ESAT, TMUA and TARA: The Evolution of Three Admissions Tests | ESAT、TMUA 与 TARA 的沿革：三项笔试的前世今生

2026-10-15 07:47 · 本文部分内容由AI辅助创作

📚 ESAT, TMUA and TARA: The Evolution of Three Admissions Tests | ESAT、TMUA 与 TARA 的沿革：三项笔试的前世今生

The years 2024 and 2025 mark the most significant restructuring of UK university admissions testing in a decade. Cambridge Assessment Admissions Testing (CAAT) stepped back from delivering its own papers, Pearson VUE took over delivery, and a brand new test - the ESAT - replaced two long-standing Cambridge assessments. A year later, the TARA arrived to test reasoning rather than subject knowledge. For A-Level students aiming at competitive courses, understanding this history is not trivia: it explains why the papers look the way they do, and how you should prepare.

2024 与 2025 这两年，是英国大学入学笔试近十年来最重要的一次结构性重组。Cambridge Assessment Admissions Testing（CAAT）退出自主命题与交付，Pearson VUE 接手承办；一门全新的考试 ESAT 取代了剑桥两门沿用多年的学科测评。一年之后，TARA 登场，考的不再是学科知识，而是学术推理。对志在冲击热门专业的 A-Level 学生来说，了解这段沿革不是冷知识：它解释了这些卷子为什么长成今天的样子，也决定了你该怎么准备。

1. Why 2024 Was the Watershed | 为什么 2024 年是分水岭

Before 2024, most Cambridge admissions tests were written and delivered by CAAT, sat on paper in schools or test centres, and reported on a confidential scale. In late 2023, CAAT announced it would wind down its admissions testing service. Universities that depended on those papers had to move fast. Cambridge chose to redesign rather than simply re-tender, consolidating two subject tests into one and reissuing the mathematics test under a new provider.

2024 年之前，剑桥的入学笔试大多由 CAAT 命题与交付，在学校或考试中心纸笔作答，成绩以非公开量表呈现。2023 年末，CAAT 宣布将逐步关停其入学考试服务。依赖这些卷子的大学必须迅速应对。剑桥选择的不只是换一家承办方，而是重新设计：把两门学科考试合并为一门，并把数学类考试在新承办方名下重新推出。

The consequence is a two-wave reform. Wave one, in 2024, replaced subject-specific papers with the ESAT and re-launched the TMUA. Wave two, in 2025, introduced the TARA for courses where a subject test never made sense in the first place.

由此形成了两波改革。第一波在 2024 年：用 ESAT 取代原有的学科专项卷，并让 TMUA 以全新形态重启。第二波在 2025 年：为那些本来就不适合设置学科笔试的专业，引入 TARA。

2. The Timeline at a Glance | 时间线一览

年份 Year	事件 Event	影响 Impact
2016	NSAA 与 ENGAA 推出；TMUA 推出	剑桥学科测评与数学类测评格局成形
2016-2023	TMUA 由 CAAT 承办，纸笔考试	多所大学用于数学、经济、计算机类筛选
2023	NSAA 与 ENGAA 最后一次考试；CAAT 宣布退出	旧体系终结
2024	ESAT 首考；TMUA 转由 Pearson VUE 机考	新体系确立
2025	TARA 首考	推理型笔试正式进入招生工具库

The key point for applicants: only the ESAT and the TARA are genuinely new tests. The TMUA is a rebranded and reformatted descendant of a test that has existed since 2016 - a distinction that matters when you search for past papers.

对申请者最关键的一点是：真正意义上的新考试只有 ESAT 和 TARA。TMUA 是一门 2016 年就已存在的考试在新承办方手中的改版与重构——这个区别在你查找真题时会直接决定资料是否对口。

3. The Old Order: NSAA, ENGAA and Early TMUA | 旧秩序：NSAA、ENGAA 与早期 TMUA

The Natural Sciences Admissions Assessment (NSAA) and the Engineering Admissions Assessment (ENGAA) were both introduced in 2016 and sat in November. Each had a multiple-choice Section 1 covering mathematics and sciences, and a more demanding Section 2. They were pre-interview filters: a strong score did not guarantee a place, but a weak one almost certainly removed you from contention.

自然科学入学测评（NSAA）与工程入学测评（ENGAA）均于 2016 年推出，在 11 月举行。两门考试都包含以数学与理科为主的多项选择题 Section 1，以及难度更高的 Section 2。它们承担的是面试前的筛选功能：高分不保证录取，低分却几乎必然出局。

The TMUA, meanwhile, was created in 2016 for mathematics-heavy degrees, and was used by a cluster of universities including Warwick, Durham, Lancaster and Sheffield, as well as for Cambridge economics. By the early 2020s it had quietly become one of the most widely used mathematics admissions tests in the country.

与此同时，TMUA 于 2016 年创立，面向数学比重高的学位，使用者包括华威、杜伦、兰卡斯特、谢菲尔德等一批大学，也用于剑桥经济学。到 2020 年代初，它已经悄然成为全英使用面最广的数学类入学笔试之一。

4. The Birth of ESAT: First Sitting in 2024 | ESAT 的诞生：2024 年首考

The Engineering and Science Admissions Test (ESAT) was designed to do the job of both the NSAA and the ENGAA within a single, modular, computer-based format. Its first sitting took place in October 2024, with a January 2025 session available for applicants to universities that accept the later date. Cambridge uses it for Engineering, Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, Natural Sciences, and Veterinary Medicine; Imperial College London also adopted it for a range of engineering and physical science courses.

工程与科学入学考试（ESAT）的设计目标，是在一个模块化、机考化的框架内同时承担 NSAA 与 ENGAA 的职能。它的首考于 2024 年 10 月举行，并为接受较晚场次的大学设置了 2025 年 1 月的场次。剑桥将其用于工程、化学工程与生物技术、自然科学以及兽医学；帝国理工学院也在一系列工程与物理科学专业中采用。

Crucially, the ESAT was pitched as a cleaner, more predictable instrument than the papers it replaced. The old two-section structure, with its escalating difficulty, was abandoned in favour of short, uniform modules that could be combined differently by different courses.

关键在于，ESAT 被定位为一台比它所取代的卷子更简洁、更可预测的测量工具。旧的两段式结构及其逐级抬升的难度被放弃，取而代之的是短小、规格统一的模块，不同专业可以自由组合。

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5. How the ESAT Is Built | ESAT 的模块与评分

The ESAT is made up of five possible modules: Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics 1, Mathematics 2 and Physics. Each module is a 40-minute, computer-based paper containing 27 multiple-choice questions. Most candidates sit three modules - Mathematics 1 plus two others, giving a total of 120 minutes.

ESAT 由五个可选模块构成：生物、化学、数学 1、数学 2 与物理。每个模块都是 40 分钟的机考卷，含 27 道多项选择题。多数考生考三个模块——数学 1 加另外两门，总时长 120 分钟。

Which modules you take is dictated by your course, not by your preference. Mathematics 2 is the demanding extension paper, and some courses require it while others explicitly do not. Scores are reported on a 1.0 to 9.0 scale, and results reach candidates through the testing provider's portal rather than through the university.

考哪些模块由你申请的专业决定，而非个人偏好。数学 2 是高阶延伸卷，有的专业要求，有的专业明确不需要。成绩以 1.0 至 9.0 的量表呈现，并由考试承办方的系统发给考生，而非由大学发布。

三模块总分时长 = 40 min × 3 = 120 min