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This rapid response study evaluates whether DET scores predict university academic attainment, considering students’ degree level, academic discipline, and nationality. Criterion-related validity evidence is established by comparing DET examinees’ performance with students admitted via IELTS and TOEFL iBT.",{"@graph":69,"@context":123},[70,84,106],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":40,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/examining-the-predictive-validity-of-the-duolingo-english-test-evidence-from-a-major-uk-university/158009/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/examining-the-predictive-validity-of-the-duolingo-english-test-evidence-from-a-major-uk-university/158009.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Skyler","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-28","2026-08-29",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":105},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",23,{"@type":107,"mainEntity":108},"FAQPage",[109,115,119],{"name":110,"@type":111,"acceptedAnswer":112},"What is the study investigating about the Duolingo English Test (DET)?","Question",{"text":113,"@type":114},"The study examines whether DET test scores have predictive value for university students’ academic attainment, accounting for degree level, discipline, and nationality.","Answer",{"name":116,"@type":111,"acceptedAnswer":117},"How do DET results relate to academic attainment for postgraduate versus undergraduate students?",{"text":118,"@type":114},"DET Overall scores show a positive association with academic attainment for postgraduate students, while no such association is reported for undergraduate students.",{"name":120,"@type":111,"acceptedAnswer":121},"How are DET examinees’ outcomes compared with those admitted using IELTS or TOEFL iBT?",{"text":122,"@type":114},"The study compares academic performance across admissions routes, providing criterion-related validity evidence by analyzing correlational patterns for IELTS and TOEFL iBT admittees as well.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":125,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":127,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":129,"site_id":62},158009,1787993571,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":132},{"doc_id":129,"user_id":133,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":134,"doc_module":4,"category_id":39,"category_name":40,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":135,"file_id":136,"file_url":137,"file_type":138,"file_size":139,"view_count":105,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":140,"language":141,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":142,"faqs":143,"seo_title":144,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":130,"read_time":26,"preview_page_count":4},2336464648746,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_276721f389ce27ea32af1340a28f341c","[eprints@whiterose.ac.uk](eprints@whiterose.ac.uk)[ ](eprints@whiterose.ac.uk)[https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk](https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk)  \nUniversities of Leeds, Sheffield and York  \nDeposited via The University of York.  \nWhite Rose Research Online URL for this paper:  \n[https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/id/eprint/215856/](https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/id/eprint/215856/)  \nVersion: Published Version  \nArticle:  \nIsaacs, Talia, Hu, Ruolin, Trenkic, Danijela et al. (2023) Examining the predictive validity of the Duolingo English Test: Evidence from a major UK university. Language Testing. pp.  \n748-770. ISSN: 0265-5322  \n[https://doi.org/10.1177/02655322231158550](https://doi.org/10.1177/02655322231158550)  \nReuse  \nThis article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) licence. This licence allows you to distribute, remix, tweak, and build upon the work, even commercially, as long as you credit the authors for the original work. More information and the full terms of the licence here: [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/)  \nTakedown  \nIf you consider content in White Rose Research Online to be in breach of UK law, please notify us by  \nemailing [eprints@whiterose.ac.uk](eprints@whiterose.ac.uk) including the URL of the record and the reason for the withdrawal request.  \n/$1*8$*(  \nArticle  7(67,1*   \nExamining the predictive validity of the Duolingo English Test: Evidence from a major UK university  \nTalia Isaacs  \nUniversity College London, UK  \nRuolin Hu  \nUniversity College London, UK  \nDanijela Trenkic  \nUniversity of York, UK  \nJulia Varga  \nUniversity College London, UK  \nLanguage Testing  \n2023, Vol. 40(3) 748–770 © The Author(s) 2023  \nArticle reuse guidelines:  \n[sagepub.com/journals-permissions](sagepub.com/journals-permissions)[ ](sagepub.com/journals-permissions)[DOI: 10.1177/02655322231158550](DOI: 10.1177/02655322231158550)[ ](DOI: 10.1177/02655322231158550)[journals.sagepub.com/home/ltj](journals.sagepub.com/home/ltj)  \nAbstract  \nThe COVID-19 pandemic has changed the university admissions and proficiency testing landscape. One change has been the meteoric rise in use of the fully automated Duolingo English Test (DET) for university entrance purposes, offering test-takers a cheaper, shorter, accessible alternative. This rapid response study is the first to investigate the predictive value of DET test scores in relation to university students’ academic attainment, taking into account students’ degree level, academic discipline, and nationality. We also compared DET test-takers’ academic performance with that of students admitted using traditional proficiency tests. Credit-weighted first-year academic grades of 1881 DET test-takers (1389 postgraduate, 492 undergraduate) enrolled ata large, research-intensive London university in Autumn 2020 were positively associated with DET Overall scores for postgraduate students (adj. r = .195) but not undergraduate students (adj. r = −.112). This result was mirrored in correlational patterns for students admitted through IELTS (n = 2651) and TOEFL iBT (n = 436), contributing to criterion-related validity evidence. Students admitted with DET enjoyed lower academic success than the IELTS and TOEFL iBT test-takers, although sample characteristics may have shaped this finding. We discuss implications  \nCorresponding author:  \nTalia Isaacs, UCL Centre for Applied Linguistics, IOE–UCL’s Faculty of Education and Society, University College London, 20 Bedford Way, London WC1H 0AL, UK.  \nEmail: [talia.isaacs@ucl.ac.uk](talia.isaacs@ucl.ac.uk)  \nfor establishing cut scores and harnessing test-takers’ academic language development through pre-sessional and in-sessional support.  \nKeywords  \nAcademic attainment, academic readiness, English for Academic Purposes, higher education, language proficiency, predictive validity, second language, standardised tests, university admissions, validation  \nIntroduction ","cbCaiomgKsfTJvkG","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaiomgKsfTJvkG","pdf",328670,24,"English","# Abstract\n## Predictive value of DET scores\n## Comparison with IELTS and TOEFL iBT\n## Implications for cut scores and support","[{\"question\":\"What is the study investigating about the Duolingo English Test (DET)?\",\"answer\":\"The study examines whether DET test scores have predictive value for university students’ academic attainment, accounting for degree level, discipline, and nationality.\"},{\"question\":\"How do DET results relate to academic attainment for postgraduate versus undergraduate students?\",\"answer\":\"DET Overall scores show a positive association with academic attainment for postgraduate students, while no such association is reported for undergraduate students.\"},{\"question\":\"How are DET examinees’ outcomes compared with those admitted using IELTS or TOEFL iBT?\",\"answer\":\"The study compares academic performance across admissions routes, providing criterion-related validity evidence by analyzing correlational patterns for IELTS and TOEFL iBT admittees as well.\"}]","Examining the Predictive Validity of the Duolingo English Test - Evidence from a Major UK University | PDF"]