Even though adjusting to life in South Korea was not easy, I made a plan and started studying for the university entrance exam.

CNN: Why I fled North Korea

Students receive constant pressure since elementary school and a failure at the university entrance exam means a failure to have a bright future.

BBC: Chinese views on power transfer

In a country awash with fake diplomas and graduation certificates, the nationally administered university entrance exam, for all its faults, is one institution that is at least respected.

ECONOMIST: China

Mr Liu says the long-term plan is to change the university entrance procedures to place more emphasis on students' performance at school rather than simply on the national entrance exam.

ECONOMIST: China

Reducing resit opportunities would disadvantage pupils and the government seemed determined "to reduce the A-level to an elite university entrance exam" rather than a qualification for all young people, she added.

BBC: Education & Family

The University of Michigan used to give applicants more points for being black than for getting a perfect score on the entrance exam.

ECONOMIST: Black America

"I was really tired last year and fully resigned to go off to the Balkans to die, " said one 13-year-old Beijinger after she passed the entrance exam for a middle school attached to the renowned People's University.

CNN: LITTLE EMPERORS