As for GAC, it should be shut down. It's just an excuse to rip off poor unsuspecting Chinese students, many of whom actually come from lower middle class Chinese families that view GAC as a the door opener for life overseas.

The details of how the scam is executed:

At first, by Chinese students who are in the middle of their study abroad plus others not studying abroad who lie that they took GAC in China, lying just for a few days during a FREE GAC taster course in their hometown before leaving to continue their studies, inside or outside China, at their universities at the end of their summer vacation. They'll stress GAC is the reason why their study abroad is so excellent. But in fact, most of them have never studied abroad! They are young adult Chinese stooges paid by a Chinese school director to try to persuade Chinese high school leavers from middle or upper class families to do GAC instead of go on to a Chinese university to study. So, at first there's an advertising campaign,followed by a 5-day FREE GAC taster, which consists of indoctrination and playing so-called games that develop students' intelligence, like accepting a ping pong ball tossed to you while tossing one that had been tossed to you previously to the person next to you, all of you standing in a circle, LOL! It's stressed that GAC is a fun course. Actually that couldn't be farther from the truth! After the freebie GAC taster, students are urged to sign up by the stooges. Meanwhile, two FT's will also stress to the young scam targets that GAC will mean they can get great jobs after graduating abroad, or can even get green cards and change their nationality! It's stated firmly that the Chinese tertiary education system is crap and that a Western degree can open many doors for them employment-wise - sweeping generalisations, of course!
What about GAC utself? It consists of 6 separate modules being taught simultaneously 6 days a week,for about 6 weeks. After that, students are tested on each module by means of written tests. The initial modules include academic writing, math, computing, and independent study techniques. The material is demanding and fast-paced, and quite a lot of it is at first year university level. There are 3 tests per module, of which a GAC facilitator can choose one to give to his (or her) students. Why three? Indeed strange! A facilitator is not allowed to go over the tests in class after each test has been given, but will have to do so, contrary to GAC rules, on the instructions of the Chinese school director. Two laowai teaching about 20 lessons/week, one a DOSer, will be hired to teach GAC, and some oral lessons, working Monday to Saturday, possibly until 8 pm. Salary will be around 8000Y - 12000Y per month. The employer will provide free housing. The employer must rent a computer lab and an office. The fee for each student will be around 60000Y for the 9-month program. To break even,the employer will need to scam at least 6 students. The fee will likely be a one-off payment at the start of the program.It'll be non-refundable if the students pass, so the parents are told, before they pay up. So, failure is not an option!After 'graduation', the Chinese director will use his (or her) 'foreign friends' to 'arrange' university places for the students at so-called good universities abroad, and of course pocket introduction fees from there, of 5 - 15% of what the rich parents will pay for their offspring's first year of board and study abroad, which, of course, is not stated to the students or their parents!
Of course,the majority of students who enrol aren't capable of doing GAC well due to their ropey English and/or lack of intelligence. It's a great scam if a 'school' can attract around ten students. But fortunately for them, many Chinese free GAC taster participants do not join GAC in Northern China, even in a provincial capital. If the school can't attract enough students in the first year of its operation, it will re-open under a different name the following year, to attempt to perpetrate the GAC scam again. This is so as to cover up the initial failure in case some cautious parents or their offspring google the school's name!

A warning to all foreign teachers - beware of GAC in China!