When your Duolingo English Test results arrive, the first thing most people do is find the big number and stop there. That number matters for admission, but it is the least useful part of the report for you. The report breaks your English into eight scores, and the small ones are where all the actionable information lives. This is a plain-English tour of every number on the page and what to do with it.
A Duolingo English Test result is not one number but eight, all on the same scale. Two people with the same overall can have very different profiles underneath, which is why the subscores, not the overall, tell you what to work on.
The DET score range: 10 to 160
Every Duolingo English Test score — the overall and all eight subscores — sits on one scale: 10 to 160, in increments of 5. The lowest possible score is 10, the highest is 160, and because scores move in fives there are 31 possible results (10, 15, 20 … 160). There is no pass or fail: you get a score, and each university or employer publishes the DET minimum it will accept.
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Lowest possible DET score | 10 |
| Highest possible DET score | 160 |
| Step between scores | 5 points — 31 possible scores |
| Pass mark | None — each institution sets its own minimum |
| Where most requirements sit | DET 100–125 (CEFR B2) for undergraduate study; 130+ (C1) for selective postgraduate programmes |
| Scale history | The 160-point scale has applied to tests taken since July 15, 2019; earlier tests used a 100-point scale |
Any result you could still send today is on the 160-point scale: Duolingo moved to it for tests taken from July 15, 2019, and a DET result is valid for 2 years.
Your overall score, in one line
The overall Duolingo English Test score runs from 10 to 160, in increments of 5, and it is simply the mean of your four skill subscores: Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking, rounded to the nearest 5. That is the whole calculation — Duolingo’s own help centre states that the average of the individual subscores, rounded to the nearest 5, equals the overall score (Subscore Update: July 2024). It also means the overall hides as much as it shows — a 115 built from four even 115s and a 115 built from a 95 and a 135 are the same headline number and completely different English.
What your DET score means, band by band
What a DET score means is best read through the CEFR, the six-level framework universities and employers use. Duolingo publishes the alignment itself, so the DET ranges below are official; the “what you can do” column paraphrases the CEFR’s own global descriptors, and the last column follows Duolingo’s comparison tables.
| DET score | CEFR level | What you can typically do in English | What it usually opens |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10–55 | A1–A2 | Use familiar everyday expressions and handle simple, routine exchanges about yourself and your surroundings. | Foundation level. Below the entry bar at almost every degree programme. |
| 60–95 | B1 | Understand the main points of clear, familiar input, deal with most everyday situations, and write simple connected text. | Some pathway, foundation and diploma programmes; many community colleges. |
| 100–125 | B2 | Follow complex texts on concrete and abstract topics and talk with enough fluency that conversation with native speakers is easy for both sides. | The most common undergraduate requirement (100–115), up to competitive undergraduate and many taught master’s programmes (120–125). |
| 130–150 | C1 | Understand demanding, longer texts and use English flexibly and effectively for academic and professional purposes. | Selective and highly selective postgraduate entry; 150 is the top of what most institutions ask for. |
| 155–160 | C2 | Understand virtually everything heard or read and express yourself precisely, even in complex situations. | Above the published requirement essentially everywhere. |
So a DET score of 120 means solid upper-intermediate (B2) English — roughly IELTS 6.5–7.0 — and a DET score of 130 is the first C1 score. To convert any single score, use the DET score converter; to decide what score you should aim for, see what is a good DET score.
Why there are eight numbers, not one
Alongside the four skills, the report shows four integrated subscores. Each integrated subscore combines two skills, because real language use rarely calls on one skill in isolation — reading a question and writing an answer is both reading and writing at once. So the eight numbers are four skills and four pairings of those skills, all on the same scale, 10 to 160, in increments of 5:
| Type | Subscores | What it captures |
|---|---|---|
| Skill | Reading, Writing, Listening, Speaking | Each of the four abilities on its own. |
| Integrated | Literacy, Comprehension, Conversation, Production | Each combines two skills, for how they work together. |
The full mechanics — how the adaptive engine builds these from your answers — are on the how the DET is scored page. Here we are reading the output, not the machine.
