This obliviousness is partly the fault of an educational system that emphasizes memorization over actual proficiency in English.
CNN: ASIANOW - TIME Asia | Young China | Tips From an Expert
Most students will have to show greater proficiency in English and more robust proof that they can support themselves.
Because California has so many schoolchildren 5.8m of them, of whom 1.5m have only limited proficiency in English it needs, the teachers say, a special test of its own, and not one pulled willy-nilly off the national shelf.
There were 4.7 million students classified as "English language learners" those who have not yet achieved proficiency in English in the 2009-10 school year, or about 10 percent of children enrolled, according to the most recent figures available from the U.S. Department of Education.
In another recent competitiveness report Thailand ranked 54th out of 56 countries globally for English-language proficiency, the second-lowest in Asia.
Fifty-five percent of New York students met the English Language Arts proficiency standards in 2012 by scoring at least a 3 on a scale of 1 to 4, and 65 percent scored at least a 3 on the math tests.
Academics also are hopeful that there soon will be greater national consistency in how English learners are identified and how proficiency is defined through the Common Core standards and assessments, a set of uniform benchmarks adopted by 45 states and the District of Columbia.
On Wednesday, just one week after the SAT cancellation notice in South Korea, 36 people were charged for illegal filming of English proficiency exams with spy cameras or for ordering the service, according to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office.
WSJ: SAT Scandal Shines Harsh Light on South Korean Academics
In California, 59 percent of secondary school English learners were found to have been in U.S. schools for more than six years without reaching English proficiency, according to a study by Californians Together, a statewide coalition of parents, teachers and education advocates.
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