Here’s a new video that summarizes all of the coming adjustments to the Duolingo English Test. It describes the “interactive speaking” question I wrote about on Monday and also notes that:

1. A “listen and complete” task will be added to the beginning of the “interactive listening” task.
2. The “Read aloud” and “listen then speak” tasks will be removed.
3. Minimum speaking and writing times will be removed from some of the longer speaking and writing tasks. Test takers can move along whenever they feel they’ve completed the tasks.

UPDATE:  More complete descriptions have been added to the DET Help Center.

Starting in July, the Duolingo English Test will include a new speaking task that seems like an attempt to simulate a back-and-forth conversation.  In this task, test takers will receive a series of short questions on a given topic followed by a series of short questions on some other topic.  They must quickly respond to each question. 

Interested parties can demo the new task by taking the free practice test via the DET website. When I took the test, I received four questions about staying focused at work and four about family and growing up.   I was given six seconds to prepare each response and 35 seconds to speak each time, so quick thinking was mandatory.  I suppose this task is a good measure of one’s ability to produce spoken English fairly spontaneously. Note that a few people have reported getting just three questions about each topic.

I suppose there is a discussion to be had about how regular test revisions reduce the impact of cramming and test prep strategies on scores in general. Perhaps this will be a feature of more tests, as we move forward. I would love to see it as part of the HOELT, for one.

Below are a few screenshots from the practice test.  A new article from The Koala News references this task. The article includes a link to an information session you can sign up for to learn more.

The Duolingo English Test got a big brand refresh this week.  Everything is a whole lot more green than before, and the test’s branding leans more heavily into its connection to the main Duolingo app. Also note that the test’s Facebook page now sports a big ol’ “Powered by Duolingo” banner.

Of course, the connection to the app has always been emphasised (except for a curious rise in the use of “DET” to refer to the test in recent months).  Now it’s just turned up to eleven.

Here’s the new page:

Here’s the old:

Duolingo has reported earnings for Q1 of 2025.  Revenue from the Duolingo English Test was $11,986,000.  That’s down from $12,755,000 in Q1 of 2024.

The test cost $65 from January 1 to February 5, and $70 from February 5 to March 31.  If we split the difference and assume a $67.50 price tag we might assume the test was taken 177,570 times in the quarter.  That’s a 17% decrease from Q1 of 2024, when we might assume the test was taken 216,186 times (at $59 per attempt).

Note, as always, that these are crude estimates – some people pay extra to get faster results, while others get a discount by purchasing bundles of attempts.  Others pay nothing at all thanks to Duolingo’s Access Program.  It is also worth considering Duolingo’s affiliate program which shares revenue with certain partners.

Anyways. For those following along at home, here are quarterly revenues for 2024, followed by my crude estimates of how often the test was taken:

• Q4: $11,415,000  (175,615)
• Q3: $10,772,000  (165,723)
• Q2: $10,698,000  (164,584)
• Q1: $12,755,000  (217,000)

Total Tests: 722,922

And for 2023:

• Q4 2023 – 10,819,000 (183,372)
• Q3 2023 – 10,600,000 (179,661)
• Q2 2023 – 9,800,000 (166,101)
• Q1 2023 – 9,970,000 (203,469)

Total Tests: 732,603

And for 2022:

• Q4 2022 – 8,410,000 (171,632)
• Q3 2022 – 8,192,000 (167,183)
• Q2 2022 – 8,036,000 (164,000)
• Q1 2022 – 8,080,000 (164,897)

Total Tests: 667,712

And for 2021:

• Q4 2021 – 8,095,000 (165,204)
• Q3 2021 – 6,695,000 (136,000) 
• Q2 2021 – 4,833,000 (98,632)
• Q1 2021 – 5,035,000 (102,755)

Total Tests: 502,591

And, what the heck, for 2020:

• Q4 2020 – 4,197,000 (85,653)
• Q3 2020 – 5,607,000 (114,428)
• Q2 2020 – 4,598,000 (93,836)
• Q1 2020 – 753,000 (15,367)

Total Tests: 309,284

There is an interesting experiment going at the end of the DET practice test.  Duolingo seems to be trying out “describe-the-picture” tasks that are based on images connected to the test taker’s locality.

I’m in Korea and received a picture of a scene containing elements that would be immediately familiar to most people here.  After describing the scene I was asked how familiar I was with the image, how well I thought I did on the task, and if I would like to see similar items on the real test.

Following that, I received an image with elements that would be less familiar to people here and was asked similar questions.

I wrote a few days ago about the quick growth of some tests due to how “nimble” certain test makers are.  Duolingo certainly benefits from their ability to quickly run large experiments like this via their online practice test.

Here’s a copy of my Duolingo English Test score report (certificate).  The scores arrived exactly 48 hours after I finished the test. You can also check out the link that Duolingo provides for easy sharing.  I’m happy to see that my user account includes a “make private” toggle, which I can use when I no longer want that link to work.

Note how the reports now contain individual and integrated subscores.

My account also includes proper integration with the “add license or certification” function of LinkedIn.  That’s something more test makers should figure out how to do.  I’m surprised it isn’t more common.

I’m able to access the video interview and writing sample which are sent to score recipients from my account but I don’t think I can share them publicly.  Perhaps that’s something which could be implemented in the future.

I understand that some test makers still don’t send speaking and writing samples to score recipients.  That’s something else they should figure out how to do.

I took the Duolingo English Test last week! Below are the rough comments I scribbled down while everything was fresh in my mind. I had intended to post these right away, but I got distracted by financial reports over the weekend. I’ll post my score report and a few final comments tomorrow or Wednesday.

