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Results of 2005/06 Common English Proficiency Assessment Scheme released

The University Grants Committee (UGC) announced today (July 27) the results of the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) taken by final year students of UGC-funded undergraduate degree programmes under the 2005/06 Common English Proficiency Assessment Scheme (CEPAS).

A total of 9,574 students, or about 64% of all full-time and part-time undergraduate final year students, participated in the Scheme in 2005/06. This is an increase of over 10% when compared with 2004/05.

The average overall score is 6.67 on a nine-point scale, compared with 6.64 in 2004/05. About 88% of the students obtained a score in the 6.0 - 7.5 range, which means they are "competent" or "good" users.

Among the four modules of IELTS, students, on average, did better in "reading" and "listening", scoring overall 7.18 and 7.01 respectively.

Breakdowns of candidates' average scores by broad academic discipline and by institution are attached at Annexes A and B. Comparisons of the overall average scores in 2004/05 and 2005/06, broken down by broad academic discipline and by institution, are attached at Annexes C and D.

Dr Alice Lam, Chairman of UGC, said, "Despite its voluntary nature, we are pleased to find that increasingly more final year students participate in the Scheme. For this round, about two-thirds of the eligible students joined, which shows that the test is widely accepted by the student community. The test results show that the majority of the graduates who took the IELTS test can be regarded as 'competent' or 'good' users, which is the level required by many employers and overseas academic institutions. We shall continue to organize CEPAS this year, and eligible students are welcome to register on-line".

"The Scheme is attracting more recognition from society. In addition to the Civil Service Bureau, more professional and employer bodies have accepted IELTS results for recruitment purpose. We shall continue to strengthen our efforts in promoting CEPAS, targeting employers, students, as well as the wider community," she said.

Thirty-four testing sessions were held from July 2005 to May 2006. As for the 2006/07 round of CEPAS, the registration period began on April 18, and will last until October 21. Students may use the new online registration service by visiting the CEPAS website (www.ugccepa.com). Summer testing sessions will continue to be offered from July to October so as to facilitate both students and employers.

The UGC encourages all final year undergraduate students of UGC-funded degree programmes to participate in the Scheme. Test fees will continue to be reimbursed (once only) if students agree to reflect their participation in CEPAS in their transcript. The actual test score however will not be shown. For those who wish to obtain more detailed information, they may visit the CEPAS website, call the IELTS hotline at 2620 0321 or contact the Registrar's Offices of their respective institutions.

CEPAS is a voluntary assessment scheme intended to encourage students to be more aware of the importance of proficiency in English and to provide a common framework for assessing and documenting graduating students' English proficiency. IELTS has been adopted by UGC as the Common English Proficiency Assessment since 2002/03. Through the assessment, the UGC aims to benchmark the English proficiency of local university graduates against a reliable, internationally validated instrument, which will serve as useful reference for students when they enter the workforce after they graduate or when they pursue further studies.

IELTS is an internationally validated English testing instrument, and is jointly managed by the University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate, the British Council and the IDP Education Australia. In recent years, over 600,000 candidates took the IELTS test annually around the world. Its results are reported on a band scale from 0 to 9. Overall band scores, listening and reading scores are reported in whole and half bands; writing and speaking scores are reported in whole bands only. Candidates scoring Band 6 are considered competent users who have a generally effective command of the language, despite some inaccuracies, while those scoring Band 7 are considered good users who generally handle complex language well.

An overall band of 6.5 or above with no subtest score below band 6 obtained in one sitting in IELTS is accepted as equivalent to a pass in the Use of English paper of the Hong Kong Government's Common Recruitment Examination within two years from the date of the IELTS test.

