Under Mao Chinese was simplified and the high school tests aren't standardized everywhere, so what "perspective" are you on about? Do you want copies of books, tests and teachers and students contact numbers? [edited]

LOL...what where the simplifications in Chinese communication by Mao then you are
referring to?

Let me put some things in perspective for you:

1. To my knowledge, he did nothing in this respect at all, but govermnmental and
semi-governmental institutions did, for example, in 1958 by introducing Chinese script
reforms including simplified Chinese characters and the overall use of what we know as
Pinyin today. There was much more than only that. You will get some deeper insights when
studying the History of Language Reform and Planning in China.

2. Gaokao, by the way, also includes Classical Chinese, which is one of the most difficult
things even for younger Chinese students. I have access to curricula and textbooks on
the subject matter of Chinese for both the Zhongkao as well as the Gaokao, so I have a
possibility to compare.

3. These curricula and the according exams are supposed to be the same all over China, and
they may be even more demanding for those from the Southeastern provinces where Mandarin
is officially something like a second language because of the predominance of Wu,
Cantonese or Hakka variants of Chinese in certain areas. Hunan is in the southwestern
part of China where a local variant of Mandarin is spoken as the first language. Hakka,
Cantoneseand Wu have Chinese characters not known in Mandarin, their grammar differs
significantly from Mandarin as well as their tonal system and pronunciation.

For further details of the latter, look at Ramsey, The Languages of China, an old but still
at valid text.

Sweeping generalisations in statements such as those in your post without supporting facts
are not helpful. Plain and simple.