City unveils college entrance exam reforms

The city government today revealed the pilot educational reforms for the college entrance exam and admission system as part of national reforms approved by the State Council.

The reforms are aimed at tackling a series of problems with the old exam and admission system, both of which have been criticized for being too test-oriented and utilitarian.

Under the new reforms, students will not need to choose a specialization between the sciences or humanities during high school. But they are expected to be well rounded in other subjects rather than simply studying for tests.

Students need to take Chinese, math and English tests as part of the college entrance exam. They can now choose three test subjects from six — history, geography, politics, chemistry, physics or biology — to add to their final score.

Meanwhile, the gaokao English test can be taken twice to reduce pressure on students in case they don't do well on the first test.