Results of 2008/09 Common English Proficiency Assessment Scheme released

The University Grants Committee (UGC) announced today (September 8) the results of the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) taken by final year students of UGC-funded undergraduate degree programmes under the 2008/09 Common English Proficiency Assessment Scheme (CEPAS).

Almost 11 800 final year students, or about 71% of all full-time and part-time undergraduate final year students, participated in CEPAS in 2008/09. This represents an increase of about 5%, in terms of number of participants, as compared with last year.

The average overall score is 6.69 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 7.34 and 7.15 respectively. The average scores in "speaking" and "writing" are 6.04 and 5.97 respectively. The CEPAS results provide useful reference for the eight UGC-funded institutions in formulating their English language enhancement strategies and programmes.

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 2007/08 and 2008/09, broken down by broad academic discipline and by institution, are attached at Annexes C and D.

Despite its voluntary nature, a record number of final year students participated in the Scheme in 2008/09, which was encouraging. The participation demonstrates that the students attach great importance to their English proficiency. 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.

For the 2008/09 round of CEPAS, 41 testing sessions were held from July 2008 to May 2009. For the 2009/10 round of CEPAS, the registration period is from April 1 to October 19. Students may use the online registration service by visiting the CEPAS website (www.ugccepa.com). Summer testing sessions will continue to be offered until November 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 be reimbursed once 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 hotline of IELTS CEPAS Management Unit 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 as 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 Pty Ltd. In recent years, more than 1.2 million 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.

Ends/ Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Annex A

Distribution of Average Overall Scores and Sub-scores of Final Year
Undergraduate Students in 2008/09 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	1,306	7.44	7.33	6.09	6.29	6.85
Business & Management	3,702	7.44	7.25	6.03	6.10	6.77
Education	485	7.00	7.03	5.90	6.13	6.58
Engineering & Technology	2,193	7.02	6.85	5.78	5.77	6.42
Medicine, Dentistry & Health	382	7.64	7.29	5.98	6.06	6.81
Physical Sciences	2,073	7.32	7.04	5.88	5.87	6.59
Social Sciences	1,649	7.51	7.32	6.09	6.26	6.86
Total	11,790	7.34	7.15	5.97	6.04	6.69

#	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 2008/09 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	2,010 75%	6.99	6.87	5.84	5.86	6.45
HKBU	997 62%	7.17	7.06	5.92	5.98	6.60
LU	539 68%	6.94	6.87	5.82	5.95	6.44
CUHK	1,987 58%	7.75	7.36	6.09	6.16	6.91
HKIEd*	345 67%	6.78	6.81	5.80	5.98	6.41
PolyU	2,179 88%	7.07	6.96	5.85	5.92	6.51
HKUST	1,548 80%	7.50	7.22	5.99	6.00	6.74
HKU	2,185 69%	7.71	7.53	6.17	6.31	6.99
Total	11,790 71%	7.34	7.15	5.97	6.04	6.69

#	Except for HKIEd, the participation rate is calculated based on total number of projected graduates, including full-time and part-time.
*	343 of the 345 candidates from HKIEd are full-time students, accounting for 67% of projected graduates from full-time programmes in 2008/09. The 345 candidates account for 46% of projected graduates of all programmes in 2008/09.

Annex C

Comparison of Average Overall Scores
of Final Year Undergraduate Students in 2007/08 and 2008/09
by Broad Academic Discipline

Broad Academic Discipline	2007/08		2008/09
	No. of final year students participated in CEPAS#	Average Overall Score	No. of final year students participated in CEPAS	Average Overall Score
Arts & Humanities	1,207	6.74	1,306	6.85
Business & Management	3,495	6.73	3,702	6.77
Education	455	6.38	485	6.58
Engineering & Technology	1,940	6.36	2,193	6.42
Medicine, Dentistry & Health	375	6.66	382	6.81
Physical Sciences	1,973	6.52	2,073	6.59
Social Sciences	1,767	6.78	1,649	6.86
Total	11,212	6.62	11,790	6.69

#	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 2007/08 and 2008/09 by Institution

Institution	2007/08		2008/09
	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	1,850 68%	6.36	2,010 75%	6.45
HKBU	1,074 69%	6.46	997 62%	6.60
LU	531 68%	6.39	539 68%	6.44
CUHK	2,019 69%	6.84	1,987 58%	6.91
HKIEd*	330 71%	6.25	345 67%	6.41
PolyU	1,924 76%	6.45	2,179 88%	6.51
HKUST	1,461 78%	6.69	1,548 80%	6.74
HKU	2,023 70%	6.96	2,185 69%	6.99
Total	11,212 71%	6.62	11,790 71%	6.69

#

Except for HKIEd, the participation rate is calculated based on total number of projected graduates, including full-time and part-time.

*

In 2007/08, candidates from HKIEd are all full-time students, accounting for 71% and 52% of projected graduates from full-time and all programmes in 2007/08 respectively. In 2008/09, 343 of the 345 candidates from HKIEd are full-time students, accounting for 67% of projected graduates from full-time programmes in 2008/09. The 345 candidates account for 46% of projected graduates of all programmes in 2008/09.