22% of Taiwan high school students earn A in English comprehension

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — In the first Test of English Listening Comprehension (TELC) of the 2025–2026 school year, 22.59% of students earned an A, the highest percentage in five years.

At a press conference on Friday, Huang Tsui-chuan (黃璀娟), deputy director of the College Entrance Examination Center, said that 94,178 students registered for the test. The absentee rate was 3.08% in the morning session and 3.61% in the afternoon session, showing little change from last year.

TELC grades are divided into four levels: A (almost full comprehension), B (general comprehension), C (partial comprehension), and F (minimal comprehension). In the latest examination, 22.59% of students (20,567) earned an A, 40.60% (36,957) earned a B, 31.80% (28,951) earned a C, and 5.01% (4,557) received an F.

Huang said that compared with the previous four academic years, A grades remained steady, B grades rose, and C grades fell. The F grade proportion has dropped to a five-year low.

The test consists of 40 items across four sections: picture description, question-response, conversations, and short talks. Students scored highest on picture description, with 83.4% correct, and lowest on question-response, with 64.53% correct.

Huang said 25 students failed to sign their full names in block letters in the “confirmed student signature” field, up 10 from last year. She reminded students to be careful and recommended joining the center’s official Line account for test-rule reminders.

College Entrance Examination Center Director Chang Hsin-jen (張新仁) suggested picture description may score higher because audio and visual cues make questions easier to understand.

Chang said TELC is part of high school English education, and the number of test-takers has stayed above 90,000 in recent years. She added the test is a good measure of English ability and can benefit students in their future studies.

In recent years, fewer university programs in Taiwan have considered TELC scores in admissions.