How Universities Read English Test Scores

TOEFL, IELTS, PTE Academic, and the Duolingo English Test (DET) each score English proficiency on a different scale. Every university turns those numbers into its own admission rule, so two applicants with the same overall score meet the bar at one school and miss it at another. Programs weigh section scores, score-combining policies, and score age differently, and the gap between schools comes down to these three factors.

This guide explains how admissions offices read each score, where section minimums come from, which tests let you combine results from more than one sitting, and how long a score stays valid. It also covers conditional admission tracks for applicants who fall short, and the steps for pulling the exact requirement off a program's own page. Use it to set a realistic target before you register for a test, then confirm the number with the school before you send anything.

How Admissions Offices Set Minimum Scores

Each university sets its own minimum English score, and the number shifts with program level. Undergraduate programs generally set the lowest bar, master's programs ask for a higher score, and doctoral programs often set the highest minimum, since research and teaching work leans on strong academic writing and speaking. Within one university, two departments often publish different numbers for the same test. Admissions offices also decide which tests they accept at all, so a strong result is worth nothing to a program refusing to take it.

None of these patterns replace your target program's own number. Score requirements sit on the international-admissions or graduate-admissions page of each school, and they change from year to year. Treat any range you see outside the program's page as a planning starting point, never as the number you submit against.

How the Bar Shifts by Program Level

No verified cross-university table of minimum scores exists, because every institution and every program sets its own number. The table below describes the direction requirements move between levels, and what to confirm at each one.

Competitive programs set a higher bar than the university-wide minimum, while pathway and foundation routes accept lower results. Treat any specific range quoted outside an official university page as unverified, and take your target figure from the program page itself. Requirements written in the 0-120 TOEFL format translate to the new 1-6 scale using the ETS benchmarks in the transition table below.

Section-Score Minimums

A single overall score does not always tell the full story. ETS tells institutions to use all score information, not only the total score, and to consider setting minimum section requirements for the skills mattering most to success in a program. Two applicants with the same overall score often have uneven profiles across reading, listening, speaking, and writing. A section floor is how a program protects the one skill it depends on most.

Programs sensitive to a single skill area, such as teaching assistantships needing strong Speaking, or research programs needing strong Writing, often add a section floor on top of the overall requirement. If your program lists section minimums, every section has to clear its own bar, even when your overall score sits well above the total requirement. A high Reading score does not compensate for a Speaking score under the floor. Once you know the floors apply to you, build your preparation around your weakest section.

Use these checks to find out whether section minimums apply to your application.

• Check the English proficiency section of your program's admissions page for a phrase like "minimum sub-score" or "minimum section score."
• Look for separate numbers next to Speaking or Writing, since these sections most often carry their own floor.
• If a program lists only an overall minimum, section minimums generally do not apply.
• Email the admissions office when the page is ambiguous, and keep the reply.

Score Scales at a Glance

TOEFL, IELTS, PTE Academic, and DET report scores on different scales, so the same skill level looks like a different number depending on the test.

TOEFL's Two-Year Scale Transition

ETS switched TOEFL iBT to the new 1-6 scale on Jan 21, 2026. For 2 years after the switch, through January 2028, every score report shows all three formats side by side: the new 1-6 score, a CEFR level, and a comparable score on the old 0-120 scale. Schools still working from the old benchmarks compare candidates without extra conversion work. Check which format your program's page uses before you measure your result against it.

ETS pairs each new 1-6 score with a comparable 0-120 score on the report itself. These pairings are rough midpoints shown for reference, not official cutoffs. If a program still lists its minimum in the old 0-120 format, read the comparable 0-120 score off your report, or ask the program for its new-scale equivalent instead of converting the number yourself.

PTE and the CEFR

PTE Academic also maps to CEFR levels, which helps you compare it against a program's stated language requirement.

Superscoring and Combined Scores

Not every test combines your results the same way. TOEFL reports a composite built from your best sections, PTE Academic leaves the choice of which single report to send with you, and Duolingo publishes no combining policy at all. Check the provider rule and the program rule before you book a retake, since a second attempt pays off only when both rules work in your favor.

TOEFL MyBest Scores

ETS defines MyBest scores as the combination of an applicant's best score for each test section across all valid TOEFL iBT scores from the last 2 years. Every TOEFL iBT score report includes both the scores from the single test date you select and the MyBest scores, so the institution sees the two side by side. Accepting MyBest scores requires no change to a school's existing score scale or requirements. Each institution decides for itself whether to accept MyBest scores, based on its own needs and goals.

