Will you get a partial score if your answer isn't entirely correct?

We have two question categories in the Duolingo English Test: Question types with correct answers and Open response question types. 

• Firstly, Question types with correct answers include Read and Complete, Fill in the Blanks, Read and Select, Listen and Type, Read Aloud, Interactive Listening - Listen and Respond and Interactive Reading passages.
• Secondly, Open response question types include Write about The Photo, Speak about The Photo, Interactive Writing, Read then Speak, Listen then Speak, Summarize the Conversation, Speaking Sample and Writing sample.

It depends on each question type to know whether you have partial scores if your answers aren't entirely correct.   

So let's get into it! We will let you know if you can get partial scores for each question type precisely because we refer to the latest Official Guide for test takers updated by Duolingo English Test. Furthermore, you may not find some info in the Official Guide; therefore, we asked them directly via Live Chat and shared them in the following content. 

I. Read and Complete, Fill in the Blanks, Listen and Type  

You will receive the same point for a blank or an incorrect answer in Read and Complete and Fill in the Blanks. In Listen and Type, you will be penalized more for missing a word than mistyping the word. 

In this case, it's always better to answer a question than to skip it.

Regarding Listen and Type, when you hear single words such as one, ten, fifteen, etc., you should write numbers in words as One, Ten, Fifteen instead of "1", "10" or "15". In contrast, if you hear something like 2022, which usually means years, or 9.95 million, which means an amount of money, you should write them in numbers.

Besides, as it is a question with correct answers, you should only write what you hear. For example, when you hear "You've", then you should write "You've" instead of "You have". 

Conclusion: You will receive a partial score for each question in Read and Complete, Fill in the Blanks and Listen and Type.

II. Read and Select       

For Read and Select, you will be penalized more for choosing an unreal word than missing a real one. In this case, you would better choose real words carefully.     

Your vocabulary bank decides your points in this case. Therefore, we strongly suggest you improve your vocabulary bank generally. You can refer to our Tips and Strategies to improve your skills.

Conclusion: You will receive a partial score for each question in Read and Select, Listen and Select.

III. Read Aloud         

In the Read Aloud question type, they will assess your performance mainly based on the content you read aloud and your pronunciation.

• Content: Make sure that you read clearly and loudly all words showing on the screen. Any missing or redundant words, your scores will be deducted. 
• Pronunciation: After submitting your answers, listen to our sample answer and compare it to yours. It helps DET takers learn how to pronounce like native speakers for the highest score.

Conclusion: You will receive a partial score for each question in Read Aloud.

IV. Interactive Reading         

In your Interactive Reading passages, there are six questions, including five different question types. According to Duolingo English Test research, they have two ways to evaluate your performance.   

• Firstly, you will receive a binary credit for Complete the Sentences, Complete the Passage, Identify the Idea, and Title the Passage.

A binary credit means a YES or No credit. As it’s  a multiple-choice format, so you need to choose a correct choice among four or five choices. If you choose the correct answer, you will get your credit. Otherwise, you will lose it.   

All these question types will appear only one time in each passage.   

Conclusion: You will NOT receive a partial score for each question in Complete the Sentences, Complete the Passage, Identify the Idea, and Title the Passage.

• Secondly, you will receive partial credit for Highlight the Answer.

Because it is graded based on the distance between the text  you  highlighted; therefore, you should only highlight words answering the questions and avoid unnecessary words. The more concise your answer, the higher credit you get.   

And this question type will appear two times in each passage. 

V. Interactive Listening - Listen and Respond

The Interactive Listening set is in the certified Duolingo English Test from 1 May, 2023 including Listen and Respond and Summarize the Conversation. Summarize the Conversation is a writing question that we can check in the following Part VI. 

Regarding Listen and Respond, it's a conversation consisting of 5-6 questions that we need to pick a correct answer from five options. As a result, there will be NO partial scores in this case. In other words, if you pick a correct option, you will get one point. Otherwise, you will lose one point of that question. 

VI. All other speaking and writing questions         

How about the rest of the question types? Write about The Photo, Speak about The Photo, Interactive Writing, Read then Speak, Listen then Speak, Summarize the Conversation, Speaking Sample and Writing sample are open response questions. So yes, you will receive partial credit for each answer. Duolingo English Test evaluates your English proficiency in order to give you a score based on several grading aspects below:    

Thus, if you want to improve your scores for these question types, you will need to practice frequently and improve your skills through mistakes. In conclusion, there is no right and wrong in your answers to these question types. It totally hinges on your proficiency to get higher scores.

So, if you want to improve your proficiency and aim for high scores in the Duolingo English Test, that is what we can support from instantly detailed feedback. We evaluate your practice answers based on the same grading aspects that the Duolingo English Test uses to assess test-takers' skills. The grading elements include Fluency, Coherence, Content, Lexical Sophistication, Lexical Diversity, Grammatical Accuracy, Grammatical Complexity and Acoustic features.

Watch this video to understand our feedback for all open response question types.    

If you want to experience our automatically correcting systems and all question types, go to our DET Practice Platform and create a FREE ACCOUNT.