Japanese NAT-TEST / J-TEST Evaluator

1. NAT-TEST Mirrors JLPT Pass Logic

NAT-TEST is published by Senmon Kyoiku Publishing and intentionally replicates the JLPT format. Each NAT-TEST level (1Q–5Q) corresponds to JLPT N1–N5 with the same maximum totals, same section structure, and same sectional minimum scores. A candidate must clear both the overall pass mark AND the per-section minimum (typically 19/60) — failing one section forces overall failure regardless of total.

• 1Q / 2Q: 3 sections × 60 = 180 max. Pass: 100 (1Q) / 90 (2Q), each section ≥ 19.
• 3Q: Vocab+Grammar (60) + Reading (60) + Listening (60). Pass 95, each section ≥ 19.
• 4Q / 5Q: Vocab/Grammar+Reading combined (120) + Listening (60). Pass 90 (4Q) / 80 (5Q), combined ≥ 38, listening ≥ 19.

2. J-TEST Single-Scale Grading

J-TEST (実用日本語検定) uses one 1000-point scale per paper, then maps the score to a letter grade officially correlated with JLPT levels:

• A–C Paper: 930+ Special A · 900+ A (above N1) · 850+ Pre-A · 800+ B (≈ N1) · 700+ C (≈ N2) · 600+ D (≈ N3)
• D–E Paper: 500+ E (≈ N4) · 350+ F (≈ N5)
• F–G Paper: 350+ G (basic survival level)

Japanese immigration and most vocational schools accept either NAT-TEST or J-TEST in lieu of JLPT for student visa renewals and senmon gakkou admission.