Last Updated: December 03, 2024

Score Interpretation of the Duolingo English Test

The Duolingo English Test is a language proficiency test that helps students certify their English level while applying for higher studies and high-paying jobs. The test focuses on the four different components of a language which are Reading, Writing, Listening, and Speaking. It takes on an adaptive testing method that links all four sections among each other and does not split them apart like TOEFL and IELTS which are the most popularly accepted tests in the stream.

The merits of taking DET over TOEFL and IELTS are that it costs less than 1/3rd of the popular tests with an overall amount of $59 including the sending of score reports to all the universities and colleges the student aspires to reach out to thereby increasing their chances for the same. The test also takes only an hour in all while the other tests take over 3 hours in total and are conducted completely online making them easily accessible to students from all over the world.

Scores Included in the Score Report

The score report of the Duolingo English Test contains an overall score and a subscore which are dependent on a lot of factors including topics like literacy, comprehension, conversation, etc. that help colleges and companies take every factor into consideration before admitting the candidate and also enabling them to have a better understanding of where the candidate stands in their language efficiency from only the test report.

The overall score of the test ranges from 10-160 where each question has 5-point increments and the lowest available score is a 10 while the highest score attainable is a 160. The lowest score implies that the candidate is not proficient in the language and can only understand straightforwardly spoken English whereas the highest score implies that they excel in the language all the while effectively communicating in social, academic, and professional situations.

The subscores take on a complicated method when compared to other proficiency tests. While it is common to calculate the subscores in the different sections that are offered like Reading, Writing, Listening, and Speaking, DET offers subscores in components like Literacy, Comprehension, Conversation, and Production which are points where the former factors coincide. In this case, the subscores are more reliable.

Score Calculation and Description

The two different scores that are mentioned on the score report tend to take a slight deviation from the score reports of the other proficiency tests available. The structures of the scores depend upon an overlapping pattern of the questions provided making the scores more reliable than the other tests since language can not always be separated based on the components of Reading, Writing, Speaking, and Listening.

The overall scores of the test and the score descriptions are as follows-

Score	Description
10-55	Candidate can identify basic words and phrases. Candidate can process and articulate straightforward information
60-85	Candidate can grasp the main points relating to school/work content Candidate can communicate personal details with hesitation
90-115	Candidate can communicate on unfamiliar topics Candidate can interact and understand both concrete and abstract concepts
120-160	Candidate is fluent in writing and spoken language Candidate can understand figurative, pragmatic, and idiomatic speech

The subscores, on the other hand, tend to be focused on the overlapping of the four components most proficiency tests are based on. Colleges and companies can often use the subscores to choose candidates according to the language skill that is most required in the course/ job the candidate has applied for. For instance, candidates with a higher score for Conversation will excel in courses/jobs that emphasize group activities and presentation-making skills more than the others. The overlapping of the factors according to which the subscores have been designed are as follows -

Literacy- Overlapping of Reading and Writing
Conversation- Overlapping of Speaking and Listening
Comprehension- Overlapping of Listening and Reading
Production- Overlapping of Writing and Speaking

Receiving Scores

Students will be able to receive their scores for their Duolingo English Test within 48 hours of giving the test. The Duolingo team will send an email to the candidate’s email ID that was registered for signing up to the app which will state the release of the results according to which they can find the same. Students will also have the option of availing all their test results by logging into the Duolingo English Test website.

Sending Scores

Students can send their results by logging in to englishtest.duolingo.com using the email ID and password they had while taking the test. If the results have been made available, they will be able to see a “Send Results” icon on the home page where they can type the name of the institution and send the selected choices. They will have to use the application ID of colleges if the college/ university has one before sending the score report.

Students will be able to select as many as 20 institutions in all. They can select a smaller number of institutions if that is all they require and can always return to the page to add more institutions as they deem fit. It is possible to send the score reports to more than 20 institutions but for this, students will have to contact the Duolingo Support Team who will need to confirm whether the student is officially applying to all these colleges.

Comparing DET Score with TOEFL and IELTS

Due to the existing popularity of TOEFL and IELTS when it comes to proving language proficiency, it is expected by some universities that the candidate converts their Duolingo English Test results into the existing standards of either TOEFL or IELTS. Candidates might also want to know where they stand with respect to the other tests. The following score comparison tables will be able to provide the candidates with an idea of the TOEFL score and IELTS score along with the score they received in DET.

The score comparison for DET and TOEFL are as follows-

DET Score	TOEFL iBT Score
10-25	0
30	1
35	2-4
40	5-8
45	9-13
50	14-19
55	20-25
60	26-31
65	32-37
70	38-43
75	44-49
80	50-55
85	56-61
90	62-67
95	68-73
100	74-79
105	80-85
110	86-91
115	92-96
120	97-102
125	103-107
130	108-112
135	113-115
140	116-118
145	119
150-160	120

The score comparison for DET and IELTS Academic are as follows-

DET Score	IELTS Academic Score
10	1.5
15	2
20-25	2.5
30-40	3
45-50	3.5
55-60	4
65-70	4.5
75-80	5
85-90	5.5
95-100	6
105-110	6.5
115-120	7
125-130	7.5
135-140	8
145-150	8.5
155-160	9