Job Discussion Forums

[naturegirl321]

I'm been told that to pass you need 60% or 12 out of 20, but then I just heard that you need 14 out of 20 or 70% to pass these exams.
Anyone know which one is right?

[lozwich]

Try looking at the Cambridge Exams website for all the information on these exams.

http://www.cambridgeesol.org/exams/index.htm

[naturegirl321]

I have, though I haven't found the percentage needed. One of the Practice Test books that I have says you need about 60 %, but they're always changing this.

[chiquitita]

Hi

I had to go to an FCE seminar about 1 year ago. This question came up and the ladies from Cambridge ESOL exams who were running the seminar didn't give a definite answer. They said something like the 'belief' is that the candidate has to get 60% in all sections to pass but there was also a belief that if someone fails one section and is really strong in all the others they can pass overall but basically these 'beliefs' were not really true?! One of them did concede in the end that if candidates scored above 60% in all sections then they should pass, but that as teachers we shouldn't be advising our students to aim for a percentage or to mark their prac tests etc with a percentage but with the marking rubric.

I hope this is helpful?!

[madison01]

The 60% pass grade is a general score. The scores for all 5 papers are added together. However, if one paper is particularly poor it is almost impossible to pass the exam. The base score is 60% for each paper.

Reading 60% - 70% - 70%
Writing 60% - 70% - 70%
Use of English/English in Use 60% - 65% - 65%
Listening 60% - 65% - 65%
Speaking 60% - 40% - 55%

Will scrape a pass - Will probably fail - Probably pass

[teacheringreece]

The 60% figure is approximate. This is because the aim is to pass approximately the same percentage of candidates in every sessions. If in one session a much greater percentage than usual got a passing grade, then that would indicate that the papers were slightly easier than usual, so the passing grade will get moved up slightly.

It doesn't matter if you do particularly badly in one section - the overall grade is all that counts. The breakdown as best I understand it is something like 60% pass, 75% B, 80% A. But Cambridge would never confirm these figures for the reasons above.

It's definitely a good idea when dealing with the writing paper to use the band system to assess and give grades. Ss will find it strange to get marks out of 5 at first, but if you do it this way you can give them a photocopy of the assessment criteria from the handbook (and, if you're using past papers, the marking scheme for that individual question), and use it when going over their performance.