Big changes coming for the JLPT

[Western All Stars]

When the Japanese-Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) was first administered in 1984, there were approximately 7,000 examinees who took the test. Since then, the annual test has become a large scale event, attracted some 524,000 examinees in 2007. During this time, there have been many requests for revision and a variety of issues were pointed out in the interim reports published in 1996 and 2000....

Starting in 2009, the current JLPT will be held twice a year before the new test is introduced in 2010...

The existing test incorporates 4 levels, or kyu: 1-kyu (Level 1), 2-kyu (Level 2), 3-kyu (Level 3), and 4-kyu (Level 4), in descending order. The new test will have 5 levels: N1, N2, N3, N4, and N5; the “N” may stand for both “Nihongo” and “New.”...

I went online go sign up today for this year's JLPT and was shocked to find out I missed the dealine for taking it in Japan. I've always taken it abroad in the past and didn't know the domestic deadline is 2 weeks sooner. The good news is they announced a couple months ago that the test will now be held twice a year. For those like myself who's been taking these stupid tests for years, this news is huge and long overdue.

More information here.

[Behan]

Originally Posted by Western All Stars

I went online go sign up today for this year's JLPT and was shocked to find out I missed the dealine for taking it in Japan. I've always taken it abroad in the past and didn't know the domestic deadline is 2 weeks sooner. The good news is they announced a couple months ago that the test will now be held twice a year. For those like myself who's been taking these stupid tests for years, this news is huge and long overdue.

More information here.

The deadline was yesterday and I missed it, too. I had gotten the form but forgot.

[GuyJean]

Originally Posted by Behan

The deadline was yesterday and I missed it, too. I had gotten the form but forgot.

Me too!.. I need to lay off the horse..

GJ

[Kanchou]

...is this going to make Level 1 harder or the minimum level easier?

[MrUltimateGaijin]

Originally Posted by Kanchou

...is this going to make Level 1 harder or the minimum level easier?

it would seem obvious that L1 would stay the same

[Kanchou]

How so? They might have introduced a "new" higher level L1 (ie, native level, with writing included), or they might have made a new Level 2 because of the gap between L2 and L1. I can't imagine making anything easier than L4... it wouldn't even be a worthwhile certification.

[omae mona]

For those of you paying per-kilobyte internet fees, I've opened up the document so kindly linked by Western All Stars. Here is the relevant excerpt about the breakdown between levels, so we can end the speculation:

N1: Approximately the same passing level as the existing Level 1 test, but designed to
enable slightly more advanced abilities to be measured as well.
N2: Approximately the same passing level as the existing Level 2 test.
N3: Positioned at a level bridging existing Level 2 and Level 3 tests.
N4: Approximately the same passing level as the existing Level 3 test.
N5: Approximately the same passing level as the existing Level 4 test.

[GomiGirl]

Fab - there is such a big jump from 3 to 2.

[omae mona]

Originally Posted by GomiGirl

Fab - there is such a big jump from 3 to 2.

Agreed completely. I also think that what they're doing with L1 is interesting: clearly they're shooting for score-watchers to distinguish between more than pass and fail. Since the passing level is not changing but it "measures more advanced abilities", I guess they're suggesting that people pay more attention to low passing scores versus high passing scores.

I know people (one major idiot in particular) who passed level 1 but have completely crappy language skills and would be laughed at if they claimed fluency in Japanese. The ability to distinguish someone at a higher level than the old L1 passing scores would be useful to employers, I think.

[Mulboyne]

I'm sure this was furthest from their minds but I note that adding an additional grade will have the happy side effect of increasing their fee revenues. Running the exam twice a year will increase administration costs. Potentially, it could increase the number of applicants but it might initially just serve to frontload revenue from re-takers who would otherwise have had to wait. If I was running the JLPT, I would have been conservative and forecast that the increased costs would not be matched by any pick up in revenue. Slipping in a new level will probably offset increased costs and add some extra money on top.