Ask and Answer——HSK

[Jingjing-N]

Hello! I am working in HSK center and happen to see the forum today. I am happy to see that a lot of friends are concerned about HSK and have zeal for it. If anyone has questions about HSK administration and registration,etc, I think I will be helpful. But...I will not tell anything relevant to test content(sh) which is my work principle. OK...Welcome to ask!

[roddy]

I have a question! How successful does the HSK center think the online registration is? YOu can see here a lot of people have problems with it.

[pandaxiongmao]

How do you deal with allegations of cheating?

For example, I previously took the HSK test at Yunnan Normal University. While mobile phones were not allowed, there were plenty of people that left them on during the exam (which interfered with the tape recording at times). There were also many people trading test papers both at the beginning and the end of the exam, and the proctors did not seem to do anything about this.

I wrote a letter to the HSK administration at the time about these problems, but never got any sort of a response.

[Xiao Kui]

Also, at Yunnan Normal University the quality of the tingli broadcast was totally unacceptable- I already wrote about it here.

A lot of static. When there is static you cannot hear the tingli clearly if you can even hear it at all. Why doesn't HSK use the registration money to improve the quality of the test?

It's unreasonable to expect students to be able to hear the broadcast when it is unclear and they are given poor equipment with which to listen to it. Also it sounds like the broadcast is a cassette, which makes a lot of background noise (there was a a loud humming sound throughout the broadcast.) Why not use a CD or mp3?

The recording, broadcast, and sound equipment needs a huge upgrade. Broadcasting the tingli from a campus radio station is impractical, inconvenient, and unsuitable for standardized testing, especially when the frequency cannot be picked up clearly by the test-takers.

I know outfitting so many test-takers with good equipment is costly and it's a lot of trouble to set everything up for so many people on test day. That's the problem with having the HSK on one big test day. It would be better to have an HSK test-taking center in each city where students could make an appointment and take the test on a computer. But I know having one big test day is really rooted in Chinese tradition, so that will be difficult to change, but I can always hope!

As for the test itself, I think it's fine - I would just like to be able to take it under better conditions so I can do my best.

[anonymoose]

I second Roddy's comments.

I wanted to take the test this April, but missed out because I couldn't register. I went to Shanghai Normal University to register in person, and pay in cash, but they just sent me away and told me to register online.

[Jingjing-N]

Answer:

To Roddy: Since online registration began, we have received a lot of complaints and support. I think it depends on different people. To those who are good at computer or feel inconvenient to register in person, it is a good way. But university students prefer coming to the registration sites in spite of waiting for quite a long time. Online registration will probably save your time and trouble. Any new thing needs much time to adjust to, right? So I encourage you registrating online because it is an advanced way with the rapid development of technology. If you still cannot make it, walk-in registration is allowed. More information on www.HSK.org.cn

To Pandaxiongmao: Thank you for your suggestion. Using mobile phone is strictly forbidden when taking tests. I will tell our director or get in touch with YN University. I hope it will be better next time.

To XIao Kui: Mp3, CD or tape using depends on universities' facilities condition. Some of universities have already used mp3 or CD. Of course mp3 or CD is the better choice. If condition permits, we will try.

To anonymoose: Sorry for your missing the exam. Still, I suggest you the online registration. You'd better not wait until the last day. Do it as early as possible. Because by now, online registratio is the first choice that HSK suggests. Pay close attention to www.HSK.org.cn when exams approach. Very important!!

I hope you all are content with my answer!

PS: HSK has moved to the 5th building from the office building. It is near to the cafeteria 2 and basketball playground. Those who 'd like to register for HSK or C.TEST in BLCU, please pay attention!

[gato]

Jingjing-N,

For online registration, it would be a good idea to allow payment with foreign credit cards such as Visa and Mastercard.

Since HSK is already using 首信易支付 for online payment, it should be possible to add foreign credit card as a payment option.

See http://www.beijing.com.cn/payease/b2c/overseacard.jsp

首信易支付 外卡支付

[Jingjing-N]

Thank you Gato! We are thinking about it. If condition permits, we will try:lol: But I think it is easy to find our selected banks(There is an ICBC in BLCU:D )

[roddy]

Jingjing, thanks for taking the time to answer the questions - I know you aren't here as the HSK's 'official question answerer', but it's still useful.

With online registration, I think there are two problems. One is that the HSK's own arrangements aren't great - they're confusing and don't always work. Second is that even if you do a great job, you're still relying on the banks - and their service is often poor.

I think you (or your bosses ) need to look at the process and make it a lot easier, and remember that many foreign students in China don't have local bank accounts or credit cards - keep the 'in person' registration option.

