Gaokao

This weekend graduating high school students across China took the gaokao, a high-stakes test if there ever was one. The gaokao, which literally means "high test," is the only basis for determining which university each student attends, if they attend at all - 10 million students compete for 5.7 million spots. There are no essays or application forms here. Students list their preferred programs and universities, then wait for the government to tell them where they've been assigned. (My two students didn't take it because they're going to the U.S.)

The test takes two days and covers Chinese, math, a foreign language (usually English) and three other subjects in either the humanities or sciences, depending on your high school track. Since cheating is a concern, security is always high during the exam period. Officials at our school even issued the foreign teachers special badges so we could access our dorm on campus.

Earlier this year another foreign teacher told me that parents wait anxiously for their kids outside the school gates when the test is over, and she wasn't kidding:



I've heard stories about students leaving the test in tears because they know they've failed and feel they have no future, but that wasn't the case today. Mostly the kids seemed happy and relieved. For them it marks the end of three high-stress years and the beginning of an extra-long summer.