The subjects tested in the National Higher Education Entrance Examination have changed over time. Traditionally, students would undertake either a set of "arts" subjects or a set of "science" subjects, with some shared compulsory subjects. The subjects taken in the Examination affected the degree or career paths open to the student. In recent years, different provinces have included different subjects in the Examination, or implemented flexible systems for selecting the subjects to be tested, resulting in a number of different systems.
"3+X" system
As a pilot examination system used in order to promote education system reform, this examination system has been implemented in most parts of the country, including Beijing City, Tianjin City, Hebei Province, Liaoning Province, Jilin Province, Heilongjiang Province, Anhui Province, Fujian Province, Guangdong Province, Jiangxi Province, Henan Province, Shandong Province, Hubei Province, Shaanxi Province, Sichuan Province, Guizhou Province, Yunnan Province, Shanxi Province, Chongqing City, Gansu Province, Qinghai Province, Inner Mongolia, Guangxi, Ningxia, Xinjiang and Tibet.
"3" refers to compulsory subjects, including "Chinese, Mathematics and a foreign language (mostly English)", each of which accounts for 150/750 in total score.
"X" means that students can choose, according to their own interests, one subject from either Social Sciences (including Political Sciences, History and Geography), or Natural Sciences (including Physics, Chemistry and Biology), which accounts for 300/750 in total score.
If the student choose Natural Sciences, then he or she will take a relatively harder mathematics test as well, including complex Hyperbolas and Calculus, which are not required by Social Sciences students.
| Social Sciences | Chinese, Mathematics and a foreign language (mostly English) | 450/750, 150 each | Political Sciences, History and Geography | 300/750, 100+100+100 |
| Natural Sciences | Chinese, Mathematics (including complex Hyperbolas and Calculus) and a foreign language (mostly English) | 450/750, 150 each | Physics, Chemistry and Biology | 300/750, 110+100+90 |
"3+2" system
"3" refers to three compulsory subjects, including "Chinese, Mathematics and a foreign language". "2" refers to selecting two subjects either from Politics, History or Geography for arts students, or from Biology, Chemistry or Physics for science students.
"4+X" system
This system was used after the New Curriculum Reform being employed in Guangdong province, and now it has been abandoned.
"X" means that according to their own interests, candidates can choose one or two subjects either from arts subjects, including Politics, History and Geography (Politics and Geography cannot be chosen simultaneously), or from science subjects, including Biology, Physics and Chemistry (Physics and Biology cannot be chosen simultaneously).
Chinese and a foreign language are compulsory. Two separate Mathematics tests are designed respectively for arts students and science students.
In addition to three compulsory subjects and X subject, arts students have to take comprehensive tests of arts, and science students have to take comprehensive tests of science.
"3+1+X" system
This system has been implemented in Shanghai since the employment of comprehensive courses.
"3" refers to three compulsory subjects "Chinese, Mathematics and a foreign language", with 150 scores for each subject.
"1" refers to one subject that candidates choose according to their own interests and specialty from "Politics, History, Geography, Physics, Chemistry and Biology". This subject accounts 150 scores when admitted by universities and colleges at undergraduate level. The score is not included in the total score when admitted by vocational and technical colleges. Therefore, candidates can give up this subject when applying for colleges at vocational and technical level.
"X" refers to comprehensive ability test, which is categorized into arts tests and science tests. Arts students can either choose one subject from Politics, History and Geography, or take an arts comprehensive test when giving up "1' subject. Science students can either choose one subject from Physics, Chemistry and Biology, or take a science comprehensive test when giving up "1" subject. Regardless of arts and science categories, all the comprehensive ability tests cover knowledge of six subjects, including Politics, History, Geography, Physics, Chemistry and Biology. In the first volume of the arts test, number of questions related to arts subjects exceeds science questions, and vice versa; the second volume of the two tests are the same.
"3+2+X" system
This is a pilot college entrance examination system implemented by the Jiangsu Province in 2003 (still in use in 2012) after examining other testing systems.
"3" refers to three compulsory subjects "Chinese, mathematics and a foreign language", which are recorded in the total score.
"2" refers to choosing two subjects from the following six areas "politics, history, geography, physics, chemistry, biology", which are not recorded in total score but a class like A+, A, etc. will be recorded.
"X" refers to a comprehensive science or liberal arts exam, which is not recorded in the total score, only for university admission reference.
"3+X+1" system
This is part of the curriculum reform in China.
"3" refers to Chinese, Mathematics and a foreign language, which are compulsory testing subjects for each candidate.
"X" means choosing one, according to the students' interest, of the two comprehensive tests in either sciences or liberal arts.
"1" refers to a basic proficiency test on skills that high school graduates needs and should have in order to adapt to social life. This college entrance examination system was implemented for the first time in Shandong in 2007.
The examination system in Shandong Province reverted to the "3+X" system as of the most recent testing in June 2014.