Results of Common English Proficiency Assessment Scheme announced
The following is issued on behalf of the University Grants Committee:
The University Grants Committee (UGC) announced today (July 23) results of the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) taken by final-year university students under a voluntary assessment called the Common English Proficiency Assessment Scheme (CEPAS) in 2002/03.
Of the 8,500 students who have taken the test, an overwhelming majority (7,300) are final-year students of UGC-funded degree programmes. Their average overall score is 6.46 on a nine-point scale. Among the four modules of IELTS, students, on the average, did best in Reading but scored lowest in Speaking.
Breakdowns of the candidates' average scores by discipline and by institution are attached at Annexes A and B. It can be seen that across the disciplines and the institutions, the variation of performance, in terms of deviation from the overall average score, is not very significant (two and six percent respectively).
"With the introduction of the CEPAS, we are now able to see a rather comprehensive picture of the English proficiency of university graduates under a common frame. We have also shared the statistics with our institutions to help them in formulating their language enhancement strategies and programmes," a spokesman for the UGC said.
"We believe that the information will also serve as useful reference for recruitment and further studies purposes. We have therefore shared it with major business and professional bodies," he added.
The UGC announced the adoption of IELTS as the common English proficiency assessment in July 2002. Thirty-four testing sessions were held from December 2002 to May 2003. IELTS is an internationally validated English testing instrument. Its results are reported on a band scale from 0 to 9. Candidates scoring Band 6 are considered competent users who have generally effective command of the language despite some inaccuracies, while those scoring Band 7 are considered good users who generally handle complex language well.
End/Wednesday, July 23, 2003
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