Sorry, I haven't been around much lately but I was wondering if someone (perhaps Taro) could help. Has anyone noticed that the Eiken pre1 test has been massively watered down? I have been interviewing any number of people lately all claiming to have passed the pre1 and yet their spoken English level is really, really poor. In the past, if I had a pre1 interviewee, I could pretty much assume they could hold their own in a conversation, but over the last year or so it is no longer the case. I have tried in vein to search the intrawebs to confirm my suspicions, but I have drawn a blank.
My theory is that because of MoE policy directives to increase the number of high level speakers, those in officialdom have pressured EIken to lower their standards. Any thoughts?