SIELE candidates may sit the full exam or any of its constituent tests. The full exam has a pre-established test sequence: reading comprehension, oral comprehension, written expression and interaction, oral expression and interaction.
The four aforementioned tests are designed to assess the four primary communication skills. The duration is 3 hours with a 15-minute break and each test has a maximum score of 250 points, for a total of 1000.
| Reading comprehension (RC) | Oral comprehension (OC) | Written expression and interaction (WEI) | Oral expression and interaction (OEI) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| N.º of exercises and items | 5 exercises, 38 items | 6 exercises, 38 items | 2 exercises | 5 exercises |
| Type of questions | Written multiple-choice, answered in writing | Oral multiple-choice, answered in writing | Open written questions answered in writing | Written and oral open questions, answered orally and audio-recorded |
| Duration | 60 minutes | 55 minutes | 50 minutes | 15 minutes |
| Marking | Automatic | Automatic | Manual by SIELE expert linguists | Manual by SIELE expert linguists |
| Maximum score | 250 points | 250 points | 250 points | 250 points |
| Results | Related to CEFR levels | Related to CEFR levels | Related to CEFR levels | Related to CEFR levels |
In addition to the full SIELE, four other exams are available that combine the various specific tests.
| S1: RC+ OC | S2: RC+ WEI | S3: OC+ OEI | S4: OEI | S5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type of report | International validation of level of understanding of Spanish | International validation of level of understanding of Spanish | International validation of level of understanding of Spanish | International validation of level of understanding of Spanish | International validation of level of understanding of Spanish |
| SIELE tests | Reading + oral comprehension | Reading comprehension + written expression and interaction | Oral comprehension + oral expression and interaction | Oral expression and interaction | Written and oral expression and interaction |
| Duration | 115 minutes (60+55 minutes ) | 110 minutes (60+50 minutes ) | 70 minutes (55+15 minutes ) | 15 minutes | 65 minutes (50+15 minutes ) |
| Score | 500 points (250 + 250) | 500 points (250 + 250) | 500 points (250 + 250) | 250 points | 500 points (250 + 250) |
| Marking | Automatic | Automatic + SIELE examiner | Automatic + SIELE examiner | SIELE examiner | SIELE examiner |
| Results | Related to CEFR levels | Related to CEFR levels | Related to CEFR levels | Related to CEFR levels | Related to CEFR levels |