Mp3, CD or tape using depends on universities' facilities condition.

Sorry, but if a university (or other test center) can't afford a CD player, they shouldn't be running the tests. Problems like that, and more importantly allegations of cheating being ignored, make the HSK organization look unprofessional.

[anonymoose]

To anonymoose: Sorry for your missing the exam. Still, I suggest you the online registration. You'd better not wait until the last day. Do it as early as possible.

I tried to register in plenty of time. The problem is, the online registration system is very awkward for many foreigners. As Roddy said, not all foreigners in China have a local bank account. That is only the first problem. Even if you have a bank account, it does not neccessarily mean it can be used for online payments. I have an account with a Chinese bank, and especially had to request an online payment facility just so I could register for the HSK. (This is already an unreasonable hassle which shouldn't have to be encountered by your customers.) Anyway, the bank told me to download a piece of software to my computer to enable payments, but for some reason, perhaps because my operating system is an English version, the Chinese software was incompatible and failed to install. So, after all that, I still couldn't complete the online payment, and therefore was not able to register for the HSK.

Shanghai Normal University is less than a 5 minute walk from where I am. If registration in person had been possible, it would have been a simple matter.

[Tommi]

I asked today about registering for the next HSK in June, atleast in Sichuan Uni they allow registrations online and in person this time because of the amount of complaints they had last time. I would think this also applies to other HSK exam places?

[Jingjing-N]

Answer:

To Roddy: To create a test site, we have much consideration. Besides the equipment condition, the number of HSK candidates is also a big deal. That is to say, if the university has a great demand of HSK, we may think about it. Next week, we are going to hold a test administration conference, gathering all test sites in China together in Beijing and have a further discussion about the problems.

To anonymoose: Some candidates encountered the same problem with you. But the nuber is relatively small, most of the candidates can do it successfully. So this time, we allow online registration and in-person registration. Time schedule is on our homepage:D

Attention,everyone! If you have any questions and confusions about HSK, please tell me as soon as possible. The HSK administrtation conference will be held next week focusing on discussing and trying to find solutions of them. And any constructive suggestions are welcomed!!!

[wushijiao]

Hi Jingjing-N. I am really glad to see that your attitude towards taking in suggestions about the HSK is so positive!

I have taken the HSK fives times, at Jiaotong and Shanghai Normal University, and I have to say that the officiating and quality of equipment has been very good every time. However, it does make me a bit angry to hear stories of test-takers openly cheating. As you know, the test is graded on a curve. If a significant percentage of people cheat, that will certainly influence the overall scores. Personally, I think that if a person is found cheating on the exam, his or her paper should be taken, and the person shouldn’t be given a score.

I would also endorse the idea of being able to pay with foreign credit cards. This would be very convenient for the people who are not able to register in person.

[kdavid]

I would also endorse the idea of being able to pay with foreign credit cards. This would be very convenient for the people who are not able to register in person.

Also, wouldn't all of the test-takers be foreigners and therefore using foreign credit cards to register? I'm sure there are exceptions for those who have been in China for awhile and have Chinese bank accounts. I agree with the posters above in that foreign credit cards should be accepted.

[pandaxiongmao]

Non-chinese speaking ethnic minorities also have to take the HSK test to enter Uni. So it isn't just foreigners taking the test.

Hainan does not have an HSK test site because of the lack non-chinese speaking ethnic minorities. I don't know the actual numbers, but I'd guess there are more of these ethnic minorities taking the test than actual foreigners taking the test within China.

[roddy]

There's a specific test for minority students I think - MHK? - can't remember the actual name and don't know the figures, but I'd suspect they don't make up a huge proportion of HSK takers. But unless one of us actually bothers finding the numbers

The HSK office is providing a service, and as such as it needs to be making things as easy as possible for its customers. That means in person registration for those who want it, and online options using both Chinese and overseas payment options. It can't just choose the one that's easy for itself and then tell us it's 'convenient ' - you give us the choice, we'll decide which one is convenient. If there needs to be a reasonable fee for the extra costs of in person registration, that's ok.

I also think there's too much focus on developing new tests rather than fixing the problems with the existing ones. See here - all those issues with the levels of the core exams have been ignored literally for years. That post is from 2005, I wrote this (see the bottom) in 2003. This issues arise from poor planning and should never have arisen in the first place, and they need fixed. If you don't do that, how much confidence can we have in your other exams?

Don't misunderstand - I think in general the HSK office does a relatively good job, and I certainly have a lot more faith in you than in your friends at 汉办. But there's a lot of change and expansion happening, and I'm not convinced it's changing and expanding in the right direction.

