Podcast Summary:

Podcast: New Books Network
Episode: Ruixue Jia et al., "The Highest Exam: How the Gaokao Shapes China" (Harvard UP, 2025)
Date: February 15, 2026
Host: Peter Lorentzen
Guests: Ruixue Jia (Professor, UC San Diego) and Hongbin Li (Co-Director, Stanford Center on China’s Economy and Institutions)

Overview

This episode centers around the book The Highest Exam: How the Gaokao Shapes China, authored by Ruixue Jia and Hongbin Li. The conversation explores the Chinese college entrance exam, the Gaokao, and its fundamental impacts on individuals, families, education, governance, social mobility, and broader Chinese society. The guests—both prominent economists—bring personal stories and deep research to offer insights into how this high-stakes, ultra-competitive exam system is intertwined with China’s social structure, labor market, education system, and political stability.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. What is the Gaokao?

[02:20–04:15]

• Definition: The Gaokao is China's national college entrance exam, typically occurring over two or three days annually in June. It is the sole determinant for admission into Chinese colleges.
  • "It's really a national level tournament on those two or three days... Last year, 13 million high school students took this exam." — Ruixue Jia [02:26]
• Score Importance: Only the Gaokao score counts—unlike the US, no weight is given to extracurriculars, high school grades, or essays.
  • "Everything's kind of riding on this one exam." — Peter Lorentzen [04:42]
• Comparison to SAT: The Gaokao is vastly more intense and consequential than standardized tests like the SAT in the US.
  • "If you think about basketball game, Gaokao is like NBA tournament and SAT is like American middle school basketball tournament." — Hongbin Li [04:45]

2. Selection, Social Pressure, and Hierarchy

[05:19–11:41]

• Function: Gaokao is fundamentally a tool of selection, designed to separate students not just by intelligence but by diligence, driving families to invest heavily in education from the earliest years.
  • "This test guides the whole education effort and the investment by families." — Ruixue Jia [06:29]
• Impact on Life Trajectories: The exam is so high stakes that it punishes "late starters," locking life opportunities early.
  • "The system is very punishing for late starters... Fewer chances in Chinese society compared to US that you can do well later on..." — Hongbin Li [07:17]
• College Prestige: China’s university system is extremely hierarchical and centrally ranked, far more than the US.
  • "In China, there's no doubt there are two top colleges, Tsinghua, Peking University... It's all ranked by the government." — Hongbin Li [08:02]
• Consequences: Elite university entry yields significant income and career benefits.
  • "Going to elite, top 5% of China's colleges, your income will increase by about another 40 to 50%." — Hongbin Li [08:59]
• Centralization: The system is national and centralized, making hierarchy even sharper.
  • "The Chinese hierarchy is very centralized. It's like the whole country using exactly the same hierarchy. Everyone knows which tier the university is." — Ruixue Jia [09:57]

3. Costs and Critiques: Zero-Sum and Wasteful Competition

[11:57–17:32]

• Investment Intensity: The hierarchical, winner-take-all structure fuels excessive investment in exam preparation, driving a "zero-sum game."
  • "For a better ranking rather than for more learning... it's a zero-sum game." — Ruixue Jia [11:57; 16:04]
• Narrow Focus: Unlike in the US, Chinese students have little time for non-academic pursuits.
  • "In China, students just focus on casting [testing] itself. So that could be something we call waste of resources." — Hongbin Li [16:04]
• Marginal Returns: The benefit of learning advanced material early is limited; time and energy could be better spent in broader learning or development.

4. Signaling vs. Value Added in Higher Education

[18:00–24:11]

• Signal Over Substance: Most of college's value in China is signaling: elite college students get better jobs, but not necessarily better skills.
  • "We don’t find these two students... were not different in all the measurable dimensions... The name itself matters a lot in the labor market." — Ruixue Jia [18:29]
• First Degree Discrimination: Labor market heavily weighs the undergraduate institution—far more than graduate credentials.
  • "In the Chinese labor market, there exists this phenomenon called first degree discrimination." — Ruixue Jia [23:04]
• Minimal Learning Gains: Research finds little average improvement in measured skills after four years of college.
  • "In the Chinese case there's no increase, in certain dimensions even slightly decreased." — Ruixue Jia [18:29]
  • "They are so sick of learning... once they got to college they have freedom to choose; they choose not to learn anymore." — Hongbin Li [21:42]

5. Gaokao as a Tool for Social Control and Governance

[24:53–29:17]

• Historical Context: The exam system traces back to the Imperial era, designed originally for governance, not just education.
  • "From its origin, it was designed for governance rather than education." — Ruixue Jia [24:53]
• Legitimacy and Stability: The system gives families hope for mobility, legitimizing the regime by perpetuating the idea of fairness.
• Institutional Design: Regional and field-based quotas are used for political stability and talent allocation.
  • "Quota system, by province and by field – that is a good example of institutional design good for governance." — Ruixue Jia [24:53]
• STEM Prioritization: The state uses quotas to push talent into politically or economically strategic areas (e.g., STEM).

