Chinese Online Placement Exam- Spring 2018

The Chinese placement test is designed to measure students’ speaking, listening, reading, and writing ability and their knowledge about Chinese grammar and vocabulary in order to place them in an appropriate Chinese course at Georgetown University.  

The placement test has TWO parts, including a preliminary online placement test (Part I) and an on-campus proctored confirmation test (Part II), given before registration. The online test is used for preregistration purposes in the summer or winter. All students, regardless of whether they are placed into fall or spring semester courses by the summer on-line placement test, must also take the confirmation test during the New Student Orientation in late August to confirm their placement.

The Chinese placement exam has TWO versions. The simplified Chinese exam is for those who read simplified characters. The traditional Chinese exam is for those who read traditional characters.

1. Any student who has Mandarin Chinese learning experience outside of Georgetown University and wants to enroll in an appropriate Chinese language class at GU.
2. Current GU students who come back from a Chinese study abroad program AND plan to continue with Chinese at GU.
3. Students who want to place out of the College Language Requirement.
4. Students who want to transfer credits for language courses taken at another institution.

1. Students with no Mandarin Chinese learning experience (please enroll in CHIN 011 First Level Chinese I)
2. Native speakers of Mandarin Chinese. (i.e., those who have graduated from a high school in a Chinese speaking country or region where Mandarin Chinese is the language of instruction.)
3. Students who seek certification of native speaker status or an evaluation of their Chinese proficiency.

1. The online placement test (Part I) is made available from late June to late August in the summer, and from late December to early January in the winter.  You must take the online placement test during the test period. No test can be given once the online test is closed. You will have 100 minutes to complete the online test.
2. The confirmation test (Part II) takes place during New Student Orientation in late August. It may or may not be offered for the spring semester.
3. If you are a new or transfer student who wants to pre-register for a Chinese course at GU, you must take the online placement test (Part I) by the preregistration deadline in the summer. If you miss the deadline, you can still take the online test but you will have to wait till next registration period to enroll in a class. Regardless of whether you pre-register for a Chinese course, you must take the confirmation test to confirm your placement after taking the online test. Please note that taking a placement test does not guarantee a spot in a Chinese class.

1. A student can take the online test with a computer off-campus anytime during the test period, or on-campus if he encounters technical difficulties when taking it off-campus.
2. The confirmation test will take place on campus (TBA).

Except for those returning from a study abroad program, a student can take the placement test only once. To ensure proper placement in a Chinese course, students are strongly advised to take the test right before the semester when they plan to take Chinese.

1. All students taking the online placement test should receive the test result through a message immediately after the test. They can also check their grades by clicking the “See Your Scores” tab on the test site. 
2. The final result of a student’s placement test will be sent directly to each student’s Dean’s Office after the proctored confirmation test is completed. A student should contact his/her Dean for the test result.

Upon completing the online test, a placement chart will show up. Students who plan to continue in Chinese should follow the recommendation in the chart to preregister for a course. All students should take the confirmation test during New Student Orientation to confirm their placement. A student may need to move up or down to a class at different level based on his/her confirmation test result.

A student’s placement is determined by the results of their online placement test AND confirmation test. All students must follow the placement recommendation made by language professors upon completion of the confirmation test. The placement recommendation can only be changed by a course instructor at the beginning of a semester. If a student believes he/she belongs in a class of a different level, the student should make a request to his/her language professor on the first class day. Only with the recommendation of a student’s language professor can the student switch to a class of a different level during the add-drop period at the beginning of a semester.

The Chinese placement test is designed to measure your current Chinese proficiency level in order to place you in an appropriate class. There is no need to do any special preparation for the test.

The Chinese online placement test is accessible through Blackboard. You must enroll in its Blackboard site with a GU NetID and a password. If you need help with your NetID or experience technical difficulties, please contact the Student Help Desk at 202-687-4949 or at help@georgetown.edu.

Please follow the steps below to access the test.

1. Go to the Georgetown University’s Blackboard site.
2. Login with your NetID and password.
3. After logging in, click the Courses tab.
4. In the Course Search box, type: placement and click Go.
5. Click the Enroll button to the right of the Chinese language placement test.
6. Confirm your enrollment by clicking the Submit button.
7. Click the OK button to enter the Chinese placement test site.
8. Follow the instructions on the placement test site to take the test. Please take the sample exam first to test your web browser compatibility.
9. If the internet connection is interrupted before you complete the test, you can return to the test and resume it immediately, but the timer still continues during the interruption and your exam will be submitted automatically if the time is up.
10.  

We recommend that you use one of the following browsers:

• Firefox 3 or higher (Windows and Mac)
• Safari 3 or higher (Mac)
• Google Chrome

Internet Explorer has a known problem with text display. Please do not use Internet Explorer to take the online test.

Department contact information: Fei Ren (fr94@georgetown.edu) or call 202-687-5918.