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Foreign Language Knowledge Level Determination Exam

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Foreign Language Knowledge Level Determination Exam
AcronymYDS
TypeStandardised test (either computer-delivered or paper-based).
AdministratorMeasuring, Selection and Placement Center
Skills testedReading of and translation from and into non-native languages
PurposeTo assess the foreign language proficiency of Turkish speakers.
Year started2013; 11 years ago (2013)
Duration3 hours.
Score range0 to 100, in 1.25 band increments.
Score validity5 Years
Restrictions on attemptsnone
RegionsTurkey
LanguagesArabic
Bulgarian
English
French
German
Greek
Italian
Persian
Spanish
Russian
PrerequisitesNo official prerequisite. Intended for Turkish speakers.
Fee290 TRY, 145 TRY for paper-based instances
Used byUniversities, institutions and government agencies in Turkey
Websitewww.osym.gov.tr

The Foreign Language Knowledge Level Determination Exam or YDS (Turkish: Yabancı Dil Bilgisi Seviye Tespit Sınavı) is a foreign language proficiency test administered by ÖSYM in Turkey in order to evaluate the foreign-language skills, especially of governmental employees. While anyone can take it, it is mostly taken by civil servants, academics and military personnel. The state pays extra money to public servants and employees of state agencies depending on their score on the test, and also uses this test to appoint employees to the positions located out of the country.

The test is administered every six months and is taken by more than 100,000 people. It can be taken electronically.

It is administered in several languages, but mainly in English. It is carried out in several cities throughout Turkey on the first Sundays of May and November.

The test consists of 80 multiple-choice questions to be finished within 180 minutes. The questions mainly deal with English vocabulary, English language grammatical structures, sentence completion, English to Turkish translation, Turkish to English translation, English paragraph completion, locating the irrelevant sentence in a paragraph, restatement, dialogue completion and reading comprehension passages.

The fact that the test evaluates only the reading comprehension skills while ignoring the listening, speaking and writing skills has been harshly criticised.