In january-may of each year, the examination is the most popular topic in the household. This year is even more special — in 2026, the examination was really different。
If the reforms of previous years were still “piloting”, “transition”, this year would be a real move. The bottom logic of the entire baccalaureate is changing, from examination patterns, admissions to propositions. Let's break up today and talk about what's changed this year and what it means to our kids。
Change one: all-out 3+1+2 in the 29 provinces of the country
First of all, the biggest change in test patterns。
In 2025, the eight provinces of shanxi, henan, shaanxi, inner mongolia, sichuan, yunnan, ningxia and qinghai introduced new high examinations for the first time, bringing to 29 the number of provinces in the country. By 2026, this group of provinces had received the second high-level examination and the whole process had been smoothed。
What's "3+1+2"? It's really very understandable。
In addition to the number of words, all three subjects will be taken, and will no longer be divided between humanities and science and will be used in a single national volume. “1” is chosen from physics and history and “2” from chemistry, biology, geography and politics. So the theoretical choice of biology and history is a mix of 12 different combinations, unlike the former simple “cosmopolitan package” or “science package”。
It is not just a little bit more flexible than it was in the past. But if it was thought that the change of soup was just a change in the list of subjects, it would be too small for the reform。
Change two: one book officially exited the historical stage, and the logic of voluntary filling changed completely
If the selection changes are just “appetizers”, then the adjustment of the intakes is a “hard dish” of this reform。
To date, with the exception of xinjiang and tibet, where reforms were initiated in 2024 and are expected to be formally implemented in 2027, all 29 provinces of the country have abolished the division of undergraduates and undergraduates, and all undergraduates have been integrated in “general undergraduates”。
When many parents heard of the "close two" book, the first reaction was: how does my child fill out a volunteer? There used to be a line that was stuck, and there was a bottom line. Now it's a pot. How
Indeed, the cancellation does not mean that there is no distinction. The new model was to replace the original “one-line” with the “special type of student intake control score line”, and undergraduate institutions were able to fill out their volunteer service following the model of the professional group. The simple understanding is that, in the past, voluntary work was done by school, a pit by school, and the transfer was done on a school-wide basis; now it is done by a professional group, a school may be broken down into several professional groups, you choose a profession within a professional group, and the transfer is done within the group。
Why is that? To put it bluntly, it is to break the employment and academic label of the “two books of prejudice” of the past. You used to take one of the end-of-the-mill professions, which was a "one" at least, and one of the most popular professions in the world, which might be better off than you, but some of the kids couldn't get through it because they were stuck in "two books." this label is slowly disappearing, and the profession itself is in position of c。
What difference does it make for the children and parents who took the advanced examination this year? Three keywords must be kept in mind: selection of subjects, examination of professional requirements and placement。
It's because they directly influence what they can do. For example, you want to study clinical medicine, most schools require physics + chemistry; many schools don't ask for subjects. So the first step in volunteering is to see what combinations of subjects they choose, which professions they can and which they cannot. Don't even think about it. The requirements and admissions of the target professional groups are then checked on a case-by-case basis, in accordance with the latest enrolment regulations and the ranking of previous years. It is generally recommended that there should be 30 to 40 selected from each of the three levels of “stabilization”, which would result in almost 90 to 120 professional groups of institutions being prepared for the whole voluntary list, which is considerably larger than in the past, but with a corresponding increase in safety. For provinces that have adopted the “professional + college” model, there is a greater number of volunteers, and early homework。
There's another place that many people haven't noticed: the splitting system。
The scores for the re-chosen subjects (chemical, biological, geographic, political) are not added directly to the rolls, but are converted to “grades” based on the province-wide ranking. How? Five grades, a, b, c, d and e, by ranking, are approximately 15 per cent, 35 per cent, 35 per cent, 13 per cent and 2 per cent, respectively, and the formula is converted into the final score to be taken into account in the overall results of the examination。
What does that mean? You don't have to worry about the craziness of the exam, the collective "roll over." because of the ranking, the more difficult the topic is, the lower the curve, the lower the score after the score, the lower the level of competition. In turn, when the title is too simple, the tolerance rate is extremely low, the ranking of a minor error falls down, and the gap after the allocation becomes more difficult to fill. So it looks like it's "learning" and it's actually "the ranking." this may not have been taken seriously by many parents in their first and second years。
Change three: the era of puzzles is really over, and the theme is turning
The first two changes are already digestive, but the third is truly far-reaching。
The ministry of education had recently issued a circular for the deployment of the 2026 high-level recruitment exercise, which clearly stated that the content and format of examinations should be continuously and further reformed to better examine students ' key competencies, discipline and mental qualities. This year, ministry of education document i further defined that the logic of advanced examinations is changing and that the era of encapsulation is over。
