The test specifications and example items for the revised Examination for the Certificate of Competency in English (ECCE) and the Examination for the Certificate of Proficiency in English (ECPE) are now available. As announced in June 2019, Michigan Language Assessment will administer the first revised ECCE and ECPE in May 2021. Tests administered in May and December of 2020 will remain unchanged.
When the revised exams are launched, the two tests will offer some improved features and will maintain many of the current elements that have made them so popular among test takers.
“Feedback from our stakeholders indicates that the tests work very well for them as they are currently, so we’ve only made a few, targeted changes to the exams to account for new thinking in language assessment and changes to the test population.” – Gad Lim, Director of Assessment
The new ECPE writing task involves the use of sources in writing, which is increasingly important for learners at higher ability levels. The ECPE Listening Section will also include new task types that focus more on inference and pragmatics, which are also expected at the C2 level of English proficiency. Other changes to the exams provide more consistency; both exams will start with the writing section, and the task used in ECCE Listening Part 2 will now also feature in ECPE.
“We set out to update both the ECCE and ECPE to make them more accessible to test takers while maintaining the quality and level of the tests. Evidence from piloting shows that we have achieved this. We trust that the exams will continue to be attractive to test takers who want to certify their English language proficiency.” -Gad Lim
For a full overview of exam revision project and changes, see the Overview of Revised ECCE & ECPE Exams, and the First ECCE & ECPE Revision Pilot Completed article. To understand more about the content changes and new task types, see the 2021 ECCE Revised Example Items and 2021 ECPE Revised Example Items. For more information about the exam revisions, contact info@michiganassessment.org.