Volume: 19  Number: 1  Page: 21–36

The English Proficiency of College and University Students in China: As Reflected in the CET

Jin Yan and Yang Huizhong The National College English Testing Committee of China, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 1954 Hua Shan Road, 2203 HaoRan High Tech Building, Shanghai PO Box 30-14, Shanghai 200030, People's Republic of China

The College English Test (CET), designed in accordance with the requirements of the National College English Teaching Syllabus and as a result of the need for China's reform and its open-door policy in the 1980s, is the world's largest language test administered nationwide. Owing to its scientific approach, consistent marking, rigorous administration and comparable scores, the CET, now well-established as a large-scale standardised EFL test, is held in high esteem by language testers and teachers inside and outside China and well received by the public. This paper begins with a review of the CET from the perspective of its development, score interpretation and test validation. The paper moves on to an in-depth analysis of the test content, test format, and candidates' performances on each component with a view to presenting readers with an overview of the proficiency of the CET test-takers. The paper then discusses the issue of reform of the CET as a response to the pressing social need for college and university graduates with a stronger communicative competence in English. After a brief analysis of the challenges facing the CET, the paper concludes with a section on the way forward for the CET to meet the ever-changing needs of society.

Keywords: The College English Test (CET), large-scale standardised test, English proficiency, Chinese college and university students

© 2006 Y. Jin & H. Yang

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