CELPIP listening score chart

Listening score calculator: correct answers to a level

Count every question you answered correctly across a whole listening section, out of 38. Some versions of an official test add questions that are not scored, but your level still comes from those 38. A wrong answer and a blank both add nothing to your count.

Your result is a practice estimate, not an official score. A mock test uses different recordings from the ones you will hear on test day, so use the range for planning: your official level may differ.

How to use the CELPIP listening score chart

This chart works on one number: your correct answers in a full listening section, taken under test-day conditions.

1. 1

   Take all 6 parts in one sitting

   Play each recording once, in order, as on test day. Replaying a recording makes your count look better than it is.

2. 2

   Count your correct answers

   Add up your right answers in all 6 parts. The total is out of 38.

3. 3

   Read your range and its CLB

   You get a range of at least two levels, with matching CLB levels.

4. 4

   Plan from the lower end

   Treat the lower level as the one you can count on today, and the higher one as within reach. Retest before you rely on it.

Why you get a range. Paragon’s guide is approximate, and its bands overlap: level 8’s band runs 30–33 correct and level 9’s runs 33–35, so 33 correct belongs to both. No practice test can tell which of those two your official result would be, so this chart shows both.

How the CELPIP listening score is calculated on this chart

On test day, your listening level comes from how many scored questions you answer correctly. Our chart turns a practice count into a range with three rules, applied to Paragon’s bands:

1. Every band that holds your count is used. The range runs from the lowest level of those bands to the highest. 33 correct sits in both level 8’s band and level 9’s, so you see 8–9.
2. One band only: add its nearer neighbour. A range never shows just one level. A count in the upper half of its band adds the level above; a count in the lower half adds the level below. 32 correct sits only in level 8’s band, in its upper half, so it shows 8–9.
3. A count in the exact middle goes down. A count exactly halfway through its band adds the level below, so a tie never shows the higher range. 34 sits halfway through level 9’s band, so it shows 8–9, not 9–10.

Put together, a range starting at level 9 needs 35 correct; every lower count still shows level 8 or below at the bottom of its range. So “inside level 9’s band” (33–35) and “a range starting at 9” (35 or more) are different targets.

The full CELPIP listening score chart

Each row pairs a span of correct answers with a CELPIP level and its CLB. Neighbouring rows share edge counts, and those shared counts are where two levels overlap.

• Top row: 35–38 correct covers levels 10 to 12, all of them CLB 10+.
• Bottom row: 0–7 correct is “M”, below level 3.
• Shared edges near common targets: 27–28 correct (levels 6 and 7), 30–31 (7 and 8), 33 (8 and 9) and 35 (9 and the top row).

What each listening level means in CLB terms

For immigration, IRCC treats CELPIP levels 4 to 10 as CLB 4 to 10, so a listening range of 7–8 here means CLB 7–8 in listening. Each skill converts on its own: your listening CLB says nothing about reading, writing or speaking.

CLB 7 in CELPIP listening is a listening level of 7: 27–31 correct on Paragon’s guide, with a range starting at 7 from 30. CLB 10 in CELPIP listening means level 10 or higher: the top band, 35–38 correct, with a range starting at 10 from 36.

Each CLB level earns Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) points in Express Entry, skill by skill; our CELPIP score chart lists them. For what a level asks of all four skills, see our pages on CLB 7, CLB 8 and CLB 9.

How many correct answers CLB 7, 8, 9 and 10 need in listening

Paragon’s guide gives each level a band, but under the three rules above, a practice range starts at your target only near the top of that band. The third column is the count to aim for.

Near the top of the chart, each level’s band starts only 2 or 3 correct answers above the band below it. Spread over 6 parts, that is fewer than one extra right answer per part. When you practise, aim one or two answers higher still: a different set of recordings can move your count by an answer or two either way.

Practise listening parts that cost you answers

Start with the part where you lost the largest share of its questions in your last full test. Parts run from 5 to 8 questions, so missing two of 5 is a bigger warning sign than missing two of 8.

• Part 1 · 8 questionsListening to Problem SolvingFollow the problem from start to finish: what went wrong, what each person suggests and what they agree to do.
• Part 2 · 5 questionsListening to a Daily Life ConversationListen for what each speaker wants and how they feel about it; the tone often tells you before the words do.
• Part 3 · 6 questionsListening for InformationNote times, places, steps and reasons in the order the speaker gives them, and watch for a late change.
• Part 4 · 5 questionsListening to a News ItemSum up the report in three points: what happened, who it affects and what happens next.Free practice set →
• Part 5 · 8 questionsListening to a DiscussionKeep a quick note of each speaker and where they stand, since views can shift as the discussion goes on.Free practice set →
• Part 6 · 6 questionsListening to ViewpointsSeparate the speaker’s own view from views they report, and catch the reason given for each one.Free practice set →

Parts 4, 5 and 6 each have a free practice set that plays the whole part once and shows your count: news item practice, discussion practice and viewpoints practice.

Why one listening part is too short for this chart

Paragon’s guide reads a full section of 38 questions, while one part has only 5 to 8. Scaled up to 38, one answer in Part 4 counts as about 8, so a single slip moves a part’s result a long way.

So a level for one part is only indicative: its count is scaled to 38, read on this chart, then widened by one level on each side. Getting 4 of 5 in Part 4 scales to 30, which reads as 7–8, so the indicative range is 6–9.

Use single parts to find and fix weak spots, and a full section, such as listening in our free mock test, to estimate your level.

A plan to move up one level in listening

Near the top of the chart, one level is only 2 or 3 correct answers, so the plan is to win back a few specific answers, not to understand every word.

1. 1

   Get a baseline

   Take a full listening section and write down your count, your range and how many questions you missed in each part.

2. 2

   Pick one part

   Choose whichever part has your largest share of misses, and give it most of your practice until those misses drop.

3. 3

   Practise with one play

   Play each practice recording once, as on test day. Before you check your answers, say the main point and two details in your own words.

4. 4

   Review every miss

   For each wrong answer, name what caught you: a detail you missed, a change of mind you did not follow, or an option that reused a speaker’s words with a different meaning.

5. 5

   Add daily listening

   Spend ten to fifteen minutes a day on everyday English talk, such as a phone-in radio show or a community podcast, heard once without pausing.

6. 6

   Retest with a new full section

   After two or three weeks, take a different full listening section and compare the lower end of your new range with the old one.