wah, now i know why my friends say their JLPT 1 cert so tough 2 get, the failure rate.... woo!!!!
The failure rate for level one and two is expected.
The reason for the big gap between level three and level two is the sudden jump in standard. A lot of people who passed level three thought that they can pass level two easily as well but that is not the case. That is why when looking for Japanese speaking job, the bare minimum is level two. The reason why The Japan Foundation has decided to change the format of JLPT exam from 2010 is to address the gap between level two and level three. The levels will be called N1, N2, N3, N4 and N5. N3 is the test with difficulty between the current level two and level three.
The revised level one will even be more difficult. Moreover, The Japan Foundation has decided not to publish the exam questions in the following year after the exams from 2010 which mean there will be no more 'ten years series' for us to do. I took JLPT 1 three times and last year was my third time. I passed on my previous two attempts and would most probably pass this time as well. Every time before the exam, I always make sure I finish the ten years series for grammar, reading, vocab, kanji and listening from cover to cover at least two times. Really very O level and A level feeling. However, things won't be the same again from 2010.
