For British readers, A-levels are the obvious point of comparison with the gaokao. Both are subject-based, both come at the end of school, and both are the main currency for university entry. The similarities largely end there.
Breadth is the first difference. A typical A-level student specialises in three subjects over two years. A gaokao candidate under the reformed '3+1+2' or '3+3' systems sits six: Chinese, mathematics and a foreign language for everyone, plus three electives. There is no option to drop mathematics or your native language at sixteen.
The grading looks different. A-levels are reported as grades from A* to E. The gaokao reports a points total, typically out of 750, with the electives in many provinces converted into a scaled score based on how a candidate ranked among everyone who took that subject in the province (等级赋分). Universities then work from your provincial rank rather than from a grade profile.
The timing of the university decision is reversed. In the UK, students apply through UCAS during their final year using predicted grades, receive conditional offers, and only find out in August whether they have met them. In China, results come out in late June, and only then do students submit a ranked list of universities and majors (志愿). Admission is then decided largely mechanically by score and rank. There is no personal statement and, for most students, no interview.
Assessment style differs as well. A-level papers often include extended writing and, in science, a separately assessed practical endorsement. Gaokao papers mix multiple choice, short answers and longer worked solutions, with a strong emphasis on speed and accuracy. Calculators are not allowed in gaokao mathematics or science papers, so arithmetic fluency matters in a way it rarely does at A-level.
Resits work differently. A-level students can, in principle, resit papers in a later series. A gaokao candidate who is unhappy with their result generally has to wait a full year and sit everything again. A few provinces have offered two sittings of the English exam, but that is the exception rather than the rule.
Some UK universities now consider strong gaokao results for direct undergraduate entry, usually alongside an English language requirement. Policies vary by university and change from year to year, so the university's own international admissions pages are the place to check.