IELTS, TOEFL, PTE Academic, Duolingo or TOEIC: five scales, three ways to make an overall score
The five big English tests do not just use different numbers. They build the overall score in three different ways: IELTS, TOEFL and the Duolingo English Test average their sections, TOEIC adds its two, and PTE Academic's overall is neither: Pearson says it is not an average of the skill scores.
This page puts side by side what each test's own pages say, as read for our individual guides between 1 September and 16 October 2026; each line links to the guide with the source. The comparison is ours.
The scales and how the overall is made
IELTS: bands 0–9 in half bands; the overall is the average of four sections, rounded to the nearest half band, and ties round up, with worked examples. IELTS guide
TOEFL iBT: since 21 January 2026, bands 1–6 in half steps; the overall is the average of four sections rounded to the nearest half band, and the 0–120 figure still printed beside it is the midpoint of the band's range, not your own score. ETS's pages state no tie-break. TOEFL guide
Duolingo English Test: 10–160 in steps of 5; four subscores that average to the overall. DET guide
PTE Academic: 10–90; the overall is not an average of the four skill scores, because some questions count towards two skills at once. PTE Academic guide
TOEIC Listening and Reading: two sections of 5–495, added into 10–990; the conversion from correct answers to score is unpublished and differs by test form. TOEIC guide
What follows from it: on the averaging tests, a weak section costs you a quarter of its gap; on TOEIC, a weak section costs you its full gap; on PTE, the skill scores and the overall can tell different stories, so read both.
Pass marks: none of them has one
None of the five draws a pass line. IELTS says there is no pass mark; ETS says the TOEIC is not a test you pass or fail; ETS's TOEFL page says there are no passing or failing scores set by the TOEFL Program or ETS (read 16 October 2026); Pearson says institutions set their own minimum scores; and Duolingo's score page draws no pass line. Our reading: the only number that matters is the one written by whoever reads your result, in that test's own units.
Graded exams work the other way. Japan's EIKEN has a fixed pass mark for each grade: Grade 2, for example, needs 1520 CSE in reading, listening and writing together, then 460 in the interview (EIKEN grades and CSE scores). Michigan's ECCE passes at an average of 650 out of 1000.
How long a result lasts
TOEFL: valid 2 years from the test date, and ETS will not send scores after that.
Duolingo English Test: valid 2 years; after that you cannot share the result or view the certificate.
TOEIC: the handbook states no expiry, but a score report is not re-issued after two years.
IELTS: no expiry; the partners recommend that organisations rely on a result for at most two years.
PTE Academic: the Pearson pages and score guide we read state no validity period, so we do not give one.
IELTS 7 on each scale, by each test's own table
Every conversion below comes from the company that runs the other test, comparing itself to IELTS. There is no neutral table.
Duolingo: 130 and 135 sit at IELTS 7 on Duolingo's chart; IELTS 6 covers three scores, 105, 110 and 115.
PTE Academic: 63–70 overall on Pearson's July 2025 study, but 76–82 in speaking, because Pearson's skill rows do not follow the overall row.
TOEFL: ETS's current pages map its 1–6 bands to CEFR levels, not to IELTS bands, so there is no first-party TOEFL-to-IELTS line to quote.
TOEIC: ETS maps the TOEIC to CEFR (B2 from 400 listening and 385 reading, no C2), not to IELTS.
Which one to take
Take the one your institution or visa names, in the units it names. The rest is secondary. Where you have a choice: the DET is taken at home, in about an hour, with results in about two days; PTE results typically arrive within 48 hours and it is accepted for visas in Australia and New Zealand; IELTS is the only one of the five with a test, Life Skills, that tests only speaking and listening; TOEIC is built for the workplace, and in ETS's 2025 report 28% of test takers sat it for a job application.
Speaking is the section no amount of reading practice fixes. On TOEFL it is about 8 minutes of a two-hour test and a quarter of the result; on PTE, Pearson's table needs a higher speaking score than overall for the same IELTS band. Practising with a person is the part of preparation the tests themselves cannot give you.
National exams these tests do not replace
Some countries run their own English exam. In Malaysia it is the [MUET](/learn/english/muet-malaysian-university-english-test-explained), in Taiwan the [GEPT](/learn/english/gept-general-english-proficiency-test-explained), in Vietnam [VSTEP](/learn/english/vstep-vietnam-english-test-explained), and in Turkey the [YDS](/learn/english/yds-e-yds-turkey-explained). If an institution in one of those countries names its own exam, check before you book an international test.
Mistakes worth avoiding
Converting your score with a third-party table.
Using the table published by the test you took, and the units your institution wrote.
Every first-party table here is published by one test company comparing itself to another; none is neutral, and third-party tables cite nobody.
Assuming every result expires after two years.
Checking the test's own rule.
TOEFL and the DET stop at two years, TOEIC stops re-issuing reports, and IELTS has no expiry at all, only a recommendation.
Questions
Which English tests average their section scores?
IELTS, TOEFL (since 21 January 2026) and the Duolingo English Test. TOEIC adds its two sections, and Pearson says the PTE Academic overall is not an average of its skill scores.
Do IELTS, TOEFL, PTE, Duolingo and TOEIC have a pass mark?
None of the five publishes a pass mark. Each reports a score, and the institution or visa sets the minimum.
How long are English test results valid?
TOEFL and Duolingo: two years. TOEIC: reports are not re-issued after two years. IELTS: no expiry, with a two-year recommendation to organisations. The PTE pages we read state no period.
What is IELTS 7 in Duolingo and PTE?
Duolingo's chart puts 130 and 135 at IELTS 7. Pearson's July 2025 study puts PTE Academic 63–70 overall at IELTS 7, but 76–82 in speaking.
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