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Why You Can Fail the JLPT With a High Total Score
To pass the JLPT you need the overall pass mark and the minimum score in every section. Here are the official numbers and what they mean for your study plan.
In this article (6)
Some people finish the JLPT with a total well above the pass mark and still get a fail. This is not a mistake. It is how the test is scored.
The two conditions
According to the official JLPT site, pass or fail is decided by two things at once: your total score must reach the overall pass mark, and your score in every scoring section must reach the sectional pass mark.
If any one section is below its minimum, you fail, even if your total is high.
The official numbers
N1, N2 and N3 each have three scoring sections: Language Knowledge (Vocabulary and Grammar), Reading and Listening. Each section is scored from 0 to 60, for a total of 180.
| Level | Overall pass mark | Each section (out of 60) |
|---|---|---|
| N1 | 100 | at least 19 |
| N2 | 90 | at least 19 |
| N3 | 95 | at least 19 |
N4 and N5 have two scoring sections: Language Knowledge and Reading together (0 to 120), and Listening (0 to 60).
| Level | Overall pass mark | Vocabulary, Grammar and Reading (out of 120) | Listening (out of 60) |
|---|---|---|---|
| N4 | 90 | at least 38 | at least 19 |
| N5 | 80 | at least 38 | at least 19 |
An example
Here is an example with made-up numbers for an N3 test:
- Vocabulary and Grammar: 58
- Reading: 50
- Listening: 17
The total is 125, well above the pass mark of 95. But 17 is below the 19 needed in Listening, so the result is a fail.
The reverse is also true. A balanced result can pass with a lower total, as long as every section clears its minimum and the total reaches the pass mark.
Why the scores look odd
JLPT scores are scaled scores, not the number of correct answers. The scaling uses item response theory, which is meant to make results comparable between test years and difficulty levels. For you this means you cannot work out your score by counting right answers. You can only judge your strengths and weaknesses by section.
What this means for your study plan
- Do not hide from your weakest section. The weakest section decides whether you pass.
- Know your weak points early. Many learners have a clear strength, such as reading, and a section they avoid, such as listening.
- Balance beats brilliance. Time spent bringing a 15 up to a safe 25 is worth more than time spent moving a 55 to a 60.
How to find your weakest section
Practice tests give you a total. What you need is a breakdown by section and by skill: grammar types, reading types, listening types. That is exactly what our $1 test reports. If you want to plan the next months, see how long it takes to pass each level.