What Is the Cambridge English Scale? How to Read Your Score and Result
Hiroki Obara · DeveloperAlphaGeorgeHow-To
Since 2015, Cambridge English Qualifications have reported results on the Cambridge English Scale. It replaced the old standardised score and candidate profile for exams taken from 2015 onwards (Understanding results). Every exam from A2 Key (KET) to C2 Proficiency (CPE) gives its score on the same single scale.
My posts on preparing for KET, PET and FCE each included that exam’s results table. This post is about the scale itself and how to read a result. I checked all figures in October 2026 against the Cambridge English Scale page and the exams’ results pages.
Five exams in one table
The results page lists the score ranges for all five exams.
| Exam | Grade A | Grade B | Grade C | Level below | No certificate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A2 Key | 140 to 150 (B1) | 133 to 139 (A2) | 120 to 132 (A2) | 100 to 119 (A1) | 80 to 99 |
| B1 Preliminary | 160 to 170 (B2) | 153 to 159 (B1) | 140 to 152 (B1) | 120 to 139 (A2) | 102 to 119 |
| B2 First | 180 to 190 (C1) | 173 to 179 (B2) | 160 to 172 (B2) | 140 to 159 (B1) | 122 to 139 |
| C1 Advanced | 200 to 210 (C2) | 193 to 199 (C1) | 180 to 192 (C1) | 160 to 179 (B2) | 142 to 159 |
| C2 Proficiency | 220 to 230 (C2) | 213 to 219 (C2) | 200 to 212 (C2) | 180 to 199 (C1) | 162 to 179 |
The level in brackets is the CEFR level you are certified at. Read the table down a column and you will see that the CEFR boundaries fall on the same numbers in every exam. B1 starts at 140, B2 at 160, C1 at 180 and C2 at 200. That is what a shared scale means. A 150 on B1 Preliminary and a 150 on B2 First point to the same place within B1.
The overall score is the average of the skill scores
According to the results page, you receive a Cambridge English Scale score for each skill, and their average is your overall score. The skills are Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking. B2 First, C1 Advanced and C2 Proficiency add Use of English, making five.
Because it is an average, a strong skill can make up for a weak one. On B2 First, for example, a Writing score of 155 with the other skills around 170 can still give an overall score above 160 and a B2 certificate. There is no cut-off for each skill.
What “passing” means
People talk about passing a Cambridge exam, but the results page has no simple pass and fail. Your overall score decides whether you get grade A, B or C, a certificate at the level below, or no certificate.
What most people call a pass is grade A, B or C at the level of the exam you took. On B2 First, that is 160 or more.
Grade A certifies you at the level above. On B2 First, 180 or more puts C1 on your certificate. In the other direction, 140 to 159 means you didn’t reach B2, but you still receive a certificate at B1. Even in the no-certificate range, your score appears on your Statement of Results.
Reading your skill scores
On your Statement of Results, I would look at the skill scores before the overall score.
The method is simple. Compare each skill with the boundary for the level of the exam you took: 160 for B2 First, 140 for B1 Preliminary. Any skill below the line is where your next hours should go. It is common to reach the level overall while one skill sits below it.
The other thing to look at is the gap between skills. If Reading and Listening are high and Writing and Speaking are low, you are short of practice in using the English you already know. In that case I think your study before the next exam should lean towards more writing and speaking rather than more knowledge.
The official site also has a guide for teachers on converting practice test marks to the Cambridge English Scale, and a score converter.
Deciding on the next exam
Here is how I would use the score, as my own view.
If you got grade A and a certificate at the level above, I think it is reasonable to aim for the next exam up. With grade B or C, it is safer to build a margin at the same level first. If you were certified at the level below, look at which skills missed the line, put your time there, and take the same exam again. I wrote about choosing a level in Which Cambridge English Exam Should You Take?
When results arrive
According to the results page, the Statement of Results is available 5 to 10 working days after a computer-based exam, and normally 4 to 6 weeks after a paper-based exam. The exact date is on the Confirmation of Entry from your exam centre. Certificates are sent to the centre 3 to 4 weeks after a computer-based exam and 7 to 10 weeks after a paper-based one.
How it differs from Japan’s Eiken CSE score
Japan’s Eiken tests also report on a common scale, the Eiken CSE score, shared across all grades, with skill scores and a CEFR level on the score report. In that respect it is close to the Cambridge approach.
The big difference is how pass and fail are decided. Eiken decides the first stage on the total of Reading, Listening and Writing, and the second stage on Speaking alone, with a fixed passing score for each grade. For Grade 2, that is 1520 for the first stage and 460 for the second. Cambridge sets your grade and level from the average of all skill scores, with no separate stages.
The two scales are entirely different, so an Eiken CSE number can’t be compared directly with a Cambridge English Scale number. For comparisons with IELTS and TOEFL, see Cambridge English Exams vs IELTS and TOEFL and How to Read a CEFR Comparison Table.
AlphaGeorge reports and the scale
AlphaGeorge, an app I make for iPhone and iPad, is for preparing for the Cambridge exams. The course has six levels from A1 to C2, with 66 units in total, and each level has a mid-course and an end-of-course test. The report after each test shows an estimated level, a score, and how far you have reached at each CEFR level. The app’s interface and explanations are in English and Japanese.
That score comes from the app’s own questions. It is not a Cambridge English Scale score and not an official certification. Use it alongside the skill scores on your Statement of Results to decide which level’s units to go back to. The questions were all written for the app. It is not a Cambridge University Press & Assessment publication.
AlphaGeorge is free to start, with ads and a limit of hearts. AlphaGeorge Premium, a monthly or yearly subscription, removes ads, makes hearts unlimited and lets you replay finished lessons. Getting Started with AlphaGeorge walks through the first session.
