Other than Guangdong, Jiangsu, and Chong Qing, most provinces will see a decrease in college entrance examination applications this year. The main reason is the tough job market college graduates face.
Some high school graduates apply for vocational schools to learn a trade. And more and more of them are applying to colleges overseas. For example, there are 3000 high school students who take the SAT test each year to apply to colleges in the US.
Source: Huan Qiu, May 28, 2009
http://china.huanqiu.com/roll/2009-05/473516.html