International Exams · Entrance Exams

Duolingo English Test Exam Pattern

An hour at home, scored on 10–160 with eight subscores, certified after a human review of the recording.

Take a Free Duolingo English Test MockDuolingo English Test Syllabus

Duolingo English Test · checked 19 September 2026

Duolingo English Test at a glance, from the official notices

The dates, vacancies and rules below are read on the conducting body’s own site and rewritten as each notice appears. The guide beneath carries the full pattern, syllabus, cut-offs and free mock tests.

Free Duolingo English Test mock testDuolingo English Test syllabusToday’s current affairs
19September 2026

Checked 19 September 2026

Duolingo English Test: the facts that matter now

  1. 01

    Duolingo, online at home with computer, webcam and a phone as a second camera

    Administered by

  2. 02

    University admission at 6,500+ institutions; not generally accepted for visas

    Used for

  3. 03

    About one hour — 5 minutes of setup, 45 minutes of adaptive questions, 10 minutes of writing and speaking samples

    Format

  4. 04

    10–160 in steps of 5, with subscores for Literacy, Comprehension, Conversation and Production

    Scoring

Pattern

Duolingo English Test — How the paper is structured

The hour as Duolingo describes it.
StageTimeScored?
Setup and ID verification5 minutesNo
Adaptive assessment45 minutesYes
Writing and speaking samples10 minutesNo — shared with institutions
Duolingo’s published overall-score comparison. Institutions set their own minimums.
DETIELTSTOEFL iBT
1608.5–9120
1508117–118
1407.5109–112
130798–103
1206.587–92
110676–81
1005.565–69
90553–58
804.541–46
70430–34
Subscores
Speaking, writing, reading and listening are scored individually and average to the overall score. Literacy, Comprehension, Conversation and Production are each the average of two of them, and are what many institutions set minimums on.
Adaptivity
Question difficulty rises and falls with performance, and the number of questions varies with the engine’s confidence in the score. A run of hard questions is a sign of doing well, not of trouble.
Proctoring
The webcam, the phone camera and the screen are recorded and reviewed before certification. Looking away from the screen, headphones, another person, a second device, note-taking or leaving the test window can all void the attempt.
Cost and retakes
The fee is set in US dollars at purchase, with a cheaper two-test bundle and a paid Faster Results option that returns the score within 12 hours. Up to three tests may be purchased in any 30 days, and a new test cannot begin until the previous result is out.

Exam resources

Everything for Duolingo English Test

Six resource pages, each kept in step with the latest official notification.

Duolingo English Test SyllabusDuolingo English Test syllabus — every question type in the adaptive test, how often each appears, and what the 2025 changes added and removed.Duolingo English Test Exam PatternDuolingo English Test pattern — the adaptive hour, the 10–160 scale and subscores, the IELTS and TOEFL comparison, proctoring and results.Duolingo English Test Previous PapersDuolingo English Test practice — the free official practice test, why it is the only reliable mirror of the adaptive format, and what to take from it.Duolingo English Test Mock TestsDuolingo English Test mock tests — rehearsing the home setup and proctoring rules as well as the questions, and reading the estimated score.Duolingo English Test PreparationDuolingo English Test preparation — reading widely for the vocabulary items, dictation practice, conversational speaking, and the rules that void a test.Duolingo English Test Study MaterialDuolingo English Test study material — the official practice and guides, and general reading, listening and speaking sources for an adaptive test.

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