What is the YAEL test?
The YAEL is the Hebrew proficiency test set by the National Institute for Testing and Evaluation (NITE), the body that also runs Israel’s Psychometric Entrance Test. It is taken by people applying to Israeli institutions of higher education who sat the Psychometric Entrance Test in a language other than Hebrew, or who completed their high school matriculation in a language other than Hebrew. Most Israeli institutions require a YAEL score as part of the entrance procedure.
It is written יע”ל in Hebrew, and NITE describes it simply as a test of knowledge of Hebrew. It is an admissions and placement test, not an employment certificate, and NITE publishes no pass mark for it. Institutions use the score in two ways. Some set a minimum for entry, and most use it to decide whether you will need Hebrew language courses alongside your studies, and how many. Each institution sets its own policy, so the score you need depends on where you are applying, and it is worth confirming the requirement with the institution directly rather than working from a general figure.
YAEL and YAELNET
YAELNET is the computerized version of the test. NITE states that it is identical in content to the paper YAEL, so preparing for one is preparing for the other. YAELNET runs year round at NITE test centers in Haifa, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Be’er Sheva, and some institutions of higher education offer it on campus. Scores are available within ten days, and you download the score sheet by logging in to the NITE website rather than receiving it by email. If you want to sit the test again, whether the same version or the other one, you have to wait at least 35 days.
What is on the YAEL test?
The test runs for roughly 90 minutes and has four sections: three multiple choice sections and one writing task.
Each multiple choice section contains 22 questions and gives you 20 minutes, which works out at just under a minute per question. Three question types appear:
- Sentence completions. A sentence has words missing and you choose the option that completes it correctly. These test vocabulary and grammatical agreement at speed.
- Restatements. You are given a sentence and asked which of four options is closest to it in meaning. The options usually differ by a shift in structure or emphasis rather than by vocabulary, so close reading matters more here than a wide word list.
- Reading comprehension. A text is followed by questions on what it says and what it implies.
Within each section, questions are arranged in ascending order of difficulty, with one exception: reading comprehension questions follow the order in which their subject matter appears in the text. That ordering is worth knowing. The marks at the start of a section are the cheapest ones on the paper, so working steadily through them, rather than stalling on a hard item early, is the simplest way to protect your score.
The fourth section gives you 15 minutes to write an essay on a set topic. Fifteen minutes is short, so the minute you spend deciding on a structure before you start writing is usually a minute well spent.
How is the YAEL scored?
YAEL scores are reported on a scale from 50 to 150.
Only two of the three multiple choice sections count toward your score. The third is used by NITE for quality control, and you are not told which one it is, so every section has to be treated as though it counts. Raw marks on the counted sections, one point per correct answer, are converted to the 50 to 150 scale.
The essay is read independently by two raters, who score it on four criteria: content, structure, richness of language and correctness of language. Their two scores are averaged and converted to the same 50 to 150 scale.
The final score is a weighted average, with the multiple choice sections carrying two thirds of the weight and the essay one third. NITE’s conversion is designed so that sitting the test alongside an unusually strong or unusually weak group does not change the score you receive.
There is no pass or fail on the YAEL. For many applicants the score is a placement decision as much as an admissions one, which is why a few extra points can be worth more than they look: they can be the difference between starting your degree with a Hebrew course attached and starting it without one.
How to prepare for the YAEL test
Preparation for the YAEL is Hebrew practice with a stopwatch on it. Reading Hebrew comfortably is not the same as reading it at just under a minute a question, and most of the marks candidates lose go to the clock rather than to vocabulary.
- Read Hebrew prose daily, timed. News features and popular academic writing sit close to the register of the reading passages. Set a timer and note where your pace drops.
- Drill the two short question types separately. Sentence completions and restatements reward pattern recognition, and they improve faster than general reading does.
- Write to the clock. Produce a structured 15 minute essay in Hebrew, then mark it against the four criteria the raters use rather than only checking the grammar.
- Build the underlying reading skill. The comprehension and inference demands of the YAEL are the same ones tested in English on our verbal reasoning tests and basic comprehension tests. Timed practice there transfers directly to reading accurately under pressure.
If you are applying to study abroad more widely, our guide to admissions tests covers the entrance exams that sit alongside language requirements, and you can warm up on our free aptitude tests.