The four skill subscores
These are the ones to look at first, because they map directly onto things you can practise:
- Reading — understanding written English, from the damaged-word passages to the interactive reading set.
- Writing — producing written English, from the one-minute photo description to the longer writing sample.
- Listening — understanding spoken English, mainly the dictation and the interactive listening conversation.
- Speaking — producing spoken English, across the photo description, the interactive speaking task and the speaking sample.
Your overall is the mean of exactly these four. Nothing else feeds the headline number — the integrated subscores are a different view of the same performance, not extra ingredients in the average.
The four integrated subscores
The integrated subscores re-slice the same evidence by pairs of skills:
| Integrated subscore | Combines | Roughly, your ability to… |
|---|---|---|
| Literacy | Reading + Writing | work with written English — read it and produce it. |
| Comprehension | Reading + Listening | understand English, written and spoken. |
| Conversation | Listening + Speaking | follow and take part in spoken exchanges. |
| Production | Writing + Speaking | produce English yourself, in writing and speech. |
These are useful because some institutions set a minimum on one of them — a writing-heavy master's might ask for a Literacy or Production floor, not just an overall. If a subscore minimum applies to you, a strong overall will not paper over a weak pairing.
The error band around your score
Every DET score is an estimate, and the report is honest about it: your result comes with a small range around the point score, not a false claim of exactness. That is why scores are reported in fives rather than singles — the test does not pretend to tell 117 from 118 apart. Practically, treat a five-point difference between two sittings as noise, not progress; a genuine move shows up as ten points or more.
Reading a spiky profile
The single most useful thing you can do with a score report is look for the gap between your highest and lowest subscore. A flat profile — all four skills within a band or two — means your overall is a fair summary and progress requires lifting everything slightly. A spiky profile — say Reading 130 and Speaking 95 — means your overall is being dragged down by one skill, and that skill is where nearly all your available points are.
Because the overall is a mean, lifting your lowest subscore moves it more than polishing your best. A 20-point gain on your weakest skill adds five points to the overall; the same gain on your strongest, once it is already high, often adds nothing an institution will act on.
DET score vs the “Duolingo Score” in the app
Search for “Duolingo score” and you will find two different numbers. Since October 2024 the Duolingo language-learning app shows a Duolingo Score next to your course flag — and, confusingly, it is also out of 160. It is not a Duolingo English Test result:
| DET score | Duolingo Score (app) | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | The result of the Duolingo English Test, a proctored English certification | A measure of how far you have progressed through a CEFR-aligned course in the app |
| Scale | 10 to 160, in increments of 5 | Out of 160, starting from 0 |
| Used for | University and visa applications — accepted by 6,500+ institutions | Tracking your own learning and comparing with friends |
| CEFR bands | A1–A2 10–55 · B1 60–95 · B2 100–125 · C1 130–150 · C2 155–160 | A1 0–29 · A2 30–59 · B1 60–99 · B2 100–129 · C1–C2 130–160 |
| Source | englishtest.duolingo.com | blog.duolingo.com |
The two scales line up closely at the lower levels but not exactly higher up — the app’s B2 runs to 129, the DET’s stops at 125 — so an app score is a useful sign of progress, not a prediction of your DET result. If an application asks for a “Duolingo score”, it means the DET.
What to actually do with your scores
Find your lowest skill subscore
Ignore the overall for a moment and rank the four skills. The lowest is your target — it is costing you the most and it is the cheapest to move.
Check for a subscore minimum
Look at whether your program sets a floor on a specific skill or integrated subscore, not only an overall. If it does, that becomes a second target.
Drill the tasks that feed it
Each skill is fed by specific task types. Practise those, not the test in general — the preparation guide maps skills to tasks.
Re-test and confirm the number moved
A subscore that rose by ten or more has genuinely changed; a five-point wobble has not. Re-sit a full mock to check, since a skill can only be trusted in the context of a whole test.
