China's CSE English proficiency scale links to IELTS, Aptis

BEIJING - An institution under China's Ministry of Education (MOE) and the British Council Tuesday jointly released the results of their collaborative research on linking IELTS and Aptis to China's Standards of English Language Ability (CSE).

The results display the cut scores of IELTS and Aptis tests mapped to CSE levels, according to a statement issued by the MOE National Education Examinations Authority (NEEA) and the British Council.

According to the results, a score of 5 in IELTS listening is equivalent to CSE level 4, a score of 5.5 in IELTS reading is equivalent to CSE level 5, while a score of 45 in Aptis writing is equivalent to CSE level 6.

Yu Han, vice president of NEEA, said the research displayed the CSE's value in practice and would shed light on language learning patterns of English learners in different areas, adding that it also contributed to the "opening up" of China's education.

Barry O'Sullivan, the research's academic team leader from the British side and head of Assessment Research and Development at the British Council, noted that both IELTS and Aptis were communication-based tests, making it possible to link the two tests to the use-oriented CSE scale.

He said the linking results would be of value to policy makers at educational institutions, test-takers as well as test users such as schools and employers.

The CSE, the first full-range English proficiency scale designed for Chinese English learners and users, was released by the MOE and the National Language Commission in February 2018. It categorises the ability of Chinese English learners into 9 proficiency levels.