Young English learner hit by exam reforms  

北京高一学生幼儿园起学英语：高考改革打击太大

“我这几天都不知道怎么上学了，特别失落。”北京市一零九中学高一年级的小郭说，早在几天前就听闻了高考英语或许会改革，昨天得以证实。她将在三年后的夏天成为北京高考改革后的第一批考生。[查看全文]

(ECNS)-- Beijing has issued a reform plan on the senior high school and college entrance examinations for 2014, and the English test score will become a smaller part of the exam.

The reform makes students who are good at English lose their confidence about the exam.

A high school freshman surnamed Guo said she felt frustrated when she heard the news.

"I have been studying English for 13 years," said Guo, who added that she started studying the language when she was in kindergarten.

"I attended English training programs every weekend during my primary school years," she said.

"In middle school, I started reading English books, and watching American TV shows to improve my language skills.

"English also helped raise my total scores in exams."

At this point, as a freshman at Beijing 109 High School, Guo said she was disturbed about the reform.

"Since I have been doing poorly in other subjects like mathematics and Chinese, I lost confidence about my college entrance examination," Guo added.

According to education and examination authorities, a series of reforms will be released to give students a fair chance to move onto higher education.

English scores will account for a smaller percentage of the total score, while Chinese and math scores will take up a bigger percentage.

The English score will be reduced from 150 to 100 points, while the score for Chinese will go up from 150 to 180 points.

New policies will allow English-level tests to be held twice a year to select qualified personnel, instead of the old selection system. More importance will be attached to the ability to use English.