines their future. In some areas, top scorers are treated like celebrities, while in others, their identities are shielded to protect them from overexposure. The exam is the key to accessing China's top-tier universities, which receive priority in government funding and resources.

However, the system is highly competitive, with only the top 5% of students gaining admission to the elite Tier 1 colleges. Wealthy families have a notable advantage, as they can afford the expensive tutoring that has become essential for success on the gaokao. This puts a significant financial burden on Chinese households, who spend nearly 8% of their total expenditure on education, compared to the global average of 2-3%.

Despite the government's efforts to tackle inequalities, such as outlawing all forms of tutoring in 2021, the underlying reality of the system remains unchanged. Wealthy individuals now simply hire private tutors under the table, while other tutoring companies have gone underground, further limiting access for students from less affluent backgrounds.

The gaokao's influence extends beyond the classroom, as China's society as a whole is structured as a hierarchical tournament, rewarding the types of behavior necessary to climb the ladder while discouraging those that foster creative thinking and innovation. As graduates of elite Chinese universities, the authors recognize the life-changing potential of the system, but they also acknowledge its limitations in developing well-rounded individuals.