University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations
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| Established | 1913 |
|---|---|
| Type | Not-for-profit |
| Purpose | Examination board - qualifications for learners and teachers of English |
| Headquarters | Cambridge, UK |
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Region served
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Global - operating in 130 countries with 5 million+ candidates per year |
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Membership
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40,000+ registered preparation centres |
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Parent organization
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Cambridge Assessment |
| Subsidiaries | CaMLA and the Admissions Testing Service |
| Website |
www |
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Formerly called
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University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations (Cambridge ESOL) / University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate (UCLES) |
Cambridge English Language Assessment is part of the University of Cambridge and has been providing English language assessments and qualifications for over 100 years.
The first Cambridge English examination, the Certificate of Proficiency in English (CPE), was launched in 1913. The 12-hour exam had just three candidates, all of whom failed. One hundred years on, Cambridge English provides more than 20 exams for learners and teachers, which are taken by over 5 million people each year.
Cambridge English Language Assessment contributed to the development of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) and its examinations are aligned with the CEFR levels.
In 2010, Cambridge English Language Assessment and the English Language Institute Testing and Certificate Division of the University of Michigan agreed to form a not-for-profit collaboration known as CaMLA (Cambridge Michigan Language Assessments). This brings together two institutions with a long history of language assessment.
The first Cambridge English exam was produced in 1913 by UCLES (University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate).
UCLES had been set up in 1858 to provide exams to students who were not members of a university. There was a growing concern in Britain with standards of school education and the transition from secondary to tertiary-level education. A number of schools "petitioned the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge [to provide] means of comparing achievements of pupils across schools."
The secondary education sector was still voluntary in nature. Without support from the state, it was logical to seek help from universities that were long established and widely admired. The University of Oxford and University of Cambridge, in particular, were “regarded as viable sources of supervision.”
UCLES was invited to set exams and inspect schools with the aim of raising educational standards. The University of Oxford also created its own examination board: the University of Oxford Delegacy of Local Examinations (UODLE). UODLE and its partner, the Association of Recognised English Language Schools, merged with UCLES in 1995.
The first UCLES examinations took place on 14 December 1858. The exams were designed to test for university selection and were taken by 370 candidates in British schools, churches and village halls. Candidates were required to ‘satisfy the examiners’ in the analysis and parsing of a Shakespeare text; reading aloud; dictation; and composition (on either the recently deceased Duke of Wellington; a well-known book; or a letter of application).
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