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UGC Secretariat
27 July 2006

Annex A

Distribution of Average Overall Scores and Sub-scores
of Final Year Undergraduate Students in 2005/06 by Broad Academic Discipline

Broad Academic Discipline No. of final year students participated in CEPAS# Average
Reading Sub-score
Average
Listening Sub-score
Average
Writing Sub-score
Average
Speaking Sub-score
Average
Overall Score
Arts & Humanities 954 7.20 7.21 6.22 6.38 6.82
Business & Management 2,829 7.20 6.99 6.10 6.19 6.68
Education 479 6.88 6.86 5.99 6.18 6.53
Engineering & Technology 1,726 7.06 6.81 5.91 5.94 6.48
Medicine, Dentistry & Health 350 7.18 7.11 6.10 6.21 6.71
Physical Sciences 1,691 7.16 6.95 6.00 5.99 6.58
Social Sciences 1,545 7.39 7.22 6.29 6.40 6.88
Total 9,574 7.18 7.01 6.08 6.16 6.67
# Both part-time and full-time students are eligible to participate.

Annex B

Distribution of Average Overall Scores and Sub-scores
of Final Year Undergraduate Students in 2005/06 by Institution

Institution No. and % of final year students participated in CEPAS# Average
Reading Sub-score
Average
Listening Sub-score
Average
Writing Sub-score
Average
Speaking Sub-score
Average
Overall Score
CityU 1,463
53%
6.85 6.63 5.91 5.97 6.40
HKBU 819
54%
7.02 6.83 6.00 6.08 6.55
LU 508
67%
6.78 6.65 5.89 5.96 6.38
CUHK 1,872
66%
7.44 7.27 6.25 6.30 6.87
HKIEd* 340
60%
6.72 6.64 5.87 5.98 6.36
PolyU 1,473
68%
6.97 6.79 5.93 6.04 6.49
HKUST 1,312
76%
7.23 7.04 6.05 6.09 6.66
HKU 1,787
66%
7.58 7.44 6.33 6.45 7.01
Total
9,574
64%
7.18 7.01 6.08 6.16 6.67
# Except for HKIEd, the participation rate is calculated based on total number of projected graduates, including full-time and part-time.
* 332 of the 340 candidates from HKIEd are full-time students, accounting for 60% of projected graduates from full-time programmes in 2005/06. The 340 candidates account for 34% of projected graduates of all programmes in 2005/06.

Annex C

Comparison of Average Overall Scores
of Final Year Undergraduate Students in 2004/05 and 2005/06
by Broad Academic Discipline

Broad Academic Discipline 2004/05 2005/06
No. of final year students participated in CEPAS# Average Overall Score No. of final year students participated in CEPAS Average Overall Score
Arts & Humanities 971 6.82 954 6.82
Business & Management 2,422 6.66 2,829 6.68
Education 345 6.44 479 6.53
Engineering & Technology 1,672 6.47 1,726 6.48
Medicine, Dentistry & Health 300 6.81 350 6.71
Physical Sciences 1,593 6.54 1,691 6.58
Social Sciences 1,366 6.81 1,545 6.88
Total 8,669 6.64 9,574 6.67
# Both part-time and full-time students are eligible to participate.

Annex D

Comparison of Average Overall Scores and Participation
of Final Year Undergraduate Students in 2004/05 and 2005/06 by Institution

Institution 2004/05 2005/06
No. and % of final year students participated in CEPAS# Average Overall Score No. and % of final year students participated in CEPAS Average Overall Score
CityU 1,357
49%
6.35 1,463
53%
6.40
HKBU 790
55%
6.49 819
54%
6.55
LU 483
64%
6.34 508
67%
6.38
CUHK 1,696
59%
6.88 1,872
66%
6.87
HKIEd* 264
58%*
6.27 340
60%
6.36
PolyU 1,213
53%
6.51 1,473
68%
6.49
HKUST 1,343
74%
6.62 1,312
76%
6.66
HKU 1,523
54%
6.98 1,787
66%
7.01
Total
8,669
55%
6.64 9,574
64%
6.67
# Except for HKIEd, the participation rate is calculated based on total number of projected graduates, including full-time and part-time.
* In 2004/05, candidates from HKIEd are all full-time students, accounting for 58% and 27% of projected graduates from full-time and all programmes in 2004/05 respectively. In 2005/06, 332 of the 340 candidates from HKIEd are full-time students, accounting for 60% of projected graduates from full-time programmes in 2005/06. The 340 candidates account for 34% of projected graduates of all programmes in 2005/06.