CET-4

Overview

CET-4 (全国大学英语四级考试, the College English Test Band 4) is a national English-proficiency test for students at Chinese higher-education institutions. It is organised by the Ministry of Education's National Education Examinations Authority (NEEA), through the National College English Testing Committee, and is one of the most widely taken standardised exams in China, with undergraduate cohorts sitting it by the million each cycle. CET-4 measures listening, reading, writing and translation ability in English after a student has completed the required college-English coursework for that level. A separate, more advanced version, CET-6 (Band 6), is documented as its own programme in this registry and is the usual next step after CET-4.

Who can apply

CET-4 is not open to the public. Only students enrolled at a Chinese higher-education institution may sit it: full-time undergraduates, full-time college-level (专科) students, postgraduate students, and students at full-time adult higher-education institutions, once they have completed the college-English coursework required for Band 4. Since January 2007, CET-4 and CET-6 have no longer been open to candidates outside these institutions. Students register and sit the exam through their own university rather than with NEEA directly, and a candidate may register for only one of CET-4 or CET-6 in a given sitting, not both.

Exam pattern

The written paper has four sections, scored out of 710 across 125 minutes:

A separate, optional spoken test, CET-SET4 (全国大学英语四级口语考试), assesses speaking ability. It is open only to candidates who have registered (and paid) for the CET-4 written paper in the same cycle, and is held on its own dates, shortly before the written sitting.

Marking and results

CET-4 produces a single score out of 710, combining the four written sections; there is no pass or fail grade. Since a 2005 reform, NEEA has issued a score report (成绩报告单) to every test-taker rather than a pass/fail certificate, showing the total score and a sub-score for each section. The Ministry of Education sets no official cut-off score. In practice, many universities, employers and NEEA's own progression rule treat 425 out of 710 as the working benchmark: a student needs a CET-4 score of 425 or higher to register for CET-6. For the 2026 first-half sitting, results were due by the end of August 2026.

Important dates

CET-4 is held twice a year, in June and December. For 2026, the written paper was held on 13 June (first half) and 12 December (second half), both from 9:00 to 11:20. CET-SET4, where offered, is held on separate dates shortly before each written sitting.

Fees

The written-paper fee is not set nationally. Each province's pricing regulator sets its own amount, so the fee a student pays depends on where their university is located; for recent cycles this has generally fallen in a modest range of roughly 15 to 50 yuan per sitting. CET-SET4, the optional spoken test, has a nationally uniform fee, which is non-refundable once paid.

How to apply

Students cannot register with NEEA directly. Each university opens its own registration window ahead of the June and December sittings, checks that students have met the coursework and eligibility requirements, collects the fee, and submits the roll to NEEA on the students' behalf. A student picks either CET-4 or CET-6 for a given sitting, not both, and sits the exam at a venue arranged by their own institution.

Preparation tips

• Practise under full exam timing: 30 minutes of writing, 25 of listening, 40 of reading and 30 of translation, back to back, since pacing across sections is as much a factor as raw ability.

• Work through official past papers and the officially published syllabus for Band 4, since the question types (vocabulary-in-context, passage matching, close reading) are stable from cycle to cycle.

• Treat the Chinese-to-English paragraph translation as a distinct skill to train separately, since it is often the weakest-scoring section for otherwise strong candidates.