1.2 Exam Architecture: Four Pruebas & Two-Group Scoring System

1.2 Exam Architecture: Four Pruebas & Two-Group Scoring System

The current DELE A1 model has been used since the April 2020 sitting. It has four tests (pruebas), 13 tasks (tareas) and a pass/fail result based on two scoring groups. Knowing exactly what each task looks like lets you practise the right skills and pace yourself.

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The Four Pruebas at a Glance

Pruebas 1, 2 and 3 are held on the official exam date in the centre's timetable, from 9:00 local time. Prueba 4 may be held that day or on another day immediately before or after, according to the centre's convocation. The reading and listening questions are printed in one booklet, and you mark your answers on a separate answer sheet (Hoja de respuestas).

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Detailed Task Architecture

Prueba 1: Comprensión de lectura (45 minutes, 25 items)

The total reading input is between 595 and 925 words. Each correct answer earns 1 point, and wrong answers lose nothing.

Prueba 2: Comprensión auditiva (25 minutes, 25 items)

The total listening input is 505–735 words.

Prueba 3: Expresión e interacción escritas (25 minutes, 2 tasks)

• Tarea 1: complete a form, on paper or in an electronic layout, with short answers about yourself or about immediate needs (15–25 words).
• Tarea 2: write a short epistolary text, such as a postcard, email, message or short letter (30–40 words). The input may be a postcard, email, message, short letter, ad or note, and the instructions list the points (pautas) to include.

Together the two answers total 45–65 words. Two independent raters each give a holistic score from 0 to 3 for each task; the two tasks count 50% each and the raters' scores are averaged.

Prueba 4: Expresión e interacción orales (10 minutes + 10 minutes of preparation)

• Preparation: in the Modelo 0 instructions, you get 10 minutes before the test to prepare Tareas 1 and 2. You may take notes into the room and look at them, but you may not simply read them out.
• Contact questions: the interviewer opens with a few unscored questions to put you at ease.
• Tarea 1, Presentación personal (1–2 min): a short monologue covering the points on a single lámina. In the Modelo these are name, age, nationality, where you live, job or studies, character and languages.
• Tarea 2, Exposición de un tema (2–3 min): choose one of two láminas, then three of its five options about your immediate personal world (Modelo topic: Mi semana).
• Tarea 3, Conversación con el entrevistador (3–4 min): answer the interviewer's questions about your Tarea 2 topic, then ask the interviewer two questions about it.

Two examiners are present. The interviewer (entrevistador) leads the test and gives two global marks, for Uso de la lengua and Cumplimiento de la tarea, worth 40% of the oral score. The rater (calificador) does not take part in the conversation and marks each task for the same two categories, worth 60%.

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The Two-Group Scoring System & the 30/50 Rule

The maximum score is 100 points, 25 per prueba, but the result is not a simple percentage. The pruebas are grouped:

+----------------------------------+----------------------------------+
| GRUPO 1 (50 points)              | GRUPO 2 (50 points)              |
|  Prueba 1: Reading      25       |  Prueba 2: Listening     25      |
|  Prueba 3: Writing      25       |  Prueba 4: Speaking      25      |
|  Minimum to pass: 30.00          |  Minimum to pass: 30.00          |
+----------------------------------+----------------------------------+

The only possible results are APTO (pass) and NO APTO (fail). You are APTO only if you reach 30.00 points in Grupo 1 and 30.00 points in Grupo 2. The official FAQ confirms that 60 or more points in total is not enough if one group is below 30, and you must take every prueba to be graded.

How Points Are Calculated

• Reading and listening: one point per correct item, so the score is a whole number from 0 to 25.
• Writing and speaking: examiners give ratings from 0 to 3. After the weighting of scales and tasks, the result is a direct score out of 3, which is converted with this formula:

$$\text{puntuación final} = \frac{\text{puntuación directa} \times 25}{3}$$

A direct score of 2, the band that describes A1, gives $\frac{2 \times 25}{3} = 16.67$ points. In writing, four ratings are averaged (two raters × two tasks), so converted scores move in steps of about 2.08 points (14.58, 16.67, 18.75 and so on).

Candidate Comparisons (Illustrative)

Key Insights

1. Asymmetric failure (Candidate B): 74.50 points overall, but Grupo 2 reaches only 27.58, so the result is NO APTO. Surplus points in Grupo 1 cannot be moved to Grupo 2.
2. Compensation inside a group (Candidate C): a weak writing score (10.42) is offset by strong reading (21), so Grupo 1 still reaches 31.42.
3. Band 2 is not automatically a pass: Candidate A's speaking at the A1 band (16.67) still needs at least 14 listening items, because 16.67 + 13 = 29.67 would fail Grupo 2.

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Results, Reviews and Retakes

• Results: published in about two months, or about three months for the May and November sittings. The Instituto Cervantes emails you, and your certificate of results (electronically signed, with a secure verification code) appears in your private area of the exam portal. APTO candidates also receive a digital diploma.
• Review (revisión de calificaciones): within one month you may submit a single review request. It costs 60% of the exam price and is refunded if the result changes from NO APTO to APTO. The review re-checks administration, re-verifies the reading and listening answers, and arranges a third independent rating of writing and speaking (speaking from the recording). A review can also lower a score.
• Retakes: there is no second chance within a sitting and no carrying over of passed pruebas. To try again you register and pay again, then take all four pruebas.