A grammatical analysis and comparison of three college and university English proficiency entrance examinations used in Taiwan

Three different kinds of English proficiency tests, AST, SAT and EEFTC, held for the purpose of selecting students into colleges and universities in Taiwan from 2002 to 2004 were examined in this study. Four research questions are asked in this study.; First, what is the proportional distribution and proportionate emphasis in different grammatical constructions in terms of the four-level grammatical framework in the three batteries of the AST, the SAT and the EEFTC in 2002 to 2004? Second, what are the differences and similarities in terms of the four-level grammatical framework between and among the three batteries in 2002 to 2004? Third, how does the yearly average grammatical complexity level of the AST and the SAT correspond to their designed difficulty level from 2002 to 2004? Does the AST, considered more difficult than the SAT, present a higher yearly average level of grammatical complexity than that of the SAT in 2002 to 2004? Fourth, what is the yearly average grammatical complexity level of the EEFTC when it is compared with the AST and the SAT from 2002 to 2004?{09}Does the EEFTC present a lower grammatical complexity level than the AST and the SAT, which are more difficult than the EEFTC in 2002 to 2004?; To answer these questions, a four-level grammatical framework is developed to generate the statistics regarding the grammatical structure of the three testing batteries at the four levels. Moreover, a hierarchy of grammatical complexity was developed to compare the relative grammatical complexity among and between different tests.; The result of the study shows that in 2002 to 2004, in levels of clause, phrases of noun, preposition and auxiliary verb, and word, AST presents the higher yearly average grammatical complexity.{09}In levels of sentence, phrases of adjective, adverb, and main verb, SAT presents the higher yearly average grammatical complexity. This suggests that a positive correlation between the two tests' difficulty level and their grammatical complexity level exists in the levels of clause, phrases of noun, preposition and auxiliary verb, and word. On the other hand, a negative correlation between the two tests' designed relative difficulty level and their grammatical complexity level exists in the level of sentence, clause, and word.; As for the EEFTC, it presents the lowest syntactic complexity at all levels throughout the three years. This supports a positive correlation between EEFTC and the other two batteries regarding the designed level and its yearly average grammatical complexity level.