How we score the placement test — a level, not just a percentage

A placement result isn't "correct answers ÷ total". Two people can both score 40% and land on different levels — because what matters is not how many you got right, but which ones. Here's exactly how your result is built.

Your level comes from a ladder, not an average

Every task is tagged to a CEFR level (A1–C1) and a skill (reading, listening, grammar). For each skill we climb the ladder from A1 upward: to reach the next rung you have to master the current one — about 60% of its items, so 2 out of 3. Your level is the highest rung you clear.

That's why the raw percentage alone can't name a level. Land your 40% entirely on the easy items and you're solidly A2; scatter the same 40% and miss the basics, and the ladder stops at A1. Same number, different meaning.

Why one careless slip doesn't sink you

CEFR is cumulative: if you can do B2, you can almost certainly do A2. So when you clearly master two or more higher levels but stumble on a lower one, we treat that stumble as noise, not a real gap — the ladder keeps climbing instead of collapsing to the floor. A single bad question can't decide your level; you have to genuinely miss the basics for it to count.

Speaking is scored on its own scale

The optional speaking part doesn't run through the same ladder. You talk to an AI examiner; it scores your answer from 0 to 100 on the criteria a real examiner uses, and that percentage maps straight to a CEFR band:

It sits next to your objective result, so you can see whether speaking is ahead of or behind the rest of your German.

Reading your result: a level per skill

You get one headline level as a recommended starting point, plus a level and a percentage for every skill. The percentage tells you how securely you hold that level — clearing a rung at 61% and at 95% are both "passed", but they mean very different things for what to study next. A skill sitting a level below the others is exactly where your fastest progress is waiting.

Built to be fair, not flattering

Each skill carries the same number of items at every level, so no rung is decided by a single lucky guess. The test isn't chasing a high number — it's trying to place you where you'll actually learn, which is why it can recommend a level below the percentage you might expect. An honest starting point beats a flattering one.