Naeun Kim

The article examines the validity of Duolingo English Test (DET) in comparison to other English Proficiency Tests such as IELTS or TOEFL. The research concluded that there is a positive correlation between DET Overall scores and first-year academic grades for postgraduates students. On the other hand, there seems to be no significant correlation between DET Overall score and academic grades for undergraduate students. In comparison with other English Proficiency Tests, the pattern of correlations for DET was similar to those observed for IELTs and TOEFL, suggesting that DET scores have comparable predictive validity to these established tests. However, the results conveyed that students admitted to university with DET scores exhibited lower academic success in comparison to those admitted with IELTS and TOEFL. The article suggests that these may be due to the limitation in sample characteristics, such as a majority of the DET Test-Takers being limited to a single nationality, and DET only having become a trend during the COVID Pandemic.

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