HORRIBLE proctors for Shanghai HSK test April 2010

[blandmc]

Hi all!

Sorry, but I need to rant after taking the HSK in Shanghai last weekend (Apr 17). This is the second time I took the HSK Basic test. I took it the first time after only 2 months in China (and got Level 1) and now after another 4 months, I took it again... I will likely get a level 2. Everyone tells me it is to early to take the test, but I look at it as yet another way to gague progress,

Both times I took the test at Shanghai Foreign Language University. The first time in Nov 2009, the exam proctors explained everything before the test, and then quitely walked around the room casually looking at students to make sure there was no cheating, etc. They never spoke during the test.

This time when I took the test, the exam proctors also explained everything prior to the test, but during the test they also did the following things:

- During the listening section, a student came in late. While the rest of the class was trying to listen to the questions, the proctors were loudly talking to that student. It made it very difficult to hear the test questions and concentrate.

During the Grammar Section, they:

- stood directly behind me, leaning completely over my shoulder for 2-3 minutes. They did this to several students. They did it to me 3 times. On the third time, I turned around and stared at them until they walked away.

- commented loudly that I should more completely fill in the little rectangle where you mark your selection [ A ] [ B ] [ C ] [ D ]

- When I didn't immediately do it, they grabbed my pencil to do it for me. I told them to leave me alone and let me concentrate.

- 10 min later, they made an announcement during the test that all students should completely fill in the boxes. Don't draw a line. Don't mark an X. It must be filled in.. They spoke for 2-3 minutes during the test and time was not stopped for this.

During the reading section, they:

- They loudly told me I should write my test number larger. I said I would do it later. When I didn't immediately do as they asked they grabbed my eraser and tried to erase what I had written. Again, I asked them to please leave me alone and let me take the test. I was getting really angry by now.

- Made an announcment to the class that we should all check to make sure our passport number is the same as in our passport, and also on the official test credential we received. We should also check that our names are the same. And these should be the same as what we write on our test paper. If there are any differences, please come up and tell the proctors about it and they will help you. This again was a 2-3 minute explanation during the test, and no time was stopped for this.

How can they pull this crap DURING the test? All of these things should be explained prior to the test or after the test! They shouldn't be harrassing students and preventing them from concentrating on the test. And I didn't do anything incorrectly. There was no reason for them ever to bother me, or ever speak to me. This was truly inexcusable.

If I thought it would make any difference at all, I would complain to the university about them. But I doubt that they would care in the least. My instructor said that this kind of thing is VERY normal in China. Anyone else have such an experience?

[lncln]

Have you ever had a speaking or listening experience in China that was completely quiet and undisturbed?

[joshuawbb]

Sorry to hear about the interruptions, I know the HSK tests are cramped for time so that sounds very annoying if they went on like that for several minutes.

I took the Elementary/Intermediate on Sunday and didn't have any issues myself - one of the invigilator badgered me a bit two or three times to fill in the candidate information numbers (I had forgotten to write the numbers, just shaded in the lines), but it didn't really put me off. I filled them in after the exam.

Just a quick question, where did you have to write your passport number? In my test everyone brought their passport and candidate ID sheet (the one with the photo on) but there was no field on the exam paper to write one's passport number, nor is it written on my candidate ID sheet. Maybe things vary by city or by the exam type.

[blandmc]

lncln -

Point taken, but the last exam I took was not like that. Although there was some loud construction noise outside both times, this can be ignored with the general din that we all know exists in China. Having proctors that constantly harrass the test takers seems beyond what should be acceptable even for China.

joshuawbb -

You are correct, I didn't see anything on the test credentials nor anywhere on the test paper where my passport number was written. So, it is certainly possible that I didn't fully understand what they were going on and on about as I was doing my best to ignore them. Perhaps they were only speaking about the name from passport to credentials to test paper.

[anonymoose]

My advice would be, do complain to the university about this. It may not make a difference to you this time, but it may well make a difference for future tests.

Also, if you do decide to complain, do so in a constructive manner, as though you are suggesting improvements they could make, rather than just making accusations. I think they will take some action.

[doraemon]

Yeah, Chinese teachers can be like that...sometimes they think they're at the top of the world, but I don't think this could be considered 'very' normal in China, although it does happen.

Even the overseas HSK examiners can be a little annoying. When I took the Intermediate exam 3 years ago (in Sydney), this one lady seemed to be walking around the exam room staring at people's answer sheets and pointing randomly at them. She walked past me and I heard her mutter my Chinese name under her breath, but she was still very nice overall.

The one I had for my Advanced exam last year, who was a teacher from the Confucious Institute spoke to us in a somewhat condescending tone, didn't smile at all, got a bit irritated when a Cantonese test taker with a poor accent tried to ask her a question in Mandarin and stared at my answer sheet for nearly two minutes without saying a word (but I suppose she was very bored considering there were only 7 or 8 people doing the test), she was nowhere the b**chlike examiners blandmc wrote about...

