Results of 2007/08 Common English Proficiency Assessment Scheme released
The University Grants Committee (UGC) announced today (August 20) the results of the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) taken by final year students of UGC-funded undergraduate degree programmes under the 2007/08 Common English Proficiency Assessment Scheme (CEPAS).
More than 11,000 final year students, or about 71% of all full-time and part-time undergraduate final year students, participated in the CEPAS in 2007/08. This represents an increase of about 14%, in terms of number of participants, as compared with last year.
The average overall score is 6.62 on a nine-point scale. About 87% 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 the system, students, on average, did better in "reading" and "listening", scoring overall 7.18 and 7.04 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 2006/07 and 2007/08, broken down by broad academic discipline and by institution, are attached at Annexes C and D.
Commenting on this round's results, Mr Michael Stone, Secretary-General of the UGC Secretariat said, "We are encouraged to have a record high number (more than 11,000) of final year students participated in the Scheme. It is also pleasing to note that the test results demonstrate the vast majority of the graduates who took the test are 'competent' or 'good' users, which is the level required by many employers and overseas academic institutions".
"CEPAS is a voluntary scheme. The encouraging participation demonstrates that the students attach great importance to their English proficiency. The Scheme is at the same time attracting more recognition from society. In addition to the Civil Service Bureau, more professional and employer bodies have accepted CEPAS results for recruitment purpose. We shall continue to promote CEPAS targeting at employers, students, as well as the wider community," he said.
Forty-one testing sessions were held from July 2007 to May 2008. For the 2008/09 round of CEPAS, the registration period began on April 1, and will last until October 17. Students may use the online registration service by visiting the CEPAS website (www.ugccepa.com). Summer testing sessions will continue to be offered until October so as to facilitate both students and employers.
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, UGC aims to benchmark the English proficiency of local university graduates against a reliable and internationally-validated instrument, which will serve a useful reference for students when they enter the workforce after they have graduated 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, around 1,000,000 candidates took the IELTS test annually around the world. Its results are reported on a band scale from 0 to 9. Scores are reported in whole and half bands. 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 the same sitting in the Academic Module of IELTS within the 2-year validity period of the test are accepted as equivalent to 'Level 2' result in the Use of English paper of the Government's Common Recruitment Examination.
August 20, 2008 (Wednesday)
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Annex A
Distribution of Average Overall Scores and Sub-scores
of Final Year Undergraduate Students in
2007/08 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 | 1,207 | 7.21 | 7.20 | 6.08 | 6.20 | 6.74 |
| Business & Management | 3,495 | 7.34 | 7.18 | 6.03 | 6.11 | 6.73 |
| Education | 455 | 6.70 | 6.74 | 5.82 | 5.97 | 6.38 |
| Engineering & Technology | 1,940 | 6.89 | 6.72 | 5.76 | 5.80 | 6.36 |
| Medicine, Dentistry & Health | 375 | 7.33 | 7.05 | 5.97 | 6.05 | 6.66 |
| Physical Sciences | 1,973 | 7.16 | 6.94 | 5.86 | 5.89 | 6.52 |
| Social Sciences | 1,767 | 7.30 | 7.21 | 6.10 | 6.23 | 6.78 |
| Total | 11,212 | 7.18 | 7.04 | 5.96 | 6.04 | 6.62 |
| # | 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
2007/08 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 | 1,850 68% |
6.83 | 6.68 | 5.81 | 5.87 | 6.36 |
| HKBU | 1,074 69% |
6.95 | 6.82 | 5.88 | 5.94 | 6.46 |
| LU | 531 68% |
6.84 | 6.75 | 5.81 | 5.91 | 6.39 |
| CUHK | 2,019 69% |
7.49 | 7.33 | 6.10 | 6.17 | 6.84 |
| HKIEd* | 330 71% |
6.57 | 6.55 | 5.73 | 5.84 | 6.25 |
| PolyU | 1,924 76% |
6.96 | 6.82 | 5.85 | 5.91 | 6.45 |
| HKUST | 1,461 78% |
7.38 | 7.13 | 5.97 | 6.05 | 6.69 |
| HKU | 2,023 70% |
7.58 | 7.52 | 6.18 | 6.29 | 6.96 |
|
Total
|
11,212 71% |
7.18 | 7.04 | 5.96 | 6.04 | 6.62 |
| # | Except for HKIEd, the participation rate is calculated based on total number of projected graduates, including full-time and part-time. |
| * | 328 of the 330 candidates from HKIEd are full-time students, accounting for 71% of projected graduates from full-time programmes in 2007/08. The 330 candidates account for 52% of projected graduates of all programmes in 2007/08. |
Annex C
Comparison of Average Overall Scores
of Final Year Undergraduate Students in
2006/07 and 2007/08
by Broad Academic Discipline
| Broad Academic Discipline | 2006/07 | 2007/08 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. of final year students participated in CEPAS# | Average Overall Score | No. of final year students participated in CEPAS | Average Overall Score | |
| Arts & Humanities | 1,107 | 6.84 | 1,207 | 6.74 |
| Business & Management | 2,998 | 6.72 | 3,495 | 6.73 |
| Education | 480 | 6.47 | 455 | 6.38 |
| Engineering & Technology | 1,765 | 6.48 | 1,940 | 6.36 |
| Medicine, Dentistry & Health | 343 | 6.83 | 375 | 6.66 |
| Physical Sciences | 1,760 | 6.60 | 1,973 | 6.52 |
| Social Sciences | 1,398 | 6.77 | 1,767 | 6.78 |
| Total | 9,851 | 6.67 | 11,212 | 6.62 |
| # | 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
2006/07 and 2007/08 by Institution
| Institution | 2006/07 | 2007/08 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | 1,503 57% |
6.40 | 1,850 68% |
6.36 |
| HKBU | 960 61% |
6.53 | 1,074 69% |
6.46 |
| LU | 518 70% |
6.38 | 531 68% |
6.39 |
| CUHK | 1,888 69% |
6.86 | 2,019 69% |
6.84 |
| HKIEd* | 326 64% |
6.34 | 330 71% |
6.25 |
| PolyU | 1,585 70% |
6.51 | 1,924 76% |
6.45 |
| HKUST | 1,221 67% |
6.72 | 1,461 78% |
6.69 |
| HKU | 1,850 68% |
7.01 | 2,023 70% |
6.96 |
|
Total
|
9,851 66% |
6.67 | 11,212 71% |
6.62 |
| # | Except for HKIEd, the participation rate is calculated based on total number of projected graduates, including full-time and part-time. |
| * | In 2006/07, candidates from HKIEd are all full-time students, accounting for 64% and 36% of projected graduates from full-time and all programmes in 2006/07 respectively. In 2007/08, 328 of the 330 candidates from HKIEd are full-time students, accounting for 71% of projected graduates from full-time programmes in 2007/08. The 330 candidates account for 52% of projected graduates of all programmes in 2007/08. |