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CPPCC members question place of English in Gaokao

Removing English from the Gaokao, China's college entrance exam, might lower the English-learning fever in China but it helps build a fair and targeted college admission system, said a national political adviser. Yu Minhong, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and founder of New Oriental Education and Technology Group, said using the same criteria to recruit students for different majors doesn't make sense." The English test score shouldn't be counted into the total points of Gaokao but should be considered as just a reference," Yu said after a panel discussion on Monday. To echo that, the Ministry of Education released a draft reform plan for the gaokao for public review in December 2013, urging local education authorities to diversify their evaluation of English skills and lower the emphasis on English in the exam. Using Beijing as a reference, the full score for the English test will be reduced to 100 points from 150. Students will take the tests twice each year and their highest score will count for the Gaokao. The new method is expected to begin in 2016.