Michigan ECCE results explained: the 650 average, the five score bands, why Honors is so rare, and the 2025 pass rate
The ECCE (Examination for the Certificate of Competency in English) is Michigan Language Assessment's B2 exam: a paper-based test of listening, grammar, vocabulary and reading, writing and speaking, held twice a year, in May and December. Most of its 2025 candidates were aged 13 to 15, and Michigan says they were mainly speakers of Greek, Portuguese or Spanish.
Everything below is from Michigan Language Assessment's ECCE pages and its ECCE 2025 Test Report (published June 2026), read on 31 October 2026.
Its C2 counterpart, the ECPE, works on the same average-of-650 rule; see ECPE results explained.
How you pass: an average of 650
Every section is scored on a scale from 0 to 1000. Test takers whose average score is 650 or higher are awarded the Certificate of Competency. That is the whole rule as Michigan states it in the report and on its ECCE page: an average, with no section minimum stated.
Each section is also reported in one of five bands: Honors 840–1000, Pass 750–835, Low Pass 650–745, Borderline Fail 610–645, Fail 0–605. The score report shows the overall result (Honors, Pass or Fail), the band for each section, and the section scores.
Our reading: because the certificate follows the average, a section in the Borderline Fail or Fail band does not by itself stop a pass, as long as the other sections carry the average to 650. The section bands tell you where the marks were lost.
Honors needs 840 in every section, which is why almost nobody gets it
The Certificate of Competency with Honors needs 840 or higher in all four sections. Here the rule is the opposite of the pass: no averaging, every section on its own.
Michigan's 2025 report shows what that does. 88.74% of test takers passed, but only 0.18% received Honors. By section, 25.69% reached the Honors band in speaking, 14.96% in reading and 14.04% in listening, but only 0.81% in writing.
Our reading of those figures: writing is where Honors is lost. A candidate aiming for Honors who is already strong in speaking has more to gain from writing than from anything else.
Where candidates struggle, in Michigan's own figures
Michigan's report says ECCE test takers perform best on speaking and find reading the most challenging. In 2025 the share in the Fail band was 9.53% in reading, 7.77% in listening, 4.12% in writing and 1.00% in speaking.
Writing has a different shape: few fail it outright, but 55.86% landed in Low Pass, more than in any other section, and 11.00% in Borderline Fail.
The candidates are young. 77.12% of 2025 test takers were aged 13 to 15, and Michigan says the population was mainly people whose first language was Greek, Portuguese or Spanish, so the figures describe mostly school-age candidates, not adults.
The sections, the dates and the results
The test takes 2 hours 45 minutes: writing 30 minutes (one task, an essay or an email or letter), listening 45 minutes, grammar, vocabulary and reading 75 minutes, and speaking 15 minutes, one to one with an examiner, in four stages. Listening and reading are scored by computer, with no marks taken off for wrong answers. Writing is rated by at least two certified raters.
You register through a Michigan test centre, for the May or December session.
Michigan gives two timings for results: its ECCE page says they are typically available 45 days after the test, and its results page says 6 to 8 weeks. You get a digital score report and, if you pass, the certificate, which may go through your test centre. The report says the certificate is valid for the holder's lifetime.
For Michigan's computer-based test with a 0–80 scale, see the MET guide; for Cambridge's B2 exam on its own scale, the Cambridge English Scale.
Mistakes worth avoiding
Thinking one weak section fails the ECCE.
Looking at the average across the four sections.
Michigan awards the certificate on an average score of 650 or higher.
Expecting Honors from a high average.
Aiming for 840 in every section, writing included.
Honors needs 840 or more in all four sections; in 2025 only 0.81% reached that band in writing.
Questions
What score do you need to pass the ECCE?
An average of 650 or higher across the sections, on a 0–1000 scale. That earns the Certificate of Competency.
What is ECCE Honors?
The Certificate of Competency with Honors, for 840 or higher in all four sections. In 2025, 0.18% of test takers received it.
What was the ECCE pass rate in 2025?
88.74%, according to Michigan Language Assessment's ECCE 2025 Test Report: 88.56% Pass, 0.18% Honors and 11.07% Fail.
What are the ECCE score bands?
Honors 840–1000, Pass 750–835, Low Pass 650–745, Borderline Fail 610–645 and Fail 0–605, for each section.
When are ECCE results released?
Michigan's ECCE page says typically 45 days after the test; its results page says 6 to 8 weeks.
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