New Books Network 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 Data Lab co-director, and Hongbin Li, Stanford economist and James Liang Chair, discuss the gaokao's format and stakes. They explore how the exam drives family investment, college signaling, regional quotas, STEM emphasis, and governance legitimacy. They compare it to other East Asian systems and consider reforms to flatten hierarchies.
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Gaokao As A High-Stakes National Tournament
- The gaokao is a nationwide, two-to-three day college entrance tournament that determines college placement for most students.
- Its single-score, high-stakes design concentrates social and family investment into a decades-long race.
Selection By Design Drives Early Investment
- The gaokao's difficulty is intentional to perform selection among top students.
- That selection focus drives early, heavy parental investment across schooling stages.
Parents Start Preparing Years Ahead
- Families start investing in children's education from kindergarten because gaokao success depends on cumulative preparation.
- Ruixue and Hongbin recount that the tournament guides parental choices years before high school.
