["International Journal of Art &Design Education, EarlyView. ", "\nAbstract\nThis study examines an exam‐oriented art education in China, highlighting how art‐training centres enforce standardised evaluation criteria and prioritise technical mastery over creative freedom. I draw from personal experience to analyse how such systems shape art examinees' artistic development and marginalise their voices, providing a missing insider perspective through autoethnography. Guided by Foucault's power theory, this research critiques the dominance of standardised assessments in art education and rethinks the rationalisation of operating exams through the lens of artistic subjectivity. At the same time, this research advocates culturally sensitive and inclusive curricula that support students transitioning from exam‐oriented systems into global educational contexts.\n"]