On June 7 and 8, China’s legions of high school students in their last year sat down for the Gaokao after a long year of rote study. The nine-hour exam sets the course of achievement for decades to come and is seemingly sacred in a society that places extremely high value on educational achievement and job security. Parents often take their kids to Buddhist temples to pray before the exam. In major cities, the public transportation system is cleared to allow students a quick commute to their exam location.

Similar to the SATs, students complete an essay portion that is designed to test writing ability—or at least it used to be. Conspicuous changes in this year’s essay prompts suggest that it is now intended to serve political purposes. This year’s questions ask for students’ thoughts on highly ideological topics, making it a test of students’ loyalty to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Several of the essay prompts focused on quotes from President Xi Jinping about the “rejuvenation” of China. Another prompt asked for a discussion on “the New Era—Growing up in the Motherland’s Development”. “New Era” is a term borrowed from the official name of Xi Jinping’s own political doctrine to describe the current era of Chinese prosperity, technological prowess, and global power.