Guides written from the scoring side.
How each exam is scored, where the marks go, and what to practise. Written by the team that builds Hilingo’s engine.
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What's new on Hilingo: the September 2026 update
A bigger mock library across every exam, question translation in 50 languages, per-criterion marking on writing and speaking, and an explanation behind every objective answer. Here is what changed and why each piece matters.
CELPIP vs IELTS vs PTE Core: which test can you actually score CLB 9 in?
All three tests are accepted for Canadian immigration and all three convert to CLB. They do not spread the difficulty the same way — IELTS loads almost the whole CLB 7 to 9 climb onto listening, PTE Core asks for 88 out of 90 in writing. The right test depends on your weakest skill.
CELPIP vs TEF vs TCF: you are probably asking the wrong question
Most comparisons treat this as a choice between an English test and a French one. For Express Entry it usually is not a choice at all — French at NCLC 7 is worth up to 50 extra CRS points on top of your English score, and you are allowed to submit both.
IELTS vs PTE Core for Canada PR: opposite bottlenecks
At CLB 9 these two tests are hard in completely different places. IELTS wants listening 8.0 while everything else stays at 7.0. PTE Core wants writing 88 out of 90 while reading stays at 78. Once you know your weakest skill, the choice mostly makes itself.
IELTS Writing Task 1: the marks you lose here are not about your English
Academic Task 1 asks you to describe data; General Task 1 asks you to write a letter. Both are marked on the same four criteria, and the one that decides most Task 1 scripts is not about how you wrote — it is about what you chose to report and who you decided you were writing to. Sample banks cannot teach that.
PTE Core vs CELPIP: both use AI, so what does a human actually check?
Both are computer-delivered, both are accepted for Canadian PR, both convert to CLB — and both score with AI. The real difference is how much human judgement sits on top: Paragon states every CELPIP writing score is reviewed and verified by its rating team, while Pearson's human review reaches certain traits on certain PTE tasks.
TCF Canada speaking: you hear the sound you meant to make, not the one you made
Every guide to expression orale hands you sample answers and a structure for each task. None of them can tell you the one thing that decides your mark — what your French actually sounds like to the examiner sitting opposite you. That is not a knowledge gap. It is a measurement gap, and it is the reason speaking is so often the ability that caps a profile.
Free TCF Canada mock test: full length, scored, no card
A free TCF Canada mock test that runs under the real section timers and comes back scored on both official scales — compréhension on 100–699 with its CEFR level, expression out of 20 with its NCLC band. Plus what you can keep practising free every day.
TCF Canada Score Chart: Convert 699 and /20 to NCLC
TCF Canada reports two scales that do not add up — 100–699 for Listening and Reading, out of 20 for Writing and Speaking. Here are the official IRCC conversion tables, what NCLC 7 actually costs you in each skill, and why your worst skill is the only one that matters.
Best Duolingo English Test practice platforms in 2026
Every DET platform gives you a score. Almost none tells you which mistake you made or how to stop making it. Here is the standard worth judging any of them by, what Hilingo does against it, and where the others land.
Duolingo English Test accepted universities: how to check before you book
Thousands of institutions accept the DET, but acceptance is set per programme, not per university, and IRCC does not accept it for PR at all. Here is how to check properly so you do not sit the wrong test.
How long do English test results take? PTE, IELTS, CELPIP and Duolingo compared
PTE is usually back in 48 hours, Duolingo in two days, CELPIP in two to four business days, IELTS in three to five if you take it on a computer. Here is what actually drives the wait, and how to plan a deadline around it.