Exam Formats and Scoring Guide

The single biggest time-waster when preparing for a German exam is not knowing how it is scored. How many questions each section has, how many correct answers you actually need, which rules can wipe your writing score to zero — preparing without knowing these is working blind.

This guide is based on the official Goethe-Institut Modellsatz / Übungssatz papers and the Durchführungsbestimmungen (exam regulations). No guesswork, no second-hand claims — every table comes from an official source.

Quick Comparison: A1 – A2 – B1

Three rows in this table shape your entire preparation strategy:

1. A1 runs in a different order. At A1 the exam starts with listening; at A2 and B1 it starts with reading. Candidates who don't know this get an unwelcome surprise on exam morning.

2. Only B1 is modular. At B1 you can take all four skills separately, on different dates. If you pass three and fail one, you only retake that one. There is no such thing at A1 or A2 — you pass or fail the whole exam.

3. Only B1 gives you preparation time. The B1 speaking exam includes 15 minutes for making notes. At A1 and A2 there is none; you take the card and start speaking.

LEVEL A1

Goethe-Zertifikat A1 — Start Deutsch 1

A1 certifies that you can handle the most basic everyday communication. The written sections run for 65 minutes with no break.

A1 Hören (Listening) — 15 items, ~20 minutes

A1 Lesen (Reading) — 15 items, 25 minutes

A1 Schreiben (Writing) — 15 points, 20 minutes

There are two tasks and they are completely different from each other:

Teil 1 — Formular ausfüllen / form filling (5 points)
You read a context text and fill in 5 missing fields on a form. Answers are single words or numbers (e.g. 4, Seeheim, bar, Sonntag). Each field is worth 1 point or 0 — no half points.

Teil 2 — Short message (10 points)
Around 30 words, with 3 content points (Leitpunkte) plus a salutation (Anrede) and a closing (Gruß).

So 90% of the score comes from the content points. Skip one of the three and you lose 3 points. A beautiful but incomplete text scores lower than a simple but complete one.

A1 Sprechen (Speaking) — 15 points, ~15 minutes

This is a group exam — up to 4 candidates. There is no preparation time.

A1 Score Calculation

Each section's raw score is multiplied by 1.66 and the results are added:

Pass rule: ≥60 points overall, and you must have sat every section. There is no per-section minimum — a weak section can be compensated by the others.

LEVEL A2

Goethe-Zertifikat A2

The A2 format is identical to Fit in Deutsch A2 (the version for younger candidates). Written sections run 90 minutes with no break.

A2 Lesen (Reading) — 20 items, 30 minutes

A2 Hören (Listening) — 20 items, ~30 minutes

A2 Schreiben (Writing) — 20 raw points → 25

Each task is judged on two criteria:

2 tasks × 2 criteria × 5 points = 20 raw points → ×1.25 → 25 scaled points

A2 Sprechen (Speaking) — 25 points

Total: 25 points

A2 Score Calculation and Pass Rule

LEVEL B1

Goethe-Zertifikat B1

B1 was developed jointly by the Goethe-Institut, ÖSD in Austria and the University of Fribourg in Switzerland — a trinational exam. That is why Goethe B1 and the ÖSD Zertifikat B1 share the same format.

B1 is modular — what does that mean?

You can take the four skills separately, on different dates. Each module stands alone:

• Each module is scored out of 100 points on its own
• You need ≥60 in each module separately
• Fail a module and you retake only that one
• There is no limit on retakes
• If you sit several modules on the same day, there is a break of at least 15 minutes between them

There is no such thing as an "overall pass mark" at B1. To pass all four modules you need 60 in each of them separately.

B1 Lesen (Reading) — 30 items, 65 minutes

B1 Hören (Listening) — 30 items, ~40 minutes

Teil 4 is a different kind of matching: the options are the same for every item (moderator / expert / parent) and can be reused. The "each option only once" rule from Lesen Teil 3 does not apply here.

Teil 2 and Teil 3 are played only once — and they carry the longest texts. Teil 3 draws 7 items from a single dialogue.

You get 60 seconds to read the questions before each section, plus 5 extra minutes at the end to transfer your answers to the answer sheet.

B1 Lesen and Hören Conversion Table (Umrechnungstabelle)

The 30 raw points are converted to the 100-point scale by an official table, not by simple multiplication:

B1 Schreiben (Writing) — 100 points, 60 minutes

Each task is judged on four criteria:

Each criterion has five grades: A / B / C / D / E

Write 35 words of flawless German for Aufgabe 1 and you still lose all 40 points. This is the harshest rule in B1 Schreiben and it dictates your time management: an imperfect but finished text always beats a perfect unfinished one.

What makes Aufgabe 2 different: unlike the other two, you get no content points. You read a forum comment and write your own opinion in about 80 words. The structure is up to you — but Kohärenz is still worth 10 points, so think through your opening, argument and closing before deciding you've "stated an opinion, job done".

B1 Sprechen (Speaking) — 100 points, ~15 minutes with a partner

Preparation time: 15 minutes. You prepare alone and may take notes. In the exam you are expected to speak freely, not read from your notes.

Scoring:

In Teil 2, Erfüllung depends directly on how many slides you covered:

Which means going deep on one slide and skipping the rest scores lower than covering all of them briefly but completely. Touch on all five.

On pronunciation: at B1, Aussprache is not judged per section but as one single score for the whole exam, worth 16 of the 100 points. Sub-dimensions: sentence melody, word stress, individual sounds.

Three Rules That Apply at Every Level

1. Every section has an unscored example

Every single Teil at A1, A2 and B1 contains an unnumbered Beispiel (0). It comes already solved, carries no points, but does count against your time. Its purpose is to demonstrate the logic of the section — don't skip it, especially in the matching sections where the example is what tells you the rule.

2. In matching sections, one option is "none of these"

Marked "X" in A2 Lesen Teil 4 and "0" in B1 Lesen Teil 3. This is a deliberate trap: it breaks the strategy of assigning whatever option is left to whatever item is left.

3. Dictionaries and phones are forbidden

In every section. The Kandidatenblätter state it plainly: "Hilfsmittel wie z. B. Wörterbücher oder Mobiltelefone sind nicht erlaubt."

Frequently Asked Questions

How Should You Prepare? — What the Scoring Tells You

Once you've read the tables above, the preparation strategy writes itself:

1. Aim at the right target. At B1 the goal is not 30/30 but securing 18/30. Collect safe points from whichever sections you are strongest in.

2. In writing, finish first and polish second. The word-count threshold outranks quality. Build your time management around "complete every task".

3. Count your content points (Leitpunkte) as you write. At A1 and A2 most of the score comes from them. When you finish, go back and check: did I address all three?

4. In the B1 presentation, touch on all five slides. The Erfüllung grade is tied directly to how many you covered. Coverage scores, not depth.

5. Train specifically for the single-play sections. At A2 and B1, Teil 2 and Teil 3 are both the longest and the ones played only once. Note-taking technique is critical there.

6. If you're preparing for A2, don't neglect speaking. Because of the double threshold, scoring below 15 in the oral section invalidates everything else.