Once you know what your scores mean, the natural next questions are what they are worth elsewhere and whether they clear your target. The score comparison places any DET number against IELTS, TOEFL and CEFR, and what is a good DET score covers how to set a target in the first place.
Read the small numbers, not the big one. The overall gets you admitted; the subscores tell you how to earn it.
Questions people ask
What is a DET score?
A DET score is the result of the Duolingo English Test: one overall score from 10 to 160, in increments of 5, plus eight subscores. The overall is the average of the four skill subscores — Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking — rounded to the nearest 5. Universities compare it with their own DET minimum, and Duolingo aligns it to CEFR levels, with B2 at 100–125.
What is the highest and lowest Duolingo English Test score?
The lowest possible score is 10 and the highest is 160, in 5-point steps — 31 possible scores in all. There is no pass or fail; each institution publishes its own minimum. The 160-point scale applies to tests taken since July 15, 2019 — earlier tests used a 100-point scale — so any result you can still send is on the 160 scale.
What does a DET score of 120 mean?
DET 120 is CEFR B2 on Duolingo’s alignment — solid upper-intermediate English, roughly IELTS 6.5–7.0 and TOEFL iBT 84–93 on the 0–120 scale. It meets competitive undergraduate requirements and many taught master’s programmes; selective postgraduate programmes usually sit at 130 and above. Whether 120 is enough for you: see what is a good DET score.
What does a Duolingo score of 70 mean?
On the Duolingo English Test, 70 is CEFR B1 — intermediate English, roughly IELTS 4.5–5.0: you can handle most everyday situations but not yet the 100+ most degree programmes ask for. In the Duolingo app, a Duolingo Score of 70 means early-B1 course progress — a learning milestone, not a certified result.
What Duolingo score is A1?
It depends which score you mean. In the Duolingo app, A1 covers a Duolingo Score of 0–29 and A2 covers 30–59. On the Duolingo English Test, Duolingo reports A1 and A2 together as a DET score of 10–55. B1 starts at 60 on both, but the higher bands differ: the app’s B2 runs to 129, the DET’s stops at 125.
Is the Duolingo Score in the app the same as a Duolingo English Test score?
No. The Duolingo Score in the Duolingo app tracks how far you have progressed through a CEFR-aligned course, on a scale out of 160. The Duolingo English Test is a separate, proctored certification scored 10 to 160, in increments of 5 that universities accept. Both top out at 160, which causes the confusion, but only a DET score belongs on an application.
Are Duolingo English Test subscores from before July 2024 comparable?
Not directly. Since July 1, 2024 the report has shown four individual subscores — Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking — alongside the four integrated ones. Duolingo says integrated subscores from before that date are not directly comparable with those after the update and cannot be converted, so read an old and a new report side by side with care.
Which numbers on my report decide if my score is good enough?
Two: your overall against the programme’s published minimum, and any subscore minimums it sets as well. As a guide from Duolingo’s tables, 100–115 covers the most common undergraduate requirement, 120–125 competitive undergraduate and many taught master’s programmes, and 130+ selective postgraduate entry. Our guide to what is a good Duolingo English Test score covers setting a target.
What are the eight Duolingo English Test subscores?
Four skill subscores — Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking — and four integrated subscores — Literacy, Comprehension, Conversation and Production. All eight use the same scale, 10 to 160, in increments of 5, and together they describe your English far more precisely than the overall alone.
What is the difference between the overall score and the subscores?
The overall is a single summary number; the subscores break it apart. The overall is the mean of the four skill subscores, so it can hide an uneven profile — two identical overalls can sit on top of very different sets of subscores.
How is the overall Duolingo English Test score calculated?
It is the mean of the four skill subscores (Reading, Writing, Listening, Speaking), rounded to the nearest 5 — Duolingo’s help centre states exactly this. The four integrated subscores are a different view of the same performance and do not feed into the overall average.
What are the four skill subscores?
Reading and Listening measure understanding written and spoken English; Writing and Speaking measure producing it. These four are the ones that average into your overall, and each maps to specific task types you can practise directly.
What are Literacy, Comprehension, Conversation and Production?
