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Zhao Zhuoya, a first-year undergraduate student at Renmin University of China in Beijing, took the new gaokao in Tianjin last year. She took history, politics and geography for her elective subjects.

"Although I chose all three liberal arts subjects, I was determined to stick to the choices after I weighed up the different subjects," she said.

Zhao had the opportunity to take the English-language test twice as part of the gaokao reform in Tianjin, with the higher score reflected in her total score. She said she got a better mark in the first test in March, which gave her more time to prepare for other subjects.

Fa Xiaolin, a head teacher at a Wuhan high school, said the reform has enabled students to have more of a say in their future and allowed them to think more about their career path at an early age. The exam used to be criticized for forcing students to choose between liberal arts and science at an early age.

Giving students more choices, the reform also opens the way for more personalized development and allows them to learn subjects they are passionate about, she said.

Fa, who has taught high school classes for more than 20 years, said students nowadays are more aware of their interests and are not afraid to speak out about their preferences.

"As China's economy has grown rapidly in recent years, and with more job opportunities emerging, the gaokao cannot shape one's destiny as it did in the past, and students and parents have a more rational attitude toward the exam," she said.

However, it is still an important exam, as it offers students access to quality education resources, which give them more opportunities to land good jobs, she said.

Students from rural areas and places that have just been lifted out of severe poverty will continue to enjoy favorable policies when they apply for major universities this year, according to the Ministry of Education.

Special enrollment plans will continue to enable more students from rural and once impoverished areas to go to key universities and colleges, the ministry said in a notice in April.