How? There are three key words: reality, innovative thinking, interdisciplinary integration。
In the previous examinations, students were afraid that they would not see the scenes of the subject and deliberately avoid something that “the children of the city are familiar and the children of the countryside are not known”. It's not the same now, but it's integrated into a wide range of technological frontier and social hotspots: brain interfaces, smartness, quantum computing, global climate governance... The adage in these news stories is becoming a “background to” test。
It would be naive of you to say, "it's all a title anyway, just a wrapping." these new contexts are not just a patchwork, but they are back to a whole new competency requirement: from “discussion” to “solving problems”, from “knowledge memory” to “the quality of thinking”, from “single science” to “interdisciplinary integration”。
To give you an example of a material on "application of quantum computing in drug development", which is based on physical knowledge, but you need a combination of chemical structures, biological reactions. If you're usually just a formula brush, it's a problem。
The ministry of education has also explicitly requested that the design of project-based and exploratory reality be strengthened. In other words, there will be more and more open and semi-open questions, and the effects of hard backs and sea tactics will be significantly compromised. The trend is towards greater flexibility in the high-level test, but the nature of the examination is becoming clearer — whether you really understand knowledge and whether you can use it to solve problems you have never seen before。
Does that brush work? To be honest, for most ordinary children, the basic work has to be consolidated by a brush. The key is “how” — not to seek numbers blindly, but to be refined, reflective, one against the other. You need to know what the ability of each subject training is: formula proficiency? Is reading understanding? Or logic? This is the correct position for the new examination。
Parents and students should pay attention now
Seeing this place, a lot of parents are probably starting to think about it: how can our children cope with this big change
A few key points have been combed out for you, suggesting that the collection be slowly seen。
First thing: choose not to rush, not just to see the score。
In 2026, the ministry of education explicitly requested that secondary schools should not organize early student selections. Why is this a rule? Because a number of schools have chosen their subjects at the beginning of the year in order to achieve early results, some parents are anxious, and children are pushed to make decisions without knowing what they like and what they are good at. The approach of the ministry of education is clear: first, all courses are taught and laid down, and then they are selected in a rational manner, taking into account national development needs and the advantages of their interests. Do not let short-term scores of anxiety kidnap long-term development directions。
A special reminder is that the selection combination is theoretically open to adjustment, but once the formal break starts, it will be difficult to change. So you have to be careful, but you don't have to panic。
The second thing:Comprehensive qualityIt's not false, but it's possible to decide on admission at a critical time。
It is also increasingly important to have a comprehensive quality assessment, not only on the final score, but also on the final grade. The policy makes it clear that, in the case of the same scores of candidates, the results of the comprehensive quality evaluation are the basis for the “one-shot sound”. Larger than volunteering, social practice, and smaller than research studies and community participation are part of a comprehensive quality profile. These may not normally be visible, and the critical time may be the point of closing the gap。
The third thing is that there has been a change in the special programmes for higher education, with students and parents in rural and poverty-free areas having an additional eye。
From 2026 onwards, the special programme for higher education institutions is no longer being registered, qualified and tested by separate organizations of higher education institutions, but is being approved by district and district authorities on a single basis, in accordance with the national special programme, on the basis of the results of the higher examination and direct admission on a voluntary basis. This is a substantial benefit for candidates who have been registered in rural areas for more than three years in a row: the threshold has not changed, but the process has become simpler, the opportunities have become more transparent, and there is no need to run around for various tests。
Summary
After writing about these changes, my greatest feeling is not that it is complicated, but that the direction is clearer。
In the past, the test was “how much to what”, and the score was one thousand. However, against the backdrop of increasing employment pressure for university graduates, the score is no longer sufficient。
What the new senior examination does is to get children out of the “sole” cage: the examination can choose the subject in which they are good at, voluntary filling is more professional, and the proposition moves from the examination of memory to the examination of competence. To put it in plain language — to allow educational returnees to grow rather than to collapse on a narrow runway。
Of course, reform has never been done overnight. This year is only the second year in which 29 provinces have entered the new examination, and new problems and challenges will certainly arise. But for our average family, understanding the rules, adapting to the initiatives, planning ahead is the best thing to do now。
Which group is your kid? How's the volunteer filing going? The comment section is welcome to talk。
