English proficiency test blasted again

The national College English test, a necessity for most Chinese college students to get their degrees, is once again dawning wide attention after being held on Saturday.

The Beijing Daily Messenger devoted its entire back page to discussions about the exam in its Monday edition.

The newspaper pointed out that cases of cheating occurred for the first time on the Band 6 test, the more advanced level of the examination. Examiners noted that part of the test was leaked and posted online one day before it was held.

An examination official explained that the test has become increasingly important as many colleges have made it a non-elective course required before graduation. And the test results provide documentation of English proficiency while on the job hunt. Some schools have more than 500 people on working on the test, making the possibility of an early release very high.

The biannual nationwide test has drawn wide attention in recent years because of the numerous acts of cheating that have taken place.

Administrators have done what they can to stop cheating including implementation of rules that keep students in the examination room for the entire 2 and a half hours of the test, even if they finish the paper.

In addition, candidates who arrive more than half an hour late will not be allowed to take the exam.

However, there have been some indications that the new rules are regarded as unfair and do not properly address the cheating issue.

An article in the China Youth Daily on Saturday raises doubts over the rules.

The examining authority says the new regulation will minimize the chance of cheating, a frequent occurrence due to the importance of the test. However the article considers the rule a violation of human rights and personal freedom.

What's more, it argues, preventing cheating is the responsibility of examiners and the authority.

Candidates need only to finish the exam without cheating and shouldn't have to shoulder part of the authority's responsibility.

The examiners should work on enhancing their management, and come up with better ways of preventing cheating before and during the tests, the paper says.

Source: CRI