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[Song&Dance]

The National English tests TEM and CET are here to stay.

The goal of universities and colleges throughout China is to have students pass national English competency examinations such as TEM 4, CET 4 and CET 6. Setting aside, for the moment, the fact that these national English competency examinations bear little or no relationship to comprehensible output, the pass rates have become the exclusive focus of administrative attention and false pride. This is in part due to demands of Chinese employers who are misinformed that passing CET 6 is the evidence of an accomplished English speaker . . Wang Shugua, President of Harbin Institute of Technology is quoted as saying �I recognize CET as a good tool to promote English studies but I am against the practice of regarding a CET certificate as the prerequisite for graduation, which is totally misleading.� He tried to eliminate the requirement for a CET certificate in order to graduate from HIT, but gave up without success. "I had to reconsider the usefulness of CET certificates in job hunting for our graduates. Almost all employers want their recruits to have a CET certificate, so I had to push my students to pass the CET for their good, although it is against my will,"

The tests came under attack from two highly regarded professors at the Beijing Foreign Studies University back in 1999. However, the authors of the test flooded the academic community with materials to discredit the Beijing professors.

The National English tests are written by professors at Shanghai Jiao Tong University. Every time the tests are administered these Jiao Tong professors rake in the money. They have a vested interest in protecting the continuation of the exams, even if they are inadequate.