27/02/2025
Cambridge University Press & Assessment has been working with the Estonian Ministry of Education since 2019 on a major English language programme in high schools across the country. To date more than 20,000 high-school students have taken C1 Advanced from Cambridge – but what impact is this having on school leavers? Graeme Harrison from Cambridge reflects on a research study which answers this and more.
Graeme Harrison is Head of Impact Operations,
Cambridge University Press & Assessment.
“The goal of our recent study in Estonia was to measure the impact our C1 Advanced Qualification is having on the thousands of school leavers who take it every year. Five years ago, our high-level English language qualification was introduced into the Estonian school curriculum, and student achievement in the test has been consistently high . However we wanted to look in more detail about the impact it was having, so I led a team of researchers who carried out an in-depth impact study to find out more.
Our objectives
Is it helping students to use English in the real world? What are students’ motivations for learning English? Where will it take them? These are just some of the things we set out to determine in the study. More specifically we wanted to measure the impact C1 Advanced is having on teaching, learning and student opportunities, particularly what it means for academic mobility.
Our study
We spoke to 800 people including current and former students, teachers and parents. We wanted to know more about the make-up of English lessons and what motivates students and teachers – and what helps them to be successful English language learners. So, we designed a series of surveys, interviews and classroom observations. The schools that took part were a really good mix ranging from those in the capital city Tallinn to ones in more rural areas, which helped us paint a representative picture of teaching and learning across the country. This classroom part of the study was crucial because it allowed us to see not just what people were saying but also what was actually happening in classrooms.
What did we find out?
Here are four things we found out:
1. We’re having a positive impact on language proficiency
The results suggest that the test has positively influenced English language proficiency, with an increased percentage of students achieving C1 or C2 levels despite more candidates participating. C1 and C2, are the very highest levels of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) which is the international scale for measuring language ability. This was a particularly interesting finding because normally, if the overall proficiency of the population remains the same, with more participants, the proportion of high achievers would usually go down, but Estonia’s students are bucking the trend! When you consider that not only has overall achievement improved but the number of candidates achieving a top-level C2 result has also continued to increase, this is an amazing achievement.
2. A shift towards more ambitious goals
We also found that the introduction of the C1 Advanced exam has had a beneficial impact in the classroom and beyond. Teachers, students, and parents have noted the shift towards more ambitious learning goals, with a focus on advanced vocabulary, formal writing, and more interactive speaking practice. We also found that teachers were focussing on a wider range of writing genres in the classroom as a way of directly mirroring what was tested in the exam. So it’s fair to say that most teachers have changed what they do in exam preparation lessons and it has had a positive effect in terms of level of achievement and variety of skills.
3. Students were motivated by ambition and fun!
It was fantastic to see people inspired to learn English and get their C1 Advanced certificate for all sorts of reasons. While many aim for goals such as studying abroad or improving career prospects, there was also some friendly classroom competition. In fact, some findings were quite surprising - one student we spoke to told us he had a bet with his cousin over who would score higher. The stakes? Drinks on the loser!
It is great to see students driven by both ambition and fun and this example highlights how both serious aspirations and light-hearted competition can fuel determination, showcasing the multifaceted nature of motivation.
4. The C1 Advanced exam certificate has real-world applications
As well as its effects on teaching and learning, we were also really interested to find out how people had made use of their qualification after leaving school. Several mentioned that they had used their certificates when applying to study abroad, stating that it had made their entry into university much easier, and some even talked about how they had used their certificate when applying for jobs. So, it seems like not only does holding a C1 Advanced qualification increase Estonians’ academic mobility but it improves their employment opportunities as well.
Pushing the boundaries
If we go back to our objective, the goal of the study was to measure both the tangible and intangible impacts of introducing the exam. This is where impact measurement is so important. It surfaces not just the concrete outcomes such as achieving a certificate, but the related changes to things like teaching practice and motivation behind them. What’s fascinating and rewarding for me is how Cambridge has helped to raise the standard. Teachers are pushing students to go beyond basics and are trying to build advanced skills for global opportunities. This makes me very optimistic that these students will use their skills to go on to bigger and better things.”