The Senior High School Entrance Examination, or commonly known as ''Zhongkao'' (Chinese: 中考, ), is the academic examination held annually in the mainland of the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

to distinguish

junior high school A middle school (also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school) is an educational stage which exists in some countries, providing education between primary school and secondary school. ...

graduates. This examination is a prerequisite for entrance into almost all education institutions at the senior high school level, such as common senior high schools, secondary skill schools, vocational high schools, and technical high schools. It is usually taken by students in their last year of

. Before the Senior High School Entrance Examination, every province will hold two simulation exams, and some provinces mandate three practice examinations. The Senior High School Entrance Examination problems are usually made by province, but few provinces delegate the power of creating problems to cities. This exam is the second examination system recovered after the

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goa ...

. It takes place in early June every year, however in few place it takes place in late June or even early July. In 1980, the decades when the exams were recovered, the Graduation Examination of Junior High School and the Senior High School Entrance Examination were the same exam. If the students failed the Senior High School Entrance Examination, then they could not graduate from the junior high school, even if there was a senior high school that would admit them. These students were refused by all senior high schools because of "failure in graduation from junior high school" (初中肄业), which is what is commonly called “sending back the document” (退档). However some places had a system to makeup the Senior High School Entrance Examination. Since mid-1990s, the Graduation Examination of Junior High School has become separated from the Senior High School Entrance Examination, but some provinces and cities (such as Shanghai) the two exams are still combined.

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External links

Website of the Senior High School Entrance ExaminationChongqing Educational and Science Institution Sina，ZhongkaoThe Examination Centre of the Ministry of Education in Chinathe Ministry of Education in ChinaOfficial website of educational examination in BeijingOfficial website of educational examination in HunanOfficial website of educational examination in HebeiOfficial website of educational examination in ShanghaiOfficial website of educational examination in ZhejiangAdmission examination website in Shenzhen
{{Education of the People's Republic of China Academic pressure in East Asian culture Secondary education in China