CET-4 College English Test Band 4
National College English Test Band 4. Administered by NEEA for undergraduate and postgraduate students.
Overview
The College English Test (CET) is a national proficiency exam for Chinese undergraduate and postgraduate students. CET-4 targets learners who have completed the foundational college English curriculum, typically around second year. NEEA administers the test under the Ministry of Education; the National College English Testing Committee designs and oversees content. The written examination is typically held twice annually (June and December). A separate spoken test (CET-SET) may be taken independently.
Structure
The written CET-4 exam is structured across four components with published percentage weightings contributing to the total score. The test lasts 125 minutes and is standardised nationally.
Listening
35% of total. Conversations, short passages, lectures. Multiple-choice and other formats.
Reading
35% of total. Skimming and scanning, comprehension, vocabulary. Multiple-choice and other task types.
Writing & translation
20% of total. Essay or task-based writing; translation from Chinese to English.
Cloze / language use
10% of total. Banked cloze or error correction. Tests grammar, vocabulary, and discourse.
Scoring & results
Scores are reported on a 710-point scale. While no official pass mark is formally published, many institutions use 425 as a benchmark for progression. Score cards report four subscores (listening, reading, writing and translation, cloze/language use) plus the total. Raw scores are converted using a standardisation procedure. Scores are typically reported within several weeks of the test date.
Common candidate weakness patterns
Typical patterns observed in CET-4:
- Listening: weak note-taking; failure to follow longer passages; distractors in multiple-choice
- Reading: vocabulary gaps; slow skimming and scanning; misreading question stems
- Cloze: weak collocation; ignoring discourse cues; choosing by local context only
- Writing: weak organisation; insufficient development; template overuse; grammatical errors
- Translation: inaccurate vocabulary; unnatural word order; literal translation
- Time pressure: spending too long on reading or cloze and rushing writing
Reform notes
The 2005 reform introduced the 710-point scale and standardised scoring. The written examination is typically held twice annually (June and December). A separate spoken test (CET-SET) may be taken independently. The written test structure has remained largely stable. Check NEEA for current format and registration.
CET is administered by NEEA under the Ministry of Education. EduZMS is not affiliated with examination bodies. This content is for informational purposes only.