They are the four integrated subscores, each combining two skills: Literacy is Reading plus Writing, Comprehension is Reading plus Listening, Conversation is Listening plus Speaking, and Production is Writing plus Speaking. They describe how skills work together rather than in isolation.
Why are my subscores so uneven?
Because they measure genuinely different abilities, and almost nobody is equally strong across all four. An uneven — “spiky” — profile is normal and useful: it points straight at the skill dragging your overall down, which is where practice pays off most.
What does the score range or error band on my report mean?
Every DET score is an estimate, so it comes with a small band of uncertainty rather than a single exact value. That is also why scores step in fives — the test does not claim to tell one point from the next. Treat a five-point difference between sittings as noise.
Can institutions see my individual subscores?
Yes. Your score report shows all eight numbers to the institutions you send it to, and some set minimums on specific subscores — often Writing or a writing-heavy integrated subscore — in addition to an overall requirement.
What does a low subscore actually tell me?
That one skill is underperforming relative to the others and is holding your overall down. Because the overall is a mean, lifting your lowest subscore raises it more than improving a skill that is already strong, so a low subscore is really a signpost to your cheapest available points.
Is the overall score just an average of all eight subscores?
No — a common misconception. The overall is the mean of the four skill subscores only. The four integrated subscores are reported alongside it but are not part of the average.
What score do the writing and speaking samples get?
On the official test the end-of-test writing and speaking samples are sent to institutions for a human to read and are not separately scored. Your Writing and Speaking subscores come from the graded tasks earlier in the test. (Our mocks additionally grade the samples so you get feedback you would not otherwise see.)
Why did my overall go up but a subscore go down?
Because the overall is an average of four numbers — one can fall while the other three rise enough to lift the mean. It usually reflects normal measurement noise on a single skill rather than your English getting worse in that area.
How precise is a Duolingo English Test score?
Precise to about five points, which is why it is reported that way. Reading a difference smaller than five as meaningful over-interprets the test; a real change in ability shows up as roughly ten points or more between sittings.
What does my Duolingo score mean in CEFR or IELTS terms?
Broadly, 100–125 is CEFR B2 and 130–150 is C1; in IELTS terms, DET 120–125 is roughly 6.5–7.0. These are approximations — the score converter gives the equivalent for any score, and the score comparison explains why your institution's own DET minimum beats any figure you convert yourself.
Where can I see what my scores mean for admission?
On the admissions page of the program you are applying to, which publishes the DET minimum it requires. You can also check which universities and countries accept the DET and the score ranges they typically ask for.
Quick reference: Duolingo English Test Scores Explained at a glance
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| What is a DET score? | The Duolingo English Test result: an overall from 10 to 160, in increments of 5, plus eight subscores. |
| Lowest and highest DET score | 10 and 160 — there is no pass mark; institutions set minimums. |
| How many scores are on a DET report? | Eight — four skill subscores and four integrated subscores. |
| What is the overall score? | The mean of the four skill subscores, rounded to the nearest 5 (scale: 10 to 160, in increments of 5). |
| The four skill subscores | Reading, Writing, Listening, Speaking. |
| The four integrated subscores | Literacy, Comprehension, Conversation, Production. |
| Why report in fives? | The score is an estimate; it does not discriminate more finely than five points. |
| Which number should I act on? | Your lowest skill subscore — it moves the overall most. |
| Do institutions see subscores? | Yes; some set minimums on specific subscores as well as the overall. |
| Is a practice score exact? | No — an estimate, best for finding weak skills and tracking change. |
| DET 120 in IELTS terms | Roughly IELTS 6.5–7.0 (approximate). |
| How long is a score valid? | 2 years. |
| What DET 120 means | CEFR B2 — roughly IELTS 6.5–7.0; competitive undergraduate level. |
| Is the app’s Duolingo Score a DET score? | No — it tracks course progress; only a DET result is a certified score. |
| What changed in July 2024 | Four individual subscores were added; older integrated subscores are not comparable. |
Walk into the DET already knowing the room.