Persons with disabilities taking the gaokao (高考) may apply for reasonable accommodations; Braille papers get 50% more exam time

Disabled candidates taking the gaokao (高考) may apply for Braille papers, large-print papers, exemption from foreign-language listening, a separate exam room, hearing aids and wheelchairs in the room, and extended exam time. None of this is automatic; file a written application by the provincial deadline, with a second-generation or later disability certificate. If you disagree with the result, ask the provincial education department for review.

Cost

No money. File one written application in the time the province sets, and attend an on-site confirmation.

Benefit

Article 5 of the Provisions on Administration of Participation by Persons with Disabilities in the National Unified Examination for Admission to Regular Institutions of Higher Education (残疾人参加普通高等学校招生全国统一考试管理规定) lists twelve reasonable accommodations. These include providing current Braille papers, large-print papers, or ordinary papers for candidates with vision disability; exempting candidates with hearing disability from the foreign-language listening test; allowing candidates with vision disability to bring Braille pens, Braille writing boards, non-storage Braille typewriters, non-storage electronic low-vision aids, white canes, optical magnifiers, and similar aids; allowing candidates with hearing disability to bring hearing aids or cochlear implants; allowing candidates with limited mobility to use wheelchairs or walking aids, and those with special needs to bring special desks and chairs. The time extension is in Article 5, item 6: “For candidates with vision disability using Braille papers, exam time is extended by 50% of the subject’s set total duration; for candidates with vision disability using large-print or ordinary papers, and for candidates with especially difficult writing because of upper-limb inability from cerebral palsy or other disease or because one upper limb is missing, exam time is extended by 30% of the subject’s set total duration.” There are also priority entry to the site and rooms, separate standardized rooms, and guides and sign-language interpreters. Article 7 sets the application process: candidates file a formal written application by the time, place, and method set by the provincial education examination body, with a second-generation or later disability certificate; an expert group confirms on site and assesses comprehensively; the provincial education examination body issues a Notice. Article 8: if the candidate objects to the Notice, a written review may be filed with the provincial education administration. Article 9: if foreign-language listening is exempted, the foreign-language score is “written score × total foreign-language points / total written-part points.” Article 18: persons with disabilities who need reasonable accommodations for other national education exams may follow these Provisions (nationwide, issued and in force 7 April 2017)

Notes

Application windows are set by each province and printed in that year’s gaokao (高考) registration rules; miss them and there is none. Check the provincial education examination authority site in the first term of senior year. Article 18 also covers postgraduate exams, adult gaokao (高考), and other national education exams by reference. Schools must not refuse enrollment — see item 14 of this section (schools must not refuse). Beneficiaries are you or your child.

Sources · 1

1. 教育部、中国残联 (2017). 残疾人参加普通高等学校招生全国统一考试管理规定（教学〔2017〕4 号，第五条、第七条、第八条、第九条、第十八条）. gov.cn/zhengce/zhengceku/2017-04/12/content_5…