The number of students who did well in last month’s High-school English Listening Comprehension Test increased compared with last year, but so did those who failed.

The College Entrance Exam Center says today that of the 116-thousand test takers, 21-percent received the best score of A, which means they understood the test almost entirely.

7.8-percent of them got F, the worst of the four categories.

The vast majority of the test takers, at a total of 71-percent, fell in the middle categories of B (34%) and C (38%).

C-E-E-C officials say nearly all students stumbled more or less in the 4th section of the test, which requires listeners to grasp the meaning of five short articles.

Those who plan to take the test one more time on December 16th can get extra practice with ICRT’s English Listening Comprehension Tests, available online.

Check out the ICRT website for details.