1. The test has changed quite a lot over the years.  If understanding tests is important to your work, I do encourage you to take it again.  We sometimes understand English tests as being forever frozen in time (for good reason) but that isn’t the case here.
2. Duolingo does not require test takers to carry out a room scan.  That’s great since room scans extremely arduous.  I’ve long recommended that testing firms seek out ways to administer their tests without a room scan and that testing firm. I’ve also suggested that executives eat their own dog food and put themselves through a room scan now and then.  One notable throughline of everything I write about the DET is “reasons for its success that you might not have considered.”  This is one of them.  Room scans are a pain in the butt… and they seem to be getting worse and worse.
3. I took the official practice test a day before my test.  But it crashed just before the final question when I got up to close my door and stepped out of view of the camera.  Maybe a bug?
4. I like that I am still able to see my DET scores from four years ago. I can’t send them, but I can at least see them.  In comparison, I can no longer see my TOEFL scores from the same period.
5. During registration I indicated that I had previously taken the TOEFL and PTE.  I was asked to share my TOEFL score report.  I was not asked to share my PTE score report.  No love for Pearson?
6. Setting up the secondary camera was painless enough.  It wasn’t difficult… but it was a bit awkward.  I was never 100% sure that I had done it properly.  Even after the test, I was left wondering if it would be okay.  Perhaps more feedback could be provided during the setup process.
7. I found the conversation tasks (aka “pick the next turn”) pretty hard.  I made a mistake even when I was given an obviously lower-level one.  And summarizing each conversation from memory was challenging.
8. I believe I received a warning to keep looking at the screen.  Or maybe everyone gets a reminder part way through.
9. I got the usual CAT-related pangs of anxiety.  Each time an easy item was displayed, I was left wondering if I had messed up one of the preceding items. The drop off in difficulty from one item to the next was noticeable. Even jarring, at times.
10. When the DET launched, I wasn’t a big fan of the “is this a real word” and “fill in the missing letters” items. They’ve grown on me since then, as I think they are somewhat resistant to cramming and brute-forcing.

Anyway.  This is somewhat disjointed, but I just wanted to get everything down on paper right away.  Let me know if you have any questions about the testing experience.

Duolingo has published its annual report for the year ending December 31, 2024 (Look for a 10-K file if you are seeking the below numbers).

Revenue from the Duolingo English Test increased by about 10.7 percent in 2024 to a total of $45,640,000.  This suggests that test volumes in 2024 were about the same as in 2023.

Below are quarter-by-quarter revenues for 2024.  Following each revenue figure is a crude estimate (see below for an explanation) of how many times the test was taken in that quarter.

Note that the test cost $59 from January 1 to April 15.  For the rest of the year, it cost $65.

• Q4: $11,415,000  (175,615)
• Q3: $10,772,000  (165,723)
• Q2: $10,698,000  (164,584)
• Q1: $12,755,000  (217,000)

My crude estimates are derived by dividing revenue by the cost of taking the test. This a VERY rough estimate – some people pay an additional fee to get faster results, while others get a discount by purchasing two tests at a time.  Others pay nothing at all thanks to the Duolingo Access program. And if you pay for the test and don’t show up… Duo keeps your money.  Note also that the Q2 estimate assumes a price of $65 for the whole quarter, though the price was actually a bit cheaper for the first 15 days.

With that out of the way: we can guess there were about 722,922 administrations of the DET in 2024.

–

Here are the quarterly revenues and estimates for 2023.  The test cost $49 from January 1 to April 5.  For the rest of the year it cost $59.

• Q4 2023 – $10,819,000 (183,372)
• Q3 2023 – $10,600,000 (179,661)
• Q2 2023 – $9,800,000 (166,101)
• Q1 2023 – $9,970,000 (203,469)

From this we can guess there were about 732,603 administrations in 2023.  Again, though, take that figure with a grain of salt.

Here’s a blog post from Duolingo about how DET test takers benefit from the free practice test accessed via the DET website.  Remember that this test is generated by AI, so it is different every time a test taker accesses it.  As a result, they enjoy an unlimited number of free practice tests.

The blog notes that according to research, “test takers who took more practice tests reported higher confidence levels when taking the official test. They also felt more prepared and motivated compared to those who took fewer or no practice tests.”

Yeah, no kidding.

Much has been written about the meteoric rise* of the DET.  Various factors are mentioned – the cost, the length, the at-home format, the green owl (RIP), the item types, engagement with admissions staff – but I don’t think enough credit has been given to the free practice test.

Historically, students preparing for legacy English tests have spent a ton on test prep.  A significant amount of that spending goes to the test makers themselves.  A quick glance at the Pearson site reveals that they offer scored PTE practice tests for $35.99 a pop (or buy five at a time for a discount).  ETS charges $45.95 for the same (ever unable to curate its offerings, ETS still sells dozens of separate test prep products).  Some students spend hundreds of dollars on this kind of stuff.

Duolingo’s choice to give unlimited mock tests away for free makes the DET an attractive proposition.

We take it for granted that testing companies are also test prep companies.  But it hasn’t always been this way.  For decades, ETS didn’t offer any paid prep products at all.  Whatever prep they provided was given away at no cost.  Moving into the test prep space was a choice.

Nowadays, test makers go whole hog with coupons and sales worth five or ten bucks… but when we consider the ancillary costs including (but not limited to) test prep, those marketing efforts seem pretty inconsequential.

I spent years begging my friends at ETS to provide a practice test similar to the one provided by Duolingo.  But my friends all took buyouts last year and I’m too tired to start begging anew.  Seriously, though – this is the sort of decision test firms should emulate to help ensure their long term viability.

*actually, the rise was slower than you think