What is koko?

Gaokao is a higher education entrance examination system for entering Japanese universities that is conducted throughout China (excluding Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and Macau Special Administrative Region).

Commonly known as ``Gaokao'', in China, students enter the school in September, so Gaokao is held on June 7th and 8th of every year (in some provinces it is held for 3 days from June 7th to 9th).

This year, it was postponed for a month due to the new coronavirus, and it started all over the country from July 7th.

The importance of high thinking

Gaokao is the most important exam for Chinese people. Unlike in Japan, in Chinese universities, admissions are determined solely based on high school exam scores, so it is essential to get good grades on high school exams in order to get into a good university.

It is no exaggeration to say that it is common knowledge for Chinese students to start preparing for Gaokao exams from elementary school.

Regional differences

Regarding the content of the exam, in many provinces, each subject has a maximum score of 150 points for language, mathematics, and English, and a total score of 300 points for science and liberal arts, with a total score of 750 points.

However, although the Gakko test is a national standardized test, the questions are not uniformly the same and the difficulty level varies depending on the region. It is divided into "National Volume I," "National Volume II," "National Volume III," and "Independently Produced Problems." For example, provinces such as the coastal regions (Zhejiang, Jiangsu, and Shandong), Hubei, and Hunan, which have a large number of examinees and are highly competitive, are called "high-grade provinces," and are It will be.

In addition, the same university has different criteria for passing depending on the ministry. For example, if examinee A from Hunan province and examinee B from Xinjiang province want to enter the architecture major at AX University, AX University has a standard score of 500 points for Xinjiang province, which is less difficult. For Hunan Province, where the questions are more difficult, the standard score is 550 points or higher to pass.

Another thing I would like to introduce is that there are preferential treatment for ethnic minorities in order to give them preferential access to upper-level schools. Preferential treatment means adding points to examinees from ethnic minorities. In China, all people speak the standard language, but some ethnic minorities have their own languages. You can add 10 to 20 points to an ethnic minority test taker, but dozens of points can be added to your total grade for an ethnic minority who has an ethnic language.

That's cruel

I'm sure you've heard that the competition for university entrance exams in China is brutal. There are 10 million students taking the exam every year. In China, there is a saying that ``one minute wins one maneuver'', which means that for us to get one point is to beat 1,000 rivals.

I also went through my third year of high school, which included stress and despair in order to go on to higher education.

Lastly, I want the students to get good grades.