Record 13 million to sit ‘world’s toughest’ college entrance exam

CNN —

A record number of high school students across China have begun sitting a highly competitive exam that could decide their future in a country grappling with a slowing economy and diminishing opportunities for young graduates.

The two-day national college entrance exam, known as “gaokao,” is the world’s largest academic test. It has also been billed by Chinese state media as “the world’s toughest” college entrance exam due to its high stakes, competitiveness and intensity, with students pouring everything they’ve learned in 12 years into a handful of subject tests that each last less than two hours.

More than 13.4 million students registered for the exam this year, surpassing last year’s record of 12.9 million to make it the biggest “gaokao” ever held in China.

Chinese students spend years cramming for the punishingly difficult exam, as a high score is the only way to get into the country’s top universities. The exam includes subjects like Chinese literature, math, English, physics, chemistry, politics and history.

The overwhelming majority of students get just one shot at the grueling test, unlike US students who can retake SAT exams.

And the specter of China’s slowing economic growth and soaring youth unemployment has piled on the pressure to perform.

On Friday, the first day of the exam, parents waited anxiously outside school gates after sending their children off into exam halls. Many parents and teachers were dressed in red, the color of victory in China, and some held sunflowers – deemed an auspicious flower for academic success.

Authorities have rolled out a slew of measures to maintain order and stability around the examination sites.

Students line up to pass a security check outside a school on the