EDUCATION IN CHINA

Introduction
The People’s Republic of China (hereafter “China”) is the
world’s most populous country, with a population of over
1.3 billion, covering approximately 9.6 million square
kilometres. Since the implementation of economic reform
and opening policies in 1978, China has become one of the
world’s fastest-growing major economies. With the GDP
growth rate averaging between 7% and 8% a year in recent
decades, China has become the world’s second largest
economy by nominal total GDP (World Bank, 2015).
Despite China’s emergence as one of the world’s most
influential economies, relatively little is known in other
countries about China’s education system or about how
its students learn. This report seeks to provide an overview
of education in China today, including mechanisms the
country uses to manage its education system, as well as
current policies and reforms. It focuses on education in
mainland China, and puts a spotlight on the four provinces
and municipalities that participated in the 2015 edition
of the OECD Programme for International Student
Assessment (PISA). PISA is a triennial international survey
which aims to evaluate education systems worldwide by
testing the skills and knowledge of 15-year-old students.
These districts represent not only the economic heartland
of emerging China, but also important regions for
education innovation and development.
THE STRUCTURE OF THIS REPORT
This report is organised into six chapters. The first
outlines China’s national education system and how it
works, including the organisation of the system, and how
the government deals with educational development,
reform and quality improvement, teachers, students,
curriculum and teaching. The second chapter introduces
current education reforms and relevant nationwide
policies, including the challenge of balancing educational
development in rural and urban areas, and reforms
of the examinations. The remaining four chapters are
each devoted to the four participating provinces and
municipalities in PISA 2015.
Box 1.1 Participation in PISA
Shanghai has participated in PISA since 2009. In 2015,
China expanded its participation in PISA to include Beijing,
Shanghai, Jiangsu and Guangdong. Beijing and Shanghai
are municipalities administered by the Chinese central
government; they are also megacities boasting populations
of over 20 million people. Jiangsu is a province on the
eastern coast of China. Guangdong is a southern coastal
province. Hong Kong has participated in PISA since 2000,
while Macau has participated in PISA since 2006. Both are
special administrative regions of China.
Basic statistics relating to Chinese municipalities and provinces participating in PISA can be found below:
Municipality/Province
Population
(in million)
Area
(in km 2 )
GDP
(in CNY trillion)
GDP per capita
(in CNY)
Beijing municipality 21 516 16 410 2.133 99 136
Shanghai municipality 24 257 6 340 2.356 97 127
Jiangsu province 79 600 102 600 6.509 81 771
Guangdong province 107 240 179 800 6.779 63 213
Note: All data are of 2014.
Sources:
Beijing Bureau of Statistics (2015), “ 北 京 市 2014 年 国 民 经 济 和 社 会 发 展 统 计 公 报 ” [Beijing Economic and Social Development Statistical Bulletin 2014],
www.bjstats.gov.cn/tjsj/tjgb/ndgb/201511/t20151124_327764.html.
Guangdong Bureau of Statistics (2015), “ 广 东 2014 年 国 民 经 济 和 社 会 发 展 统 计 公 报 ” [Guangdong Economic and Social Development Statistical Bulletin 2014],
www.gdstats.gov.cn/tjzl/tjgb/201507/t20150722_310084.html.
Jiangsu Bureau of Statistics (2015), “ 江 苏 2014 年 国 民 经 济 和 社 会 发 展 统 计 公 报 ” [Jiangsu Economic and Social Development Statistical Bulletin 2014],
www.jssb.gov.cn/tjxxgk/xwyfb/tjgbfb/sjgb/201502/t20150217_254151.html.
Shanghai Bureau of Statistics (2015), “ 上 海 2014 年 国 民 经 济 和 社 会 发 展 统 计 公 报 ” [Shanghai Economic and Social Development Statistical Bulletin 2014],
www.shanghai.gov.cn/nw2/nw2314/nw2319/nw11494/nw12335/u21aw994813.html.
8 – EDUCATION IN CHINA: A SNAPSHOT © OECD 2016