New Books in Education Ruixue Jia et al., "The Highest Exam: How the Gaokao Shapes China" (Harvard UP, 2025)
Feb 15, 2026
Ruixue Jia, UC San Diego economist and China education specialist, and Hongbin Li, Stanford economist focused on China’s institutions, discuss the gaokao’s role as a singular selection event. They cover intense early investments and tutoring, the tradeoff between test training and broader development, college prestige as a lifelong signal, regional quotas and fairness, and possible reforms to flatten hierarchies.
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Gaokao As A Nationwide Tournament
- The Gaokao is a two- or three-day national college entrance tournament that shapes schooling across China.
- Its single-score selection function drives families and schools to prioritize test-focused investment from early childhood.
Difficulty By Design Drives Early Investment
- China designs the exam to be difficult to perform strong selection among candidates.
- That difficulty makes parents invest heavily early, turning schooling into a prolonged tournament.
Families Start Preparing Years Early
- Families plan children's schooling years in advance to win the Gaokao tournament, from kindergarten to high school.
- Ruixue Jia recounts parents and professors reluctantly using tutoring because peers advance faster.
