Benesse's English proficiency test Listening and other troubles

Benesse's English Examination Listening and other troubles one after another November 7 22:41

A private English exam that was postponed next April. In a certification test conducted by Benesse, one of the companies, we found that there were a number of troubles such as listening. Since Benesse is also responsible for scoring descriptive questions for university entrance examinations, there are growing concerns about whether fair and impartial examinations can be conducted.

The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology has decided to postpone the implementation from April next year, which was scheduled for the first month of this month. Regarding private exams, as well as concerns about “economic disparities” and “regional disparities,” the question was whether to be able to carry out fair and equitable tests in order to utilize part-time jobs for examination supervision and scoring.

Under such circumstances, in August, the “GTEC” certification test conducted by Benesse on the assumption of the actual performance revealed that listening problems occurred during interviews.

Benesse wrote in a document that the test was conducted with the CD used for listening inadequate due to the mistake of the supervisor.

An official involved in the examination testified that "the students were quite upset. The company wants to think more about the students and that these troubles should be actively opened up."

In addition, even in an exam held at another high school in June, I was apologizing to the high school side that the implementation time was delayed due to the mistake of the exam director.

Benesse says, “It was conducted as a trial survey with an eye on next year's performance. Comments on individual cases will be refrained at this time.”

Benesse is a university entrance examination that begins in January of next year when affiliated companies again. There are about 10,000 students, including part-time students, but the government and Benesse are striving for a fair test to ensure sufficient quality, but there are concerns about students and high school officials. is spreading.

Nao Shibayama, professor at the Graduate School of Education, Tohoku University, who is familiar with the entrance examination system, says, “Now, the country cannot play a role in monitoring the troubles of private exams. How can we minimize the disadvantages of students taking the exam? I have to review the fundamental system design. "