HSK Advanced

A ten-minute break after the end of the written test will be taken before the writing and oral tests.

The duration of the writing subtest is 30 minutes. Candidates are expected to finish a composition of 400 to 600 words.

The oral test will take 20 minutes, of which, 10 minutes is set aside for the preparation and the other 10 miinutes for the actual interview. In the first 2 minutes of the interview candidates will read aloud a passage and then answer two given questions, each taking about 3 minutes.

> HSK Advanced Scoring System

1)  About the scores of HSK Advanced

A section score of HSK Advanced is a scale score with 50 as the score mean and 15 as the standard deviation. These scores show the relative position of the candidate in a standard sample group. The table below helps to locate the relative position of a candidate in the whole group. The second line indicates the percentage occupied by those whose scores are lower than the corresponding scores in the standard HSK reference group.

HSK Advanced Certificate Grades and Score Levels

2)  Score levels and certificate grades are determined by the total score. The criterion for different grades is as follows:

There is a bottom line established below Level 9 for HSK Advanced in order to set a criterion for awarding certificates and not to assess the basic, elementary or intermediate proficiency levels. Therefore, scores in this range are not to be referenced for determining the basic, elementary or intermediate Chinese proficiency levels.

3)  Interpretation of the score levels of HSK Advanced

There are 11 score levels in HSK, of which Levels 3 to 5 signify the basic, Levels 6 to 8 the elementary and intermediate, and Level 9 to 11 the advanced.

Level 9:  the candidate has advanced (low) Chinese language competence, which can be acquired after 3000 hours or more of regular modern Chinese language learning (or other equivalent Chinese learning experience). This level is the minimum standard to be qualified for the jobs requiring Chinese for communication and the standard by which the HSK (Advanced) Certificate Grade C is awarded.

Level 10:  The candidate has acquired the advanced (middle) Chinese language competence. This level is the moderate standard to be qualified for jobs requiring Chinese as the communication language and the standard by which the HSK (Advanced) Certificate Grade B is obtained.

Level 11:  The candidate has possessed the advanced (high) Chinese language competence. This level is the higher standard to be qualified for jobs requiring Chinese for communication and is also viewed as being qualified for a translator at the intermediate level. It is the standard by which the HSK (Advanced) Certificate Grade A is conferred.

> Prerequisites to be awarded the HSK Certificate

1. The total score should be higher than the minimum level in the related grade.

2. Three of the four section scores (listening, reading, writing, & the oral test) shall exceed the minimum level in the related grade.

3. One of the four section scores is allowed to be less than the minimum level in the related grade, but shall not be less by more than one level. If so, one can only get a certificate of the lower grade.

4. None of the section scores can be lower than the bottom line level under Grade C.

The above three preconditions are set in an effort to encourage the all-round development in all aspects of language skills, and an imbalanced development in certain language skills will affect the candidate in getting an HSK certificate.