Chinese Online Placement Exam

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. 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 mid- June to early September 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 register for a Chinese course at GU, you must take the online placement test (Part I) before enrolling in a class, and then take the confirmation tests on campus to confirm your placement. 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.

Students returning from a study abroad program who need to take the placement test a second time to transfer credits or continue with Chinese at GU should contact the Chinese language coordinator at Fei.Ren@georgetown.edu to schedule a paper-based test.

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 “Grades” section of Canvas.
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 register 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 Canvas. You must use your NetID and the URL below to enroll in the placement test. https://georgetown.instructure.com/enroll/Y6YKCA

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.

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 (Fei.Ren@georgetown.edu) or call 202-687-8347.