What has the power to both bring a ray of hope and strike a note of fear in the hearts of millions of 18 year olds every year? In China, the answer is most certainly the 高考 (gāokǎo) -- or National Higher Education Exam, as it's formally known. In this show, Jason, David, and Jiaojie talk about the gao kao and how it's viewed by students, parents, and teachers. We also talk a bit about how different kinds of students can get extra points on the gao kao, or even skip the gao kao altogether and enter university directly. Tune in to learn about this unique part of education in China and, as always, leave us your comments. For more topics related to Chinese testing, see the links to ChinesePod's elementary lesson on a child preparing for their test and advanced lesson on the Chinese examination-based system in a more historical context!