have a separate test for speaking. The speaking test is held twice a year and only students with a CET Band-4 score higher than 550 or a CET Band-6 higher than 485 are eligible for the test. Test for English Majors A similar but more rigorous test, the Test for English Majors (TEM), is mandatory for English majors, and it is generally only for English majors. For these students, passing the TEM-4 is a graduation requirement. The test should be taken by the end of the second academic or sophomore year. TEM-8 ("Band 8") is the highest level for English major students; it should be taken during the end of the last academic or senior year. If an English-major student fails to pass the TEM-4 during his or her sophomore year, they may attempt to pass the TEM-8 during their senior year. Those failing the TEM-8 are only allowed one re-test (during the following year after they have graduated from college). A second failure results in disqualification lifelong. Both TEM4 and TEM8 are only two qualifications for any students lifelong. Vocabulary Requirements CET series CET-4: 4500 words CET-6: 6500 words TEM series TEM-4: 8000 words TEM-8: 13000 words Social consequences Some Chinese researchers point out the positive social consequences of the CET as it has promoted the role of English teaching and learning at the tertiary level in China over its 20-year history. At the same time, other researchers challenge the CET by pointing out that the test does not assess communicative competence as the teaching syllabus requires. Before the recent reform of the CET, the large proportion of multiple choice questions made this test an efficient one, but possible sacrifices in accurately measuring English language ability remained a concern. Since the CET certificates had been one of the graduation requirements of undergraduates in the majority of Chinese universities for almost 20 years, test-oriented teaching was another severe problem. However, there have been changes made in the CET test content, format, and scoring systems are evidence of the endeavors to bring about positive washback of the test on English teaching and learning in China. It is the expectation of the CET committee that the test can reflect and catch up with the needs of rapid economic reform and the new open-door policy. Exam score distributions Answering all questions incorrectly will result in 330, the lowest score a test taker can