The National Higher Education Entrance Examination (also translated as National Matriculation Examination, often abbreviated as NCEE, short for National College Entrance Examination), commonly known as Gaokao (高考), is an academic examination held annually in People's Republic of China. This examination is a prerequisite for entrance into almost all higher education institutions at the undergraduate level. It is usually taken by students in their last year of senior high school, although there has been no age restriction since 2001.

In 2006, a record high of 9.5 million people applied for tertiary education entry in China. Of these, 8.8 million (93%) are scheduled to take the national entrance exam and 27,600 (0.28%) have been exempted from standardized exams (保送) due to exceptional or special talent. The rest (700,000) will take other standardized entrance exams, such as those designed for adult education students.

The overall mark received by the student is generally a weighted sum of their subject marks. The maximum possible mark varies widely from year to year and also varies from province to province.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Higher_Education_Entrance_Examination