While education equality is considered crucial for broader social equality, policies that aim to equalize educational resources are sometimes suspected of discriminating against high achievers. Such potential discrimination should be examined empirically to provide robust evidence for policymakers and the broader public. Using a quasi-experimental…

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of instructional leadership on high school students' academic achievement in the Chinese context and to determine which specific instructional leadership dimensions have the most important role. The sample included 26 high schools with 26 principals and 4288 students in Shenyang, China. The…

This is the first study that examines the comparative validity of the Chinese National College Entrance Exam (known as Gaokao) to a Western end-of-secondary-school performance measure, Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR), as admission criteria to an Australian undergraduate degree programme. The study offers a strong warning about using just…

Background: Deficient sleep is linked to detrimental outcomes in health and school performance for adolescents. This study characterized sleep patterns in Chinese adolescents preparing for the College Entrance Exam (CEE) and evaluated the association between sleep patterns, self-rated academic performance, and the CEE scores. Methods: A sample of…

Improving the school governance structure and establishing a modern school system are the current research focuses in elementary and middle school management. Through a comparative analysis of the school governance structure of four provinces and cities in China (Beijing-Shanghai-Jiangsu-Guangdong, BSJG) and PISA2015 high-scored…

This paper investigates the implementation of education policy for migrant children in urban China. Historically, rural and urban residents in China were separated by the "hukou" system, and rural children were not allowed to attend urban schools. Since the relaxation of the "hukou" system in the early 1980s, large numbers of…

To sustain its economic growth in the coming years, China will have to increase the country's supply of skilled labor by enabling its workforce to attain to higher levels of formal education. Unfortunately, when children in poor, rural areas today grow up, they may not be able to enjoy China's future economic prosperity because of their low levels…

This report provides an introduction to the system and culture of the college entrance examination (CEE) of China. College entrance examinations in China (and in several other Asian countries such as Korea and Japan) are so important that they are commonly dubbed "once in a lifetime" or a "one-test-to-determine-a-life" for most…