Abstract
He jerks up, gasping for air, the back of his shirt soaked with cold sweat. Not again. He turns his head to the side, to his wife who lies sound asleep next to him. Even as an alumnus of Peking University, the top university in China, my forty six year-old father still suffers from nightmares about the Gaokao (also known as NCEE, or the National College Entrance Examination). Gaokao is the graduation exam administered to millions of high school seniors in China each year. While some students avoid this test by studying abroad, students who plan to attend universities in China have no choice but to prepare for the NCEE. Even though it is terribly grueling to study for and take the NCEE, most Chinese students see the test as their sole path to future success.