Exam-Oriented Strategies, Innovation, and Employment Returns: Evidence from Chinese Education Reform

Abstract

Today, China has implemented the college entrance examination reform to promote quality-oriented education, enabling students not only to pass the exams but also to cultivate creativity, problem-solving skills, and critical thinking abilities, achieving all-round development. However, the reality is that society’s expectations for students’ performance in exams and students’ own expectations for future salaries are still closely related to exam scores. This study has developed a strategy probability model aimed at calculating how students allocate limited efforts between exam preparation and innovative learning. The parameter θ is used to represent the student’s inclination: if θ = 0, it indicates that the student is fully focused on innovation; if θ = 1, it indicates that the student is fully committed to exam preparation. Data from 500 students from several provinces were used to study the relationship between their learning strategies, comprehensive abilities, and expected salaries. The results show that in the labor market, rote exam-oriented learning methods are overestimated, while innovation ability is underestimated. This phenomenon indicates that the current form of education does not match the long - term development needs of the country in the future.