How the number is built
The DET is reported on a 10 to 160 scale, in increments of 5. Your overall score is the average of your four skill scores, rounded to the nearest 5.
Duolingo gives the arithmetic: reading 90, writing 100, listening 110, speaking 120 → (90 + 100 + 110 + 120) ÷ 4 = 105.
What each score range actually looks like
This is the part worth knowing, and it comes from Duolingo's own score summary table. Rather than a conversion, it describes performance — what a response at each level does.
| Score | Content & organisation | Fluency & language |
|---|---|---|
| 155–160 | Fully addresses the task; clear, focused, well developed with relevant examples. Very easy to follow. | Smooth and steady; pauses in natural places; occasional fillers that do not interrupt flow. Wide range of structures, errors rare. Broad, precise vocabulary. |
| 130–150 | Clear and appropriate; relevant ideas; stays on topic. Logically organised. | Steady pace; brief pauses that do not affect flow. A variety of structures used correctly most of the time; small mistakes do not affect clarity. |
| 100–125 | Relevant and partially developed; key details included; overall message clear. | Can speak at length, with hesitations, self-corrections or longer pauses. Grammatical errors usually do not impede communication. Some repetition and imprecise word choice. |
| 60–95 | Basic; ideas may be underdeveloped or only loosely connected to the prompt. | Short stretches of speech; frequent long pauses in unnatural places, which impact understanding. Limited range; some errors impact communication. |
| 30–55 | Basic attempt; some relevant ideas, details missing or unexplained. | Frequent long pauses, hesitations, restarts. Basic structures with frequent errors that impact understanding. |
Read down the fluency column and you can see what the test is actually tracking, because it is not speed. It is where the pauses fall and whether the errors get in the way. Those two things move together all the way up the scale.
What changes between one level and the next
The descriptors are most useful read as transitions, because that tells you what to work on.
From the 60–95 band to 100–125
The move is from short stretches of speech with long pauses in unnatural places to speaking at length, with hesitations. The pauses do not disappear — they move. They stop landing in the middle of phrases and start landing where the grammar has a break.
So the work here is not fluency drills. It is being able to keep a sentence going to its end, and finishing your clauses before you stop to think.
From 100–125 to 130–150 — the big one
This is where most candidates are stuck, and where most requirements sit. Two words in the descriptors change:
- Content goes from partially developed to clear and appropriate, stays on topic. Ideas have to be finished, not merely started.
- Language goes from some repetition and imprecise word choice to a variety of structures used correctly most of the time and wide, appropriate word use.
That is a two-part instruction, and the first half is easier than people think: develop the idea you already had instead of adding a new one. Most answers in the 100–125 range contain three half-explained points where two fully-explained ones would score higher.
From 130–150 to 155–160
Precision and control, not size. Broad and precise vocabulary, effective use of collocations, errors that are rare rather than merely harmless. This is the level where the remaining gains are in accuracy and in saying exactly the right word — not in saying more.
Which score do you actually need?
Using Duolingo's own comparison table:
| DET | ≈ IELTS | ≈ CEFR | Typically |
|---|---|---|---|
| 160 | 8.5–9 | C2 | Above almost any requirement. |
| 130–150 | 7–8 | C1 | Competitive universities, many postgraduate programmes. |
| 105–125 | 6–6.5 | B2 | The most common undergraduate range. |
| 90–100 | 5–5.5 | B1–B2 | Foundation and pathway programmes. |
And confirm acceptance directly with the institution. DET acceptance is broad and still not universal, particularly for visa purposes.
How to raise the number
- Find the weak skill, not the weak subscore. The four subscores each mix two skills, so a low pair identifies the culprit — the arithmetic is here. Fixing the shared skill lifts two subscores at once.
- Work on the average, not your favourite. Points are cheapest in your worst skill, always.
- For speaking: finish your clauses. Moving your pauses to the ends of phrases is the single change the descriptors track most closely.
- For writing and speaking: develop, do not add. Two finished ideas beat three unfinished ones, and that is the exact wording of the jump from the 100–125 band into 130–150.
- Take a real practice test under time pressure, because a score you cannot reproduce with the clock running is not your score.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good Duolingo English Test score?
It depends entirely on where you are applying, but as a rough map using Duolingo's own comparison: 105 to 125 is around CEFR B2 and IELTS 6 to 6.5, which covers the most common undergraduate requirements; 130 to 150 is C1 and IELTS 7 to 8, which is what competitive universities and many postgraduate programmes ask for. Always check the specific requirement, including any minimum per subscore.
How is the DET overall score calculated?
It is the average of your four skill scores — reading, writing, listening and speaking — rounded to the nearest 5, on a 10 to 160 scale. Duolingo's worked example: 90, 100, 110 and 120 average to 105. Because it is an average, one weak skill drags the total, and the cheapest points to gain are always in your worst skill rather than your best.
What does a DET score of 120 mean?
Around CEFR B2 and roughly IELTS 6.5 on Duolingo's published comparison. In terms of performance, it sits in the 100 to 125 band, which Duolingo describes as relevant and partially developed content, with an overall message that is clear, and speech that can continue at length but contains hesitations, self-corrections and longer pauses.
What is the difference between a 120 and a 130 on the DET?
It is the jump most candidates are stuck at, and the descriptors name two changes: content moves from 'partially developed' to clear, appropriate and on topic, and language moves from some repetition and imprecise word choice to a variety of structures used correctly most of the time. The practical instruction is to develop the ideas you already have rather than adding more of them — most answers in that range contain three half-explained points where two finished ones would score higher.
Do universities look at my DET subscores?
Many do, and some set a minimum on them as well as on the overall. That means a total that meets the requirement can still be rejected if one subscore falls below the floor — a 120 built from a strong Literacy and a weak Conversation is not the same as a balanced 120. Check the requirement in full before assuming you have met it.