6. Meritocracy, Quotas, and Perceived Fairness

[29:17–35:00]

• Regional Quotas: Students from major cities like Beijing and Shanghai have easier access to top universities due to local funding and quota systems—generating uneven playing fields.
  • "If you’re born in a good province, a good city, basically your fate is different." — Hongbin Li [33:38]
• Personal Responsibility: The system encourages individuals to blame themselves for their failures rather than structural inequities.
  • "People would attribute their success to their own effort. Similarly, if you fail... you would say, I'm not working hard enough..." — Ruixue Jia [31:32]

7. Comparisons with Other East Asian Societies

[35:00–38:21]

• Shared DNA: Korea, Japan, and Taiwan also have high-stakes entry exams and similar social pressures.
  • "It's even a moral framework... it concerns in the society how people perceive what is fair." — Ruixue Jia [35:00]
• Labor Market Structure: The importance of the exam system in a given society correlates with how unequal the labor market is.
  • "When it’s more equal [in labor markets], then testing becomes less important." — Hongbin Li [37:25]

8. Tournament Logic: Beyond Education

[38:21–43:13]

• Exam Mentality in Governance: The Gaokao/Tournament model shapes how the Chinese Communist Party governs and how bureaucratic promotions work.
  • "The example is the GDP tournament... officials compete on GDP growth rate." — Hongbin Li [38:57]
• Transparency as Protection Against Corruption: Objective, transparent—but perhaps overly rigid—metrics reduce opportunities for corruption.
  • "To carve out a specific environment where there's a transparent rule is very useful, because...without the Gaokao, the education system would be even much more unequal..." — Ruixue Jia [40:48]

9. Reform: What Should Change?

[43:14–49:23]

For China:

• Flatten the Hierarchy: The fundamental issue is the extreme hierarchy. Slightly expanding access to elite institutions could reduce harmful competition.
  • "If you make the system a bit more flattened, if one point doesn't change your life, then...that would relax this tension quite a bit." — Ruixue Jia [45:20]
• Meaningful Reform Over Cosmetic: Banning tutoring addresses symptoms, not cause. Hierarchy is the root.
  • "If the government wants to change the system, I would suggest starting with the very basic point like just expand the merit of your college a little bit." — Ruixue Jia [45:20]
• Improve Teaching Quality: There’s a need for stronger university faculty and openness; US research universities are a global model in this regard.
  • "They need to be more open, more English speaking in the society..." — Hongbin Li [43:40]

For the US:

• Address Hierarchy: Even the US has become too hierarchical in university prestige.
  • "Both are too hierarchical...Even in California...community college has become a springboard to go to the elite colleges..." — Ruixue Jia [49:11]
• Boost K-12 Competition: More school choice, and linking teacher pay to student outcomes could drive improvements.
  • "Should have more competition in local education...more competitive salary for teachers linked to performance." — Hongbin Li [43:40]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Stakes:
  "If you think about basketball game, Gaokao is like NBA tournament and SAT is like American middle school basketball tournament." — Hongbin Li [04:45]

• On Selection:
  "To be successful in this exam, you need a lot of investment, right? So you’ll think about, oh, your children should go to a good high school...even kindergarten." — Ruixue Jia [06:29]

• On Signal vs. Substance:
  "We don't find these two students who initially were very similar...different in all the measurable dimensions." — Ruixue Jia [18:29]

• On Transparency and Fairness:
  "It's kind of to carve out a specific environment where there's a transparent rule. It's very useful because...without the Gaokao, the education system would be even much more unequal." — Ruixue Jia [40:48]

• On Hierarchy’s Problems:
  "One point would change my child's life...If you make the system a bit more flattened, right, if one point doesn't change your life, then I think that would relax this tension." — Ruixue Jia [45:20]

Timestamps for Major Segments

• [02:20] — What is the Gaokao and how does it work?
• [04:41] — Gaokao vs. US SAT; total reliance on the exam
• [06:29] — Educational investment begins early; burden on families
• [08:02] — Hierarchy and centralization in Chinese higher education
• [09:57] — Hierarchical structure compared to US and Europe
• [13:26] — Is all the competition wasteful, or beneficial?
• [18:29] — Value added in college and the signaling effect
• [23:04] — The “first degree discrimination” phenomenon
• [24:53] — Gaokao’s role in governance, regional quotas, legitimacy
• [29:17] — Quotas for elite regions and ethnic minorities
• [35:00] — East Asian comparisons (Japan, Korea, Taiwan)
• [38:21] — Tournament mentality in government and academia
• [43:14] — Reform: lessons for China and the US
• [49:23] — Final thoughts; the problem of hierarchy

Conclusion

The episode paints a nuanced portrait of the Gaokao as both a critical avenue for opportunity and a cause of intense societal pressure. Through discussion and data, Jia and Li reveal how the exam’s hierarchical, centralized structure drives investment, shapes life trajectories, and even influences governance practices beyond education. They call for reforms to flatten educational hierarchies and to create systems that balance merit, fairness, and diverse opportunities—suggestions relevant to both China and the US.

Final note from the host:
"It was really fun to actually learn more about you and see the personal experience of how going through that system has affected you... definitely encourage reading it." — Peter Lorentzen [49:23]