It is often assumed that writing proficiency exams present special problems
for nonnative speakers of English (NNSs), but few studies on how well NNSs
fare on the writing proficiency exams have been conducted. In one study,
Thompson (1990), analyzed the academic records of 79 NNS students at the
University of Florida. Almost one third of the NNS students failed the writing
proficiency exam on their first attempt. He also found that (a) many of those
who failed had a grade point average (GPA) of C/C+, (b) most had not taken a
composition course before taking the exam, (c) Southeast Asian students had
the highest initial failing rate, and (d) after failing, Southeast Asian students
usually took a composition course and passed the exam with one retake.