BECE. Newsletter 

Vol.21, No.1, 2025, BECE 1999 

 

 

 

 

Senior Secondary Education of Migrant Children in 

China and Impacts of High School Entrance Exami-

nation Policies 

By Li, C. & Sun, Z. 
Correspondence to: Zhijun Sun, Beijing Normal University, China. E-mail: 

szhijun@bnu.edu.cn 

O REALIZE THE GOAL OF UNIVERSALIZING SENIOR SEC-

ONDARY EDUCATION in the country across the board, China must 

pay special attention to the issue in underdeveloped regions and among un-

derprivileged groups. This study aims to delineate the developments in senior 

secondary education for migrant children (children of migrant workers) in 

China, based on data from the China Migrants Dynamic Survey 2011-2018, 

and analyze the heterogenous impacts of migrant children-specific high 

school entrance examination policies in various provincial administrative re-

gions, using the difference-in-differences method.  

Research Findings: 

• The high school enrollment rate in migrant children was noticea-

bly lower than the national average, albeit the narrowing gap be-

tween the two. High school enrollment of this group underwent 

relatively greater growth rates between 2014-2017, with a slower 

one in 2018.  

• High school entrance examination policies of greater levels of 

openness had more significant positive impacts on the high school 

enrolment rate in migrant children. Female migrant children, mi-

grant children who moved to a different province than their native 

one, and those from low-income households were more sensitive 

to the influence of the entrance examination policies. 

Implications for Policy: 

• It is preferable for all provinces to formulate more open and in-

clusive high school enrolment policies for migrant children, de-

pending on their actual educational capacities. The policy of tying 

post-junior secondary education to household registration (Hukou) 

needs a substantive reform. Regions with low inbound flows of 

migrant population should be able to allocate resources for senior 

secondary education based on the population of compulsory edu-

cation residents, rather than on the population with local Hukou. 

T 

mailto:szhijun@bnu.edu.cn


 

Vol.21, No.1, 2025, BECE 2000 

• The local government needs to increase funding for education to 

reduce the cost of high school education for migrant children and 

decrease the incidence of migrant children abandoning senior 

secondary education due to economic distress. 

• Additional support should be provided to educationally disadvan-

taged migrant households to ensure the right of their school-age 

children to education and halt the intergenerational transmission 

of educational opportunity deprivation. 

 
Source: Journal of Educational Studies, 2025; 21(02):162-178.