Annually in the People's Republic of China (China) several million secondary school graduates who wish to gain entrance to Chinese universities and colleges take the National Matriculation English Test (NMET)--the university entrance test of English for the entire country. This article first describes the test, and then focuses on examining its validity, reliability, discrimination power, fairness, impact, and washback in relation to the problems and challenges faced by a highly selective and competitive Chinese school system faces. (Contains 6 footnotes and 2 tables.)