Writing Exam 'Giving Things a New Look' Sees Highest Number of Top Scores in 3 Years

(Central News Agency, Taipei, May 5th, reporter Chen Zhizhong) In the 2026 academic year's CAP writing exam on 'Giving Things a New Look,' 1,262 students achieved the highest score of Level 6, the highest number in three years. However, 2,187 students received a score of 0 for merely rewriting the examples without incorporating personal experience, more than double the number from last year.

The CAP writing exam (which does not require students to set their own topic) provided three examples: using 'barter' instead of monetary transactions at a school fair; transforming old wall tiles into coasters; and processing a surplus of bananas into new products. Students were required to combine these with their own experiences or observations, propose what thing they would give a new look, and write down their feelings and thoughts.

According to statistics from the National Taiwan Normal University's Research Center for Psychological and Educational Testing (RCPET), 1,262 students (0.71%) achieved the best score of Level 6 this year, the highest number in three years.

Zeng Fenlan, Deputy Director of the RCPET, stated that a score of Level 4 or above meets the standard required by the 108 Curriculum Guidelines. This year, 78% of test-takers met this standard, indicating good results from junior high school education.

Lin Xueling, a representative grader for the CAP and a teacher in the Department of Applied Chinese at Wenzao Ursuline University of Languages, said this year's topic was close to daily life, making it easy for students to find material, and overall performance was good.

Among the exemplary essays selected by the RCPET, one student wrote about having to wear a series of 'corrective shoes' since childhood due to cerebral palsy. Finding the old, worn-out shoes in storage, the student initially wanted to discard them but later decided to clean and arrange them neatly as a badge of honor for their efforts. Another essay described a student building a Zhuge repeating crossbow from disposable chopsticks with their father, feeling a surge of achievement and childhood memories upon completion.

However, 2,187 students (1.23%) still received a score of 0 this year, a significant increase from 753 last year. Lin Xueling noted that most of these students simply copied or rewrote the three examples without following the requirement to write about their own experiences and feelings.

Lin Xueling also mentioned that some students still had many typos, used phonetic symbols (Zhuyin) in place of characters, or failed to express their ideas clearly. Writing is an important aspect of communication, and 'correctness' is a crucial part of it. She advised students to practice writing complete articles to better highlight their thoughts in the text. (Editor: Zhang Mingkun) 1150605