China's National College Entrance Exam 高考

This week is China's annual national college entrance exam, known less-than-affectionately as the "gao kao." The gao kao is the only way for most students to get into university.

The gao kao would be just another rite of passage, if it weren't for the shortage of slots at universities. According to the Ministry of Education, 5.67 million students will be able to enroll in college this fall, but over 10 million have registered for the exam. Chinese people describe the gao kao as 千军万马过独木桥 "a thousand soldiers and 10,000 horses crossing single plank bridge."

Moreover, not all of the available university slots are equal. This year's college graduates faced a serious job shortage, with many taking menial jobs just to have some income, so a degree from one of the higher-ranked universities is an essential asset in the intense competition for good jobs. It's true that the Chinese economy is growing wildly, but 1.3 billion is an awfully large population to employ, and many of the available jobs are for skilled laborers, not educated intellectuals, in the construction or manufacturing sectors.

Adding to the pressure on this weeks test takers is the fact that they are mostly only-children, and they have both a cultural and a legal responsibility to provide financially for both their parents in the future. Their performance on this week's test will determine not only which university their attend, but also to some extent which major they will be allowed to study, and thus their future profession. Rural families are known to give up their farming, home, and income to move to cities where, due to the quirks of the test system, their child will be able to get into a university with a lower score than those who attend high school in the village.

For a more complete picture of how intense the pressure these high school students face, and the ferocious tempest of parental angst that swirls around them, check out this sampling of articles in the last month alone:

June 5: Stressed Parents Drug Kids for Exam - Some stressed out parents in Shanghai have been searching for a prescription stimulant to give their children ahead of this week's national college exams, according to the Beijing News. Pushy parents and grandparents are as anxious as the youngsters about the highly competitive exam, and would buy whatever tonics and drugs were promoted on TV or recommended by friends. They were also booking quiet but expensive hotel rooms near examination halls.

June 1: Police Seize Cheating Devices Before Exam - A market inspector shows a purse-like electronic device made for cheating ahead of the national college entrance exam in Jinan, East China's Shandong Province, May 31, 2007. Police raided a shop and confiscated a large number of cheating devices.

May 30: Worried Parents Told to Relax - An event held last weekend that was designed to provide free psychological counseling for students ahead of their college entrance exams ended up attracting more parents than teenagers. One father said, "I would wake up suddenly in the night, thinking that my son was going to fail his exam; then I would not be able to get back to sleep."

May 29: China Establishes "Credibility Record" to Combat Exam Fraud - Cases of cheating in national educational tests, including the College Entrance Examination and postgraduate recruitment exams, would be entered on the record. The record, expected to be available online, would be open to higher educational institutions and employers for reference.

May 10: Maids Sought for Exam Season - Demand for specialized ayi, or domestic helpers, trained in nutrition and student psychology and skilled at cooking, is growing as the entrance examinations for universities and senior high-schools draw near.

This last one is a bit older, but illustrative.
Apr 19: Leak of College Entrance Exam Paper "Impossible" - The people who design the college entrance exam papers are "confined" in certain places during the exam conception phase and hand over their mobile phones and computers during the process. After the exam papers have been written, the exam designers are "confined" for a further 30 to 40 days for the sake of confidentiality.