Duolingo Test Score: Validity & Score Scale
Updated on 21 February, 2023
Mrinal Mandal
Study Abroad Expert
Due to the pandemic, not all students and aspirants planning to study abroad can go to offline centers and give exams such as IELTS and TOEFL. As an alternative, one can take the Duolingo English Test. The Duolingo test score helps universities assess and compare candidates' English language proficiency for admission purposes. It is convenient for a person to take the Duolingo exam from any part of the world as all you need is a good internet connection and some documents.
Table of Contents
How to Check the Duolingo Test Score?
Once you submit your exam, you will get a notification regarding your Duolingo test score within 48 hours. You will get this notification on your email with which you registered for your test. The email will have a link redirecting you to a page where you can see your Duolingo exam score. Another way to check your Duolingo test score is to log into the Duolingo English Test Website. You can easily view your complete test history and results.
Different Sections on Duolingo Scorecard
There are five sections on the Duolingo test scorecard: Overall, Literacy, Comprehension, Conversation, and Production. All of these sections assess a test taker's ability to read and listen on a scale of 10 to 160.
Duolingo Score Scale
Duolingo has a 160-point scale with each set of scores comparable to exams like IELTS, TOEFL, and CEFR with detailed technical nuances. The Duolingo scare scale can be understood below:
Score | Description |
| 10 – 55 | The test taker can express himself in a familiar context and understand basic and straightforward information provided to them. They can comprehend basic English nuances. |
| 60 – 85 | The test taker can comprehend the main elements of a speech or writing on everyday topics such as school and job. They can, with some hesitation, explain objectives, opinions, plans, and experiences. |
| 90 – 115 | The exam taker is able to speak effectively and absorb information on a variety of topics. They can easily comprehend the main themes of both concrete and abstract writing and converse with competent speakers. |
| 120 – 160 | The test taker can comprehend a wide range of difficult written and spoken language and some specialized language situations. They can comprehend implicit, metaphorical, pragmatic, and idiomatic language and utilize it effectively and flexibly in social, academic, and professional settings. |
What is a Good Duolingo Score?
Universities happily accept students with a score of 7 or more in IELTS, 86 or more in TOEFL, and at least a B2 grade point in CEFR. So, a good Duolingo test score is 110 and above. Anything above 120 is an excellent Duolingo exam score.
Many universities also consider a 6.6 band score in IELTS and 83/120 in TOEFL. As far as the Duolingo English test is concerned, try not to go below the 110-test score.
Duolingo English Test Score Validity
The Duolingo test score is valid for two years once the results have arrived. As discussed earlier, a test taker may get their result within a stipulated time of 48 hours via their email, or they can directly check them on the Duolingo English website.
You can also send your results to the university directly from the Duolingo English Test Website.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Q. What is a good Duolingo score?
A good score in Duolingo is anywhere around 120 or even more. It is usually taken as a good score in the Duolingo English Test (DET) globally at leading universities and educational institutions. Anything around 115-120 is also acceptable at most universities. However, you should aim for nothing less than 120 if possible.
Practice beforehand and you can achieve it with sincere preparation at your end. However, always check whether your selected institution takes Duolingo English Test scores or not.
Q. Is 115 a good Duolingo score?
Duolingo 115 is actually considered a really good score. Why is this so? The DET (Duolingo English Test), if compared with the IELTS, has corresponding scores to the latter’s bands. A score between 115 and 120 indicates IELTS 7.0 in relative comparison.
Hence, it is indicative of good command over English and will get you admission into most universities. A score between 105-100 is equivalent to 6.5 in IELTS.
Q. What is the passing score for Duolingo English Test?
There is no such passing score for the Duolingo English Test. The minimum score is 10 and the others are 15, 20-25, 30-40, 40-50, 55-60, 65-70, 75-80, 85-90, 95-100, 105-110 and 115-120.
The highest band corresponds to IELTS 7.0. The highest possible scores in Duolingo are also 125-130, 135-140, 145-150 and 155-160. The last one is equivalent to a dream score of 9.0 in IELTS, indicating supreme proficiency in the English language.
Q. How to get good score in Duolingo test?
You should adopt a proper strategy to score more marks in your Duolingo English Test (DET). Make sure that you are learning new words and enhancing your vocabulary. Keep practicing them and understanding their meanings deeply.
Focus on listening to English podcasts, videos, audio or tracks, television shows and the like. Start reading through passages and try to note all grammatical structures and other elements. Try to catch accents as much as possible and practice your spelling, grammar and punctuation.
Q. What is the highest score in Duolingo English test?
The highest score band is 155-160. This equates to a staggering IELTS 9.0 band score as well. This indicates mastery over the English language, akin to a native writer and speaker.
Getting this score, while not impossible, is really difficult and requires you to have great command over the language, phrases, figures of speech, grammar, pronunciation, spelling and listening and picking up accents. The other high score bands include 145-150, 135-140 and 125-130.
Q. What is production score in Duolingo exam?
The Duolingo scores are given between 10 and 160. The production section is a key component of this vital examination. This has marks being given between 10 and 160 as well. The score earned in this section is referred to as the production score.
It basically assesses the abilities of the candidate to suitably describe a photograph. You can keep practicing before the examination with a variety of such photographs online.
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