[gato]

Non-chinese speaking ethnic minorities also have to take the HSK test to enter Uni.

Ethnic minorities can take the MHK for university admission. There's a one-on-one oral section in the MHK, done in person by an examiner, and is graded on a pass-fail basis. Since the HSK is graded on a curve, it wouldn't make sense for minority students who have lived all their lives in China to take it.

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[heifeng]

First of all I also applaud Jingjing-N for starting this thread. Here are some of my thoughts on the HSK.

ONLINE:

I actually don't mind waiting in line to register. I think that it is not that much of a hassle at all IF you are in China, so registering in person should still be an option for us. However, if you are going to have an online service for students to register, you definitely need to make sure it is user-friendly for the end user: the students, and not just for your organization. Right now, without the foreign credit card option it is not very user-friendly (as already mentioned) period.

TESTING PROBLEMS

I have also taken the HSK a total of 4 times at BLCU (5+ if you count the C.Test and other 'guinea pig' exams in the afternoon after the advanced HSK), once for the chuzhong and 3 times for the advanced exam. Luckily I have never really encountered terrible problems regarding the administering of the exam. In fact I think it is always very well organized at BLCU and usually on the strict side. However, if this isn't the case at other universities and students are taking advantage of this, well than that affects my score too and I am extremely unhappy about that.

USEFULLNESS:

99% of the reason I take the advance HSK is to give myself some sort of goal and gauge my progress. However, It WOULD be nice if the HSK or even the C.Test actually seemed to have some real use to us while we are in China. As a westerner studying Chinese I originally thought that maybe the HSK would offer some 'proof' of my proficiency level (I won't discuss how accurate that proof is on this thread however). Originally I felt the more 'proof' the better since many people generally have the preconception that westerners cannot speak, read, write, understand Chinese very well. However, I have NEVER even had an opportunity to use my certificate for anything whatsoever, nor have I met any Chinese person outside of a university even knew what the HSK is. (Unlike those English Level exams Chinese students take that everyone knows about.) So I guess what I am asking, outside of the academic community and (apparently) companies in Korea, is your office trying to boost the name of the HSK to make more people familiar with it? I am happy to take the exam just to motivate myself, but it WOULD be nice if I had a chance to use the certificate for something.....anything.

ACTUAL CONTENT PROBLEMS & SOME STUFF YOU PROBABLY CANNOT ANSWER, BUT THEY ARE NOT SPECIFIC QUESTIONS, JUST GENERAL QUESTIONS:

Roddy already mentioned the important questions above.

However, after taking the afternoon exam this past April after the Advanced exam I have the following feedback and general questions: (Sorry, I sort of wrote this on the survey after the exam, but exhaustion may have set in so I don't know if it made sense...so I am rewriting it here for your personal viewing convenience)

Listening: I don't have any problems with the changes here.

Zonghe & Reading: Why would the office want to put so many questions on the correct order (ABCD) of sentences. It seemed a bit excessive. At least with the current test format section 2 of the Zonghe forces us to improve our vocabulary a bit more. Overall, getting rid of the zonghe section 4 of the current exam is a welcomed change, but I don't think section 2 should be excluded. Also the new zhonghe & reading section is REALLY LONG. By the time you get to the reading (if you follow the sequence of the questions), if you didn't pace yourself well, then you are totally going to be unable to complete many of the questions. It just seems less mentally exhausting to have shorter sections rather than one super long one...followed by the shortest section of them all...What is the logic here?.

Speed-reading: I am just wondering what the motivation behind this section is. Is this modeled off of other language proficiency exams?

So is this DEFINITELY the new format that is going into effect next year, 2008?

FRIVOLOUS STUFF

Lastly, I think the advanced certificates should have a real embossed seal on them to make them more official looking. I was a bit shocked when I noticed my chuzhong certificate had the seal and my advanced certificate didn't....(yes, this is very frivolous, but it just seemed very odd to me )

thank you

[Jingjing-N]

The first revised HSK will be held officially in June. There are 3 grades: elementary, intermediate and advanced. I personally think this division is better. HSK Revised adds speaking and writing part. You can find the detailed information in Attachment:中国汉语水平考试改进版. The grading technology was also advanced, see Attachment: HSK主观考试评分技术的突破和飞跃. About the online registration of HSK in June: see 网上报名通知

ATTENTION!!! registration of HSK REVISED (intermediate) in June: see中国汉语水平考试改进1

中国汉语水平考试改进版.doc

HSK主观考试评分技术的突破和飞跃.doc

网上报名通知_f.doc

中国汉语水平考试改进1.doc

[Jingjing-N]

And thank you heifeng for your helpful suggestion:D