Continuity and innovation: a history of the Cambridge Proficiency in English examination 1913-2002

Abstract

This volume documents in some detail the most recent revision of Cambridge English: Proficiency, also known as Certificate of Proficiency in English (CPE), which took place from 1991 to 2002. CPE is the oldest of the Cambridge suite of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) examinations and was originally introduced in 1913. Since that time the test has been regularly revised and updated to bring it into line with current thinking in language teaching, applied linguistics and language testing theory and practice. The volume provides a full account of the revision process, the questions and problems faced by the revision teams, and the solutions they came up with. It is also an attempt to encourage in the public domain greater understanding of the complex thinking, processes and procedures which underpin the development and revision of all the Cambridge English tests, and as such it will be of interest and relevance to a wide variety of readers.