Placement Exam FAQs

Most students will need to take one of the World Language Placement Exams. To find out exactly how your situation applies, please see the World Languages Placement Exams page

The exam is available online for incoming students (first year and transfers) from May 12th until August 24, 2021.

You need to create your LC email account at Accounts Management.

There are 25 (twenty-five) multiple choice items, 13 (thirteen) sentence scrambles and one close reading. You have 100 (one hundred) minutes to complete the exam.

Yes. It is highly recommended to take the exam as early as possible. Knowing your current level will help you plan your registrations. Your placement will expire after one year unless you place out of the foreign language requirement. However, if you take the exam during the summer or NSO, your placement will still be valid this spring when registering for a fall Chinese course.

No. Due to the insecure nature of the exam, all students who place into 202 or higher are required to confirm their placement by speaking with a Chinese professor or taking a proctored exam on campus. Once you have confirmed your placement, you may register for an upper level course. Rest assured that there will be enough space in the upper level courses, as all incoming students will have to wait until NSO to register for these courses too.

No. The exam can only be taken once per academic year. Instead, contact professor Keith Dede at dede@lclark.edu to schedule an oral interview. This will more accurately determine your appropriate level.

No. The Chinese Placement Exam is not intended to be a challenge test. You may not take the exam if you are enrolled in or have already taken a Chinese course at Lewis & Clark College. If you are in a course and feel that it is not the appropriate level for you, discuss this with your professor.

Maybe. Meet with professor Keith Dede (dede@lclark.edu) to determine how much experience you have gained and whether your current proficiency puts you at another level. You may be asked to retake the placement exam.