Update - Public Exams Arrangement in China

The ongoing pandemic in major cities in China has led to the rearrangements for several public exams such as the domestic Gaokao (postponed to July in Shanghai) and international tests including AP, IB, IGCSEs and A Levels. The British Council has collected details for each exam as below:

Gaokao

On 7^th May, Shanghai government has issued the announcement to postpone the autumn Gaokao to 7^th July – 9^th July, one month later than the national Gaokao schedule (7^th June – 8^th June) . More than 50,000 students will take the Shanghai Gaokao this year. Other provincial-level regions are still holding to the original schedule and the changes in Shanghai will have little impact on national admissions as Shanghai has a separate paper for the exams.

A-Level / IGCSE

Cambridge Assessment International Education (CAIE), Oxford AQA and Pearson Edexcel have announced that all exams in Shanghai (and 1-2 other cities) will be cancelled for the June 2022 exam series. Instead, all schools in affected areas will be switched to the PoE (portfolio of evidence) or TAG (teacher assessed grades) route so that students can receive certification for the work and be able to progress with their education.

AP

In early May, the College Board confirmed that due to Covid restrictions, AP testing will be cancelled in several Chinese cities – including Shanghai, Beijing, Suzhou, Nanchang, Harbin and others – although some locations, such as those in Guangzhou, Hanghzhou, Chengdu and Chongqing, will remain open and comply with Covid prevention policies. Details by test centre are given on the Prometric website. Given the scale and uncertainty of the situation in China there will be no makeup option in the affected areas. Students who are unable to test this year may choose to take an exam next year.

IB

The International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO) has announced that all IB schools in East China will follow the non-examination procedure. This will include schools in four provincial-level regions: Shanghai, Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Anhui. IBO stated that students’ results will be awarded using coursework marks and predicted grades for the May 2022 examination session, based on the same procedures adopted in the 2021 sessions. The IBO will provide support to schools and share more information and guidance about this process.

Actions Required

In order to support and help exchange information with students and schools, British Council would like to collect response from UK institutions regarding these changes.

If your institution has offered any alternative policies to accommodate students who are not able to take the international exams, please kindly share the information by completing this survey or email us at ies.china@britishcouncil.org.cn by 20^th May.

Thank you for your support!