I suppose most Chinese teachers have their certain unwelcome mannerisms but they're by no means intolerable. The incident blandmc described here is a bit extreme IMO...

[bunny87]

blandmc, i fully agree with periodic real HSK exams, so long as some prep goes along with it. I'm very sorry to hear about all the interruptions. While i haven't taken the HSK, my midterm and final exams went wonderfully. We had exact 2 hours, but naturally some finish early, and then there's me: the student who takes every single second... and more. when she came to take my paper (being a group of 3 who remained), i begged for a few more minutes and she said she had to go for lunch. Her being the sweetest teacher ever, told me to slide it under the door of her office when i finish and left...and came back and i was still there and then gave me 30 more minutes, lol. i got a 95? 96? something that the teacher was happy to see after all the extra time. she nearly beat me with the papers though when she saw what i did get wrong. "how could you do this fanting?! i remember we spoke about it at *insert date, time, SECONDS ON THE FLIPPING CLOCK* when we went over this!" snacked me once more and i promised it wouldn't happen again. that beating was good enough for me, i did learn (no paper cuts or bruising, don't worry guys )

but i suppose it's that kind of over-bearing attitude that made your proctors ruin your day. i personally liked being treated like I'm one of them (beating worthy and everything), since in the country with the 1.3 billion people and some was never a number like i am here at my US university of 50-55k students.

[natra]

If nothing else, the proctor probably had good intentions.

Seeing a foreigner do anything related to Chinese is like watching a monkey do a trick. Regardless of what you do, people are going to stare.

[Lu]

Yeah, I get that the average Zhou on the street is going to stare if you manage to say Ni hao, but really, a proctor on an HSK exam, which nota bene is especially designed for foreigners with a certain amount of Chinese skills, should really be expected to at least not act baffled by the fact that, gasp, the foreigner taking the Chinese exam actually knows a little Chinese!

[blandmc]

they can be baffled all they want in my opinion. Just please shut your darn pie-holes ***DURING*** the test and don't harrass the students. It doesn't seem too much to ask. And yet... I am not surprised.

[anonymoose]

Besides, after you've seen a monkey do the same trick a hundred times, it surely isn't that interesting any more.

[jadeblomma]

I took the new HSK exam level 3 at the Stockholm University, Sweden, today, and the proctor interrupted me as well during the reading part of the test, where he said I had filled in the information about may age etc incorrectly. Knowing the time is very limited, I said I would change it afterwards. He then continued and wanted me to fill in the already filled in gaps, but more thoroughly.

Before the test started we were handed out an answering sheet which I filled in during the test. The rest of the class seemed to not have done this at the end of the test, but rather the test paper, why they were given more than 10 minutes to do this, when the test had actually finished. In that way letting them go over the anwers again, and possibly changing them, where as I could not open my test paper again.

During the oral they were unsure about how to work the equipment, and I feel some of my speech was not recorded (sentences cut in half). Also for the topics... Now, my Chinese is not really good, but I thought I heard them saying on the recording to let us look at the topics (does that mean we should have been given a paper?) and prepare for a few minutes. Now, this did not happen. We were told by the proctors to speak directly, and when asked for how long, they hesitated and said one and a half minute or so, and we were all cut off in the middle of our speech.

Very interesting experience!

[edelweis]

Oh, so you got to do the Speaking test! It was not offered here. Do you remember some questions?

[blandmc]

Update on my test results from the April Basic level HSK (after 7 months in China)...

Cool, so even with the horrible proctors, I did MUCH better than I thought I did. So I am happy now.

Results from the online web site available today:

Listening: 77 HSK points (= 91%)

Grammar: 70 HSK points (= 85%)

Reading: 74 HSK points (= 88%)

Total 221 points = Level 3 (A) on the Basic test. Cool beans!

Seeing how I did much worse in November (after 2 months in China):

Listening: 25 HSK points (= 11%)

Grammar: 44 HSK points (= 39%)

Reading: 43 HSK points (= 36%)

Total 112 points = Level 1 © on the Basic test.

A big improvement anyway... so I am happy. I was only expecting to get a Level 2 this time. I guess this means next time I tak ethe test I should go for the Elementary-Intermediate test. HSK says a Level 3 on the Basic test is the same as a Level 4 on the Elementary-Intermediate test. Has anyone taken both tests fairly closely together and confirmed that feeling? I'd be curious to hear anyone's feedback.

[jadeblomma]

Oh, so you got to do the Speaking test! It was not offered here. Do you remember some questions?

First we got to repeat what was said on the CD, then answer the questions and finally talk freely about a hobby and present our Chinese teacher for a few minutes.

[edelweis]

thank you for the details jadeblomma