On Top of the News
Take the Test to Get Into China’s Top Universities
6/2/15 | Bloomberg Business

Behind the Headline
Yong Zhao’s Biting Critique of the Chinese Edu-Miracle
12/17/14 | Education Next blog

During two days in June, 9 million Chinese high school graduates will take a college entrance test, the gaokao, that Bloomberg’s Yuling Yang calls “the SAT on steroids.”

Nine hours long in total, it requires a mastery of Chinese history, English grammar, and complex calculus. Students seeking a future in science will be tested on physics, chemistry, and biology. Liberal arts students must show proficiency in political theory, history, and geology.

Sample questions from the gaokao can be found on the Bloomberg Business website.

For more on the Chinese education system, you can read Rick Hess’s review of Yong Zhao’s book, Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Dragon? Why China Has the Best (and Worst) Education System in the World.

-Education Next