Duolingo English Test to include additional subscores for enhanced assessment of candidates’ language proficiency

To provide English test takers with a more comprehensive understanding of their language proficiency, the Duolingo English Test (DET), starting July 1, 2024, will now include new individual subscores that include Speaking, Writing, Reading, and Listening along with existing integrated subscores for Literacy, Comprehension, Conversation, and Production.

These new individual subscores will give a clearer picture to the universities about a better understanding of a student’s language abilities for real-world academic settings alongside helping students to understand their core competencies. After completing the test, applicants will receive a score report containing both their overall score and subscores.

The overall score, ranging from 10 to 160 in 5-point increments, aligns with the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR), the international standard for language proficiency.

The DET now provides individual subscores for Speaking, Writing, Reading, and Listening, enabling test takers to identify their strengths and areas for improvement in each skill area. Integrated subscores for Literacy, Comprehension, Conversation, and Production continue to offer a holistic view of language abilities.

Combining individual and integrated subscores allows institutions to gain deeper insights into a test taker's language proficiency, reflecting real-life language use in academic settings.

Individual subscores are determined based on performance in each skill area. The overall score is an average of the individual subscores, rounded to the nearest 5. Each integrated subscore is now an average of the two individual subscores that comprise it. For instance, the literacy subscore is the average of the reading and writing subscores.

Upon scoring and review completion, test takers will receive an email notification. They can then log in to their account at englishtest.duolingo.com to access their detailed score report.

However, the integrated subscores calculated before July 1, 2024, are not directly comparable to those after the update, and converting old integrated subscores to new ones is not possible. The DET is accepted by 5000+ universities across the globe as a measure of English Proficiency.