1. Introduction
Each year, millions of high school students in China sit the Chinese National College Entrance Examination (CEE; gaokao). The
CEE is only offered once a year. For the majority of students, the CEE score is the sole determinant of college admission—students
gain entry into ranked schools based solely on their CEE results. Only a very small number of students are exempt from the exam,
because of a special talent, and they enter a university via a recommendation (bao-song). In 2010, 9.5 million students sat the
exam, of whom 6.5 million were admitted into a college (an admission rate of 68%); 5000 students gained admission to a college
without taking the test, accounting for less than 0.1% of the total exam-takers.1 As the number of applicants far exceeds the
admission quota, the competition to gain entry into a college, especially a prestigious one, is fierce, and the pressure to perform
well in the exam is immense. Those who do not gain admission into a college may re-take the exam the following year or, instead,
find employment.
Likewise, in the United States, students take the Scholastic Aptitude Tests (SAT) or American College Testing (ACT). Their
performance in these tests affects their chance of getting into a college. Our study is related to the general topic about the cost and
benefit of using the standardized score such as CEE, SAT, and ACT scores in college admission decisions. The highly-varying high
school quality as well as the widespread problem of high-school grade inflation makes the standardized test a fairer and more
1. IntroductionEach year, millions of high school students in China sit the Chinese National College Entrance Examination (CEE; gaokao). TheCEE is only offered once a year. For the majority of students, the CEE score is the sole determinant of college admission—studentsgain entry into ranked schools based solely on their CEE results. Only a very small number of students are exempt from the exam,because of a special talent, and they enter a university via a recommendation (bao-song). In 2010, 9.5 million students sat theexam, of whom 6.5 million were admitted into a college (an admission rate of 68%); 5000 students gained admission to a collegewithout taking the test, accounting for less than 0.1% of the total exam-takers.1 As the number of applicants far exceeds theadmission quota, the competition to gain entry into a college, especially a prestigious one, is fierce, and the pressure to performwell in the exam is immense. Those who do not gain admission into a college may re-take the exam the following year or, instead,find employment.Likewise, in the United States, students take the Scholastic Aptitude Tests (SAT) or American College Testing (ACT). Theirperformance in these tests affects their chance of getting into a college. Our study is related to the general topic about the cost andbenefit of using the standardized score such as CEE, SAT, and ACT scores in college admission decisions. The highly-varying highschool quality as well as the widespread problem of high-school grade inflation makes the standardized test a fairer and more
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