Proficiency and placement exams in Chinese (Mandarin) are offered for registered students at UW. Students with no previous exposure to the Chinese language are able to register for CHIN 101: Elementary Chinese via MyPlan or MyUW at any time. For full information, please see this page.

The Asian Languages & Literature department does not offer placement or proficiency exams to students outside of UW (e.g., high school students seeking admission, prospective students, extension students,etc.), nor does it offer testing in languages or dialects not currently taught in the department. UW Students looking to take a proficiency test for a language or dialect not taught by the Asian Languages & Literature department should contact the UW Language Learning Center (LLC).

No. While the UW recognizes AP and IB coursework in Chinese (Mandarin) as a challenging academic program that provides excellent preparation for university study, credit awarded does not equate to automatic course placement. College Board Advanced Placement (AP) exams are scored on a scale of 1 – 5. The table below shows the UW’s departmental policies for awarding course equivalencies and credits for each exam.

Areas of Inquiry

•     SSci = Social Sciences

      NatSci = Natural Sciences

      A&H = Arts and Humanities

   

  Basic Skills Credits

   

      C = Composition

      RSN = Reasoning

      FL = Foreign (World) Language

In most cases, credits are awarded for IB subjects in which the student has earned a grade of 4 or higher. Consult the table below for specific information about credit awards in particular subjects.

Areas of Inquiry

•     SSci = Social Sciences

      NatSci = Natural Sciences

      A&H = Arts and Humanities

   

  Basic Skills Credits

   

      C = Composition

      RSN = Reasoning

      FL = Foreign (World) Language

Higher Level

Standard Level

Students who complete two exams with duplicate or overlapping content (e.g. AP and IB), or who complete an exam and a college course with duplicate or overlapping content will be awarded credit for only one exam or course.

Note: AP scores may be submitted only for courses taken while in high school and for tests taken during or within six months after leaving high school. AP test results may not be used to waive admission requirements.

If you would like to take a modern Chinese language course at UW Seattle and are not currently enrolled in any UW Chinese language class, students must first complete the online Chinese Language Evaluation Questionnaire.

• - If you wish to take classical Chinese you do NOT need to fill out the questionnaire.
• - If you experience any technical difficulties with the evaluation survey, please email Prof. Chan Lü (chanlu@uw.edu).
• - Please take note of the message displayed on the page after you have submitted your survey.

Non-matriculated students will not be considered for modern Chinese language classes at the first- through third-year level, with the exception of summer courses. Further information on testing in Chinese can be found here.

Students with an existing background in Chinese (Mandarin) can take the Asian Languages & Literature department’s online proficiency exam. There are two versions of this test: one using traditional characters and one using simplified characters.Students must use the correct link below to register, and cannot change their exam selection after registering.To facilitate results reporting,students should be sure to register for the exam using their uw.edu email address and provide their UW Seattle student ID number. Further information on proficiency testing in Chinese can be found here.

Register for the Chinese Language Placement or Proficiency Test

Students should only take this test if they are NOT planning to take further Chinese classes at UW. To determine the right course level for Chinese classes at UW, students should follow the instructions for placement instead of proficiency. To clear proficiency requirements for first year Chinese, an average score of 3 on the Avant test is required. To clear proficiency requirements for second and third year Chinese, average scores of 5 and 6+ respectively are required.

If you have any questions on testing administration, or need technical assistance with proctoring, please contact Avant Assessment Support at support@avantassessment.com.

For information on proficiency testing in dialects of Chinese other than Mandarin, please contact the UW Language Learning Center.

There are no costs for taking the placement evaluation. Proficiency exams in Chinese (Mandarin) using either traditional or simplified characters do have a fee. Unfortunately, there are no exam fee waivers for financial hardship available at this point in time.

The exams for simplified and traditional Chinese are offered online by AVANT and use the PLACE S format; these exams cover reading, writing, speaking, and contextualized grammar. Questions are based on real-world, everyday situations. AVANT measures a test taker’s language ability according to Benchmark Levels that are based on ACTFL national standards. Once students have registered and paid for their chosen proficiency test, AVANT will send further instructions regarding proctoring and students can then schedule the date and time for their test. Students are responsible for ensuring their systems are compatible with the AVANT exam and proctoring systems.

Please note: the AVANT proctoring system is not currently compatible with Chromebooks. Access to computer workstations is available through the UW Library system when campus is open, and students can also borrow laptops for home use through the UW Student Technology loan service.

Yes. Sample tests are available here, a user guide is available here, and students can find a technology guide for remote testing here.

For students with specific questions on placement assessment, further details are available from Prof. Chan Lü (chanlu@uw.edu).

For proficiency exams, students should contact the UW Language Learning Center (LLC). Full information on testing processes in Chinese can be found here.

Students may attempt exams up to 2 times per quarter. For proficiency exams, students should also take note of the departmental score reporting deadlines outlined below and plan ahead accordingly. We recommend students try to give themselves at least 4 weeks between tests to allow sufficient time to study in a way that will see scores improve in a meaningful way.

It is important to note that the Department of Asian Languages & Literature has internal deadlines for reporting scores to the registrar’s office. If students take their test after a deadline for a given quarter, scores will be reported the following quarter. For full information, see this page.

Unfortunately, the department is not able to provide breakdowns of proficiency test scores for exams taken through AVANT for students. Test results are valid for one year.

No. These exams are purely to either place students into the correct class or to fulfil graduation requirements for language proficiency. N.B.: First-year (elementary) or second-year (intermediate) foreign-language credit is not granted either by examination or by course completion in a student’s native language. “Native language” is defined as the language, or one of the languages, spoken in the student’s home during the first six years of their life and in which they received instruction through the seventh grade.

Students who misrepresent the extent of their background so as to gain entrance to a course at the elementary or intermediate level may be dropped from the rolls of that course.