English practice
French practiceExam scores, explained without the guesswork
Every table on these pages comes from the organization that runs the exam. Where no official conversion exists, we say so instead of inventing one, because a number you cannot cite is worse than no number at all.
Score conversions
What your score means on the CEFR scale, and how it lines up with the other exam people keep comparing it to.
Duolingo English Test to IELTS and CEFR
Duolingo's own concordance: what a DET score of 10 to 160 means as an IELTS band and as a CEFR level, with the study behind it.
TCF score to CEFR (and NCLC)
France Éducation international's official TCF level grid: comprehension scores out of 699, expression marks out of 20, and IRCC's TCF Canada to NCLC chart.
TEF score to CEFR (and NCLC)
The official TEF to CECR grid from CCI Paris Île-de-France, score by score, plus IRCC's TEF Canada to NCLC chart for immigration.
IELTS band score to CEFR
IELTS publishes a continuum, not a conversion table. What the official position actually says, band by band, in its own words.
TOEFL iBT score to CEFR
ETS's official TOEFL iBT to CEFR table on the 1 to 6 scale introduced in January 2026, plus the bridge back to the old 0 to 120 scores.
CLB and NCLC to CEFR
No authority publishes a CLB to CEFR conversion. What does exist is one 2018 research alignment, and this is what it says and how far it goes.
Head to head
Two exams side by side, on what each awarding body publishes about its own: what you sit, how it is scored, how long it lasts and who accepts it.
TCF vs TEF
Who runs each exam, what you sit, how it is scored, how long results last and which one your file names. Sourced from France Éducation international, CCI Paris Île-de-France and IRCC.
Duolingo English Test vs IELTS
An hour at home against nearly three hours at a test centre. Format, scoring, results time, validity, cost and acceptance, from Duolingo, IELTS, ETS and IRCC.
TCF vs DELF
The TCF reports a level and expires after two years. The DELF is a diploma you pass at a chosen level and keep for life. What that means for your file, from France Éducation international.
IELTS vs TOEFL
Side by side on what IELTS and ETS publish: sections and timings, the 0 to 9 bands against the new 1 to 6 TOEFL scale, results time, validity, cost and Canadian immigration.
Plain definitions
What an exam or a framework actually is, defined from the organization behind it, one page each.
What is the TCF?
The TCF is the French Ministry of Education's language test, run by France Éducation international. What it is, what is in it, how it is scored, how long it lasts and what it is not.
What are the DELF and DALF?
The DELF and DALF are official French diplomas awarded by the French Ministry of Education, one per CEFR level, valid for life. What each covers, how the exams are marked, and how they differ from the TCF.
What is IELTS?
IELTS is an English exam jointly owned by the British Council, IDP IELTS and Cambridge University Press & Assessment. What it contains, what each band from 0 to 9 means, and how long a result lasts.
CEFR levels, A1 to C2
The Council of Europe's six levels, reproduced from its own published global scale, with what the groupings mean and how exams and our own scoring relate to them.
Each page names its source and the date we checked it. If an exam board changes its scale, the page changes with it.
Or just find out where you stand
A free CEFR exam, about 50 minutes, no appointment. It gives you your own level on the A1 to C2 scale, which is the thing all of these tables are trying to tell you.