Does New Hope School have to take the exam?
No need. Official website of Shanxi Education Bureau shows that Xinzhou New Hope School, founded in 2007, is the "Presidium Unit of the National College Entrance Examination Counseling School Alliance". The school is a private non-enterprise unit managed by the Municipal Education Bureau and the Civil Affairs Bureau and approved by the Municipal Examination and Approval Bureau. It is a full-time school specializing in cramming for the college entrance examination. You don't need an exam, but you need to make up the quota. The tuition fee is 6000 yuan a semester.