The practical effect for you is simple. If your target program accepts MyBest scores, a retake aimed at one weak section lifts your composite without putting your stronger sections at risk. If the program requires a single-sitting score, a retake has to beat your earlier attempt across all four sections at once. Confirm the policy on the program page before you pay for another test date.

PTE Academic

PTE Academic does not combine attempts. You choose which single score report to send, and the institution never sees whether it is your best or worst attempt, only the one you selected. Any score still inside its 2-year validity window is eligible to send. A retake therefore carries a clean payoff: send the stronger report, and the weaker sitting stays invisible to the program.

Duolingo English Test

Duolingo has not published a clear policy on combining scores across attempts. Treat every DET result as a standalone score until you get official confirmation otherwise. Confirm directly with your program, or with Duolingo's support pages, before you assume multiple attempts stack into one composite. Plan around your strongest certified result, and time a retake early enough for the new certificate to reach the school before its deadline.

Score Validity Windows

Every major English test expires 2 years after you take it, but the clock starts at a different point for each provider.

IELTS frames its 2-year window as a recommendation based on research into how second-language skill fades over time, and individual organizations choose to accept older results. TOEFL and PTE state the window as a hard cutoff, after which ETS or Pearson will not report or release the score. The difference matters when you apply a year or two after testing: an expired TOEFL or PTE result is gone, while an older IELTS result is a question for the admissions office. Check the window your program uses before you write off a score as too old.

The DET clock deserves a second look, because certification lands after test day. DET results stay valid for 2 years from the day they are certified, which pushes your expiry slightly later than a test-date rule would. Note the certification date on your certificate rather than the day you sat the test. Work backwards from your latest application deadline to see whether one score covers your whole application cycle.

Sending scores also costs money in some cases. TOEFL's test fee covers up to 4 free official score reports, chosen before test day, and every extra report beyond the four costs US$25 per institution. Choosing your 4 recipients before you test is the cheapest way to use the allowance. Duolingo works differently: sending official results from your englishtest.duolingo.com account to any institution is free, with no per-report fee.

Conditional Admission With a Language Program

Some universities admit applicants whose score falls under the requirement into a conditional or pathway track instead of rejecting the application outright. You complete an intensive English program on campus or with a partner provider first, then move into the degree program once you clear the school's internal benchmark. The offer is real, but it is tied to conditions written by the university, not by the test provider. Ask for those conditions in writing before you accept a place.

Terms vary from school to school, and none of the standard TOEFL, IELTS, PTE, or DET documentation covers them. Confirm the specific rules with your target university's admissions or international-student office: what the language program costs, how long it runs, and what result moves you into the degree. Get the answer for your exact program, since one university often runs different arrangements across departments.

How to Find Your Program's Exact Requirement

General patterns help you plan, but only your target program's own page carries the number admissions use to decide. Work through the checklist below before you register for a test.

1. Open the international-admissions or graduate-admissions page for your exact program, not the university's general homepage.
2. Look for a dedicated English proficiency or language requirement subsection, and note the overall score alongside any section minimums.
3. Check whether the page names accepted tests, since not every program accepts TOEFL, IELTS, PTE, and DET equally.
4. Note whether MyBest scores or another combined score is accepted, or whether a single-sitting score is required.
5. Confirm the score validity window the program uses, since some schools accept older scores than the standard 2-year rule.
6. Save a dated copy of the page, so you have the requirement as it stood when you applied.

Once you know your target score, our guide to choosing an English proficiency test helps you pick between TOEFL, IELTS, PTE, and DET. Our TOEFL vs IELTS comparison breaks down the two most common options head to head. Our score-sending strategy guide covers how to time your reports so they land with the admissions office before the deadline.

Then put the target to work. Our TOEFL practice tests and IELTS practice tests are free, run in the browser, and need no signup. Take one full test, find your weakest section, and drill it until it clears the floor your program sets.

Sources

• ETS: TOEFL iBT Score Scale 1-6 Update
• ETS: TOEFL iBT Score Breakdown
• ETS: Setting TOEFL iBT Score Requirements
• ETS: Sending Your TOEFL iBT Scores
• IELTS: Scoring in Detail
• Pearson PTE: Understand Your Score
• Pearson PTE: Help Center, Scoring
• Duolingo English Test: How Is the DET Scored?
• Duolingo English Test: How Long Are Results Valid?
• Duolingo English Test: Cost to Send Results