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The following is issued on behalf of the University Grants Committee:
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 more than 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.
"Despite its voluntary nature, we are pleased to find that increasingly more final year students participate in the scheme," Chairman of UGC Dr Alice Lam said. "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 organise 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," Dr Lam 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 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. Those who wish to obtain more detailed information can 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, more than 600,000 candidates have taken 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.
Ends/Thursday, July 27, 2006
Issued at HKT 15:01
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