An Introduction to HSK
Beginning Level of HSK (HSK Basic)
About HSK Elementary-Intermediate
About HSK Advanced
Issuing of the HSK certificate and period of validity of the certificate
Taking HSK

HSK Elementary - Intermediate is suitable for persons who have mastery of 2000-5000 Chinese words (referring to level A, B and C in the Outline of HSK Vocabulary) and certain rules of grammar (referring to level A, B and C in the Outline of HSK Grammar).

1. Function of the Certificate of HSK Elementary-Intermediate:

(1) to be a requirement to enter a college or university in China as an undergraduate student.
(2)to exempt the holder from taking certain language courses in China.
(3)as a basis for employers to evaluate job applicants' Chinese language proficiency.

2. HSK Elementary-Intermediate scoring system:

(1) Interpretation of the scores of HSK Elementary - Intermediate:
A subscore of HSK Elementary - Intermediate is a scale score with 50 as the mean and 15 as the standard deviation. The total scores is a scale score with 200 as the mean and 60 as the standard deviation. These scores show the relative position of the candidate in a standard HSK sample group. In table 2.1, it indicates the relative position of a candidate in the whole group. The column on the right gives the percentage of those whose scores are lower than the corresponding scores in the standard HSK reference group. The total score is not equal to the sum of all the subscores.

HBK Score		Percentage
Total score	Subscore
400	100	100
277	69	90
250	63	80
231	58	70
215	54	60
200	50	50
185	46	40
169	42	30
150	37	20
123	31	10

Table 2.1 Percentile of the scores of HSK Elementary-Intermediate

(2) Table 2.2 shows the subscores of HSK Elementary-Intermediate as well as the types and grades of the certificate of HSK Elementary-Intermediate.

Types and Grade		Grade Level	Score Range
Types	Grade		Listening	Grammar	Reading	Close	Score Range
Elementary Level		Bottom Line	29-37	28-36	30-38	28-36	115-151
	C	Line3	38-46	37-45	39-47	37-45	152-188
	B	Line4	47-55	46-54	48-56	46-54	189-225
		Line5	56-64	55-63	57-65	55-63	226-262
Intermediate Level 6	C	Line6	65-73	64-72	66-74	64-72	263-299
	B	Line7	74-82	73-81	75-83	73-81	300-336
	A	Line8	83-100	82-100	84-100	82-100	337-400

 
Table 2.2 HSK subscore ranking standard and types, grades of Elementary and Intermediate certificate.

In table 2.2, HSK Elementary has a bottom line below level C, which is established for the convenience of setting the standards for HSK elementary certificate. So the bottom line cannot be used for measuring the beginning level. Thecandidate cannot gain the certificate of HSK Elementary if his score reaches the bottom line.

3. Description of the level scoring system:

HSK has eleven score levels, amongst which levels 1-3 are the beginning level, levels 3-5 are the elementary level, levels 6-8 are the intermediate level, levels 9-11 are the advanced level. The following is the description of levels 3 level 8.
Level 3 Has basic (low) competence in Chinese. A person reaching this level can gain the certificate of HSK Elementary Glade C. Level 3 is the minimum level in Chinese proficiency for a candidate to be admitted to a college or university in China as an undergraduate student in the field of science, engineering, agriculture and Western medicine.

Level 4 Has basic (mid) competence in Chinese. Can gain the certificate of HSK Elementary Grade B.
Level 5 Has basic (high) competence in Chinese, Can gain the certificate of HSK Elementary Grade A.
Level 6 Is proficient in Chinese at the intermediate (low) level. Can gain the certificate of HSK Intermediate Grade C. level 6 is the minimum level required by the Ministry of Education for a candidate to enter a college or university in China as an undergraduate student in the field of literature, history and traditional Chinese medicine.
Level 7 Is proficient in Chinese at the intermediate (mid) level. Can gain the certificate of HSK Intermediate Grade B.
Level 8 Is proficient in Chinese at the intermediate (high) level. Can gain the certificate of HSK Intermediate Grade A.

4. Requirements to obtain the certificate of HSK Elementary - Intermediate:

(1) The candidate must secure the total scores required for the corresponding grade.
(2) The candidate must secure three of the four required subscores for the corresponding grade.
(3) Only one of the four subscores is allowed to be lower than the required minimum grade, but not lower than the minimum scores of the next lower grade. In such a case, the candidate can only be awarded the certificate of a lower grade.

The above 3 requirements aim at encouraging the candidate to develop various skills in Chinese uniformly. The irregular development of any particular skill will affect the obtaining of the HSK certificate.

5. Components and test length of HSK Elementary - Intermediate:

HSK Elementary- Intermediate is a 1 70-item, 145 minutes test which is divided into four subtest: listening, sentence structure, reading and cloze. Items from 1-154 are multiple choice. Items 155-170 are a test of comprehension in which blank spaces at regular intervals in a text must be filled in with appropriate Chinese characters.

During the time allowed for each section, examinees must work on that section only and are not permitted to work beyond the time limit for the section. Examinees are a1so not permitted to turn to a section that has not been announced or turn to a previous section. The test is taken in this order:

First Section	Listening	50 items	35 minutes
Second Section	Sentence Structure	30 items	20 minutes
Third Section	Reading	50 items	60 minutes
Fourth Section	Cloze	40 items	30 minutes