New test system in the works

Liu's call has long been supported by others, who also think that the tests, rather than helping students improve their English ability, were making the learning of English more test-oriented.

Every few years, there have been calls for the tests to be scrapped or reports that the tests would be canceled.

Amid the criticism, the tests have been reformed many times.

The tests, launched nationally by the Ministry of Education in late 1980s, which comprise questions on listening, reading, writing, translating and sometimes speaking, were originally designed to measure the quality of English teaching in colleges and the English proficiency of college students in China.

During the past three decades, the number of students taking the tests has increased from thousands to a few millions, and some colleges and universities, wanting students to perform well in the tests, even stipulated that those failing the tests would not be able to obtain their bachelor's degrees.

An overhaul of the tests was carried out in 2005, in which the previously 100-point scoring system was changed into a 710-mark system.

In 2008, the tests were made computer-based. Over the years minor tweaks were made in the question types or in the proportion of each testing section.

Meanwhile, colleges and universities nationwide have also gradually delinked the tests from students' academic degrees.

Given the changes, many people say the tests do not deserve such strong criticism and should be retained.

Lin Zhen, a senior student at Hunan City University, is one of them. Admitting that the tests do not reflect the students' English ability in an all-around way, Lin says that they can still act as a stimulus to push students to work harder on their English skills.

"If the tests are canceled, I think students of non-English majors will not spend any time on learning the language," she says.

Contact the writer at zhaoxinying@chinadaily.com.cn