It is the time for the National College Entrance Examination (Gaokao) once again. On June 9, the 026 Gaokao concluded in most regions across the country. What changes in this year's Gaokao are worth paying attention to?
A relevant official from the Education Examination Authority of the Ministry of Education stated that this year's Gaokao test design adhered to the fundamental task of fostering virtue and nurturing people, stayed close to the themes contemporary development, strengthened the assessment of abilities, competencies, and thinking quality, and continuously improved the quality of talent selection and cultivation.
On June 7, outside the Chenlun Middle School examination center in Beijing, teachers accompanying the candidates held sunflower accessories to send their blessings to the examinees. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Ju Huanzong.
 the test closer to life and enhancing the applicability of the questions—
The language and text application section of National Paper I used "taking photos" as a topic, guiding students to attention to new changes in social life; the reading materials of National Paper II used "covered bridges" as a topic, showcasing the functions and aesthetic value of covered bridges; the microwriting section of the Beijing Paper focused on themes such as enhancing students' awareness of labor and visiting nursing homes to carry out activities for the Double Ninth Festival... Opening the Chinese language paper, a strong sense of real life is immediately apparent.
"Let the examinees experience the charm of words in real-life scenarios." Huang Chun, principal of the Xiongan Campus of Beijing No. 4 High School, described this year's Chinese language test questions this way: "The Gaokao questions tell us that Chinese is visible and, and knowledge is all in life."
Being close to reality and life is a characteristic reflected in the test questions of all subjects.
The physics test used the common outdoor activity playing with a ball as a scenario to test students' understanding of the conservation of mechanical energy and energy transformation; the chemistry test selected real-life scenarios such as alloy materials and food as carriers to encourage students to recognize the practical value of chemistry; the ideological and political test integrated rule-of-law education and moral education into daily life scenarios...

Experts believe this year's Gaokao test questions strengthened the design of real-life scenario problems and made new explorations in guiding students to think independently and value practice, which helps enhance' experience and observation of life.

On June 7, candidates walk out of the examination hall at the Changjun Binjiang Middle School test center in Changsha, Hunan Province Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Ming Xing.
Focusing on critical thinking and emphasizing the exploratory nature of problems—
The Gaokao (National College Entrance Examination) questions not test students' knowledge accumulation but also their thinking abilities.
Looking at this year's Gaokao questions, there have been many attempts to strengthen the assessment of thinking quality.The history questions avoid the mechanical listing of historical materials, guiding students to analyze the mutual verification between documentary records and archaeological data; the mathematics questions set up exploratory scenarios, encouraging students to divergent thinking to truly understand mathematical concepts; the English reading materials focus on guiding students to dialectically examine complex issues and understand the multifaceted nature of things.
"Open-ended exploratory questions require students to propose hypotheses and demonstrate conclusions, which increases the intensity of thinking and improves the discriminative power of the test. This can both measure the true level of students at levels and screen out talents with the potential for continuous learning and innovation," said a relevant official from the National Education Examinations Authority of the Ministry of Education
On June 7, candidates entered the examination center at Zhonghua Middle School in Jianye District, Nanjing, to prepare for their exams. Photo Xinhua News Agency reporter Li Bo.
Promoting the five dimensions of education, emphasizing comprehensive assessment—
From cultivating awareness of labor education to promoting the spirit of Chinese aesthetics, from focusing on national strategic needs to closely aligning with economic and social development, this year's Gaokao exam papers not only highlight the characteristics of each subject but also place greater on students' all-round development in morality, intelligence, physical fitness, aesthetics, and labor.
The exam papers are highly attuned to the times. The national Ideological and exam paper organically integrates the Party's innovative theories into the questions; the national Geography exam paper calls on young people to pay attention to cutting-edge issues of global climate change; the Shanghai composition prompt guides students to examine the profound changes that technology has brought to real life.
The exam papers are rich in cultural flavor. The Chinese exam paper quotes classics and, showcasing the unique charm of excellent traditional Chinese culture; the History exam paper highlights patriotism and national sentiment, guiding candidates to deeply understand the diversity and unity of Chinese civilization through theactment of historical scenes; and the National English Paper II uses the experience of an Australian woman learning Tai Chi to demonstrate the global influence of Chinese culture.
With calm minds and inspired, candidates are writing their answers. We look forward to them stepping out of the examination hall and writing an even more colorful answer sheet for their lives