College entrance exam reform extends to more provinces

An ongoing reform of China’s college entrance exam and enrolling system, under which students used to be selected for their performance on a single test, has been extended to cover more provinces in China, according to the Ministry of Education.

Initiated in 2014, the reform aims to make the selection of students and their enrollment in universities a more scientific and fair procedure and promote education for students’ all-around development.

In 2018, the reform was expanded to eight provincial-level regions, namely Hebei, Liaoning, Jiangsu, Fujian, Hubei, Hunan, Guangdong and Chongqing, where Year-1 high school students starting from fall 2018 needed to prepare for the change.

The move brought the total number of regions implementing the reform to 14, according to the ministry.

With the reform, the new selection and enrollment rules may differ slightly from region to region. In northern China’s Hebei province, students will only have to sit the annual national college entrance test for three subjects — Chinese language, math and foreign language.

Their performances during high school academic tests will also serve as measurable indicators. Their results in the comprehensive quality evaluation throughout the high school will be used as a reference.

The ministry vowed to promote steady progress of the college entrance exam and enrolling system reform across the country.