An Analysis of Chinese English Learners’ Scores in CET Band 4 and 6 and Its Implications

Abstract

This paper conducts a statistical analysis of CET band 4 and 6 scores of 14,265 students from Shanxi Normal University and reveals the following findings: firstly, the analysis of percentage of listening, reading, cloze and writing relative to the total scores shows that students’ writing score accounts for 19.2%, close to the standard rate of 20%; their cloze score is 10.7%, slightly higher than the standard rate of 10%. However, their reading scores take up to 38.8% of their total scores, much higher than the standard rate of 35%; listening score accounts for 31.0%, much lower than the standard rate of 35%. These figures show that students’ ability in writing and cloze is, by and large, consistent with the requirement. As for reading and listening, the former is better than required, but the latter still leaves much room for further improvement. Secondly, comparative analysis of the two CET4 scores indicates that the potential area for score increase is the section of listening and reading. Thirdly, an analysis of band 4 and 6 scores reveal the relationship between students’ passing rate in band 6 and their previous band 4 scores. The research findings can offer some guide for college English teaching and learning.