The Testing Center for Technological and Vocational Education yesterday said it would investigate concerns that test questions for English majors in the entrance exam had been plagiarized.
Content in the first comprehensive question in the English-major section of the foreign language test appeared to have been plagiarized from two articles, National Federation of Teachers’ Unions policy department deputy director Wu Chang-mei (巫彰玫) said.
The first one-third of the question appeared to be plagiarized from an article published by the US Geological Survey, and the rest copied from a foreign test Web site, she said.
Photo: CNA
“Almost nothing was changed except for a few difficult words being deleted. The rest of the text was exactly the same as the original, and no source was indicated,” she said.
Wu said the issue was brought to the attention of the Joint Commission of Technological and Vocational College Admission Committee, which would investigate it further.
Teachers are commissioned to prepare the questions, and although questions do not need to be completely original, they should be modified sufficiently by changing adjectives and sentence patterns, she said.
“Doing work like this shows a lack of professionalism. It also harms the reliability of the test, and seriously affects the rights and interests of candidates,” she said.
“The test center should take this issue seriously, and conduct an in-depth review to prevent a similar situation from happening again,” she said.
Center chief executive Lin Shang-ping (林尚平) said the public would have four days to raise questions and provide feedback on test questions, and the center would maintain transparency
After collecting feedback from the public, the center would consult with English teachers from the senior-high school curriculum and Instructional Development Workgroup, or another third party, and then submit proposals to the committee for future development of test materials, he said.
A total of 75,666 candidates registered for the entrance exams that took place this year, and none of the tests were canceled despite three earthquakes occurring during two days of exams on Saturday and yesterday, he said.
No major contraventions occurred during testing, although 111 students attempted to bring cellphones into the exam, and 25 students did not have the required documentation to enter the exam hall, he said.
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