Taiwan's Yunlin County Overhauls High School Admissions, Adding Writing and Language Scores

Students entering junior high school in Taiwan's Yunlin County face a significantly revised high school admission scoring system. The county has increased the total admission points from 90 to 94, with a major change being the inclusion of Mandarin writing test scores and language certifications into the evaluation.

This new system, slated to be implemented starting from the 118th academic year (three years from now), aims to bolster students' writing proficiency. Previously, the Mandarin writing test from the national basic competency exam was not factored into high school admissions in Yunlin.

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If the junior high end does not emphasize the teaching and learning of composition, it will be difficult for students to improve their writing ability in the three years of high school, which is very detrimental to the overall academic competitiveness of students in Yunlin County.

The proposal, put forth by Douliu High School Principal Cheng Chun-chien, gained support from many junior high principals. They argue that strong writing skills are crucial for national exams like the university entrance test, where Mandarin can account for up to 50% of the score. Without emphasis on composition in junior high, students struggle to improve their writing in high school, hindering their academic competitiveness.

Education officials highlighted that current exams increasingly adopt a "literacy-oriented" and "cross-disciplinary" approach. Students who cannot comprehend questions may fail to answer correctly, even with relevant knowledge. Improving language skills, therefore, supports learning across all subjects. The county plans to enhance reading and writing instruction through guidance teams and curriculum adjustments, also leveraging technology to boost students' writing capabilities for future academic and professional challenges, including the AI era.

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Students who cannot understand the meaning of the questions may not be able to answer correctly even if they have relevant knowledge. Improving language ability can also drive learning in other subjects.