The Successful Candidate
To pass the exam at any level, you need to score 60% of the total marks from all the tests taken, with a minimum of 40% in each individual test. That’s all you want to succeed. The most successful candidates may pass with Distinction, if they score 75% of the total marks, with a minimum of 60% in each test.
The Weight of a Test Score
- Most candidates choose the full exam with four tests, Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking, and the score for each of the four components is worth the same, no skill or test enjoys any special weight.
- The same is true for those candidates’ results, who decide - or manage - to take the Written exam (Reading+Writing) or the Spoken one (Listening+Speaking).
Objective Tasks
The majority of Reading and Listening tasks at all levels is based on correct vs. not correct answer system, where little debate can take place about the place of an X in a box. Very few tasks require you to write one or more words, and in such tasks it is the piece of information you must provide, and the language is less important. If the examiner finds the information needed, you will get the full point.
Marking Writing and Speaking Objectively
For both students and their teachers, one of the greatest challenges is determining when a piece of writing meets the standard for a successful exam. The assessment scales widely used in language exams offer limited practical guidance without years of examiner experience, making it difficult to apply them consistently in practice.
Checklist-based assessment has been in use for several years in Euroexam tests, ensuring a more objective, concrete, and predictable evaluation process. In the Writing section of the Euroexam, students’ performance is assessed based on five main criteria. These criteria apply to both writing tasks, regardless of the genre.
The five main criteria for assessing writing are:
- Clear and unambiguous communication
- Varied, complex vocabulary and grammar usage
- Accurate and correct use of grammar and vocabulary
- Appropriate style and genre usage
- Correct structure and organization of the text
The Writing Checklist, available to both teachers and students, provides four statements for each of these criteria.
Euroexam Writing and Speaking Test Marking Schemes A1
Writing Level A1
The two tasks in the Writing test are marked differently: in Task One marks are given for each piece of information filled in correctly whereas in Task Two the marking scheme covers criteria such as Task Achievement, Grammatical Range and Accuracy and Lexical Range and Accuracy.
▶ Writing Marking Scheme Euroexam Level A1
Speaking Level A1
At these levels the marking criteria are grouped together in two main sections: Range and Accuracy is one area and Fluency and Coherence with Pronounciation is another. Ten marks are given in total.