Cambridge Speaking Scoring

Two examiners, two kinds of mark. The silent assessor gives analytic marks for grammar, vocabulary, discourse, pronunciation and interaction; the interlocutor who runs the test gives one holistic mark for Global Achievement. The weighting between them changes from level to level, and it is not what most candidates expect.

The Criteria at Each Level

Exam	Analytic criteria (assessor, 0-5 each)	Global Achievement (interlocutor)	Raw total
A2 Key	Grammar and Vocabulary ×2, Pronunciation ×2, Interactive Communication ×2	0-5 ×3	45
B1 Preliminary	Grammar and Vocabulary ×1, Discourse Management ×1, Pronunciation ×1, Interactive Communication ×1	0-5 ×2	30
B2 First	Grammar and Vocabulary ×2, Discourse Management ×2, Pronunciation ×2, Interactive Communication ×2	0-5 ×4	60
C1 Advanced	Grammatical Resource ×2, Lexical Resource ×2, Discourse Management ×2, Pronunciation ×2, Interactive Communication ×2	0-5 ×5	75
C2 Proficiency	Grammatical Resource ×2, Lexical Resource ×2, Discourse Management ×2, Pronunciation ×2, Interactive Communication ×2	0-5 ×5	75

Half marks are allowed. The weightings below are how Cambridge turns the six or so 0-5 marks into the raw total:

Speaking raw = 2 \times GaV + 2 \times P + 2 \times IC + 3 \times GA = 45 max

A2 Key: GaV = Grammar and Vocabulary, P = Pronunciation, IC = Interactive Communication, GA = Global Achievement

Speaking raw = GaV + DM + P + IC + 2 \times GA = 30 max

B1 Preliminary: GaV = Grammar and Vocabulary, DM = Discourse Management, P = Pronunciation, IC = Interactive Communication, GA = Global Achievement

Speaking raw = 2 \times GaV + 2 \times DM + 2 \times P + 2 \times IC + 4 \times GA = 60 max

B2 First: GaV = Grammar and Vocabulary, DM = Discourse Management, P = Pronunciation, IC = Interactive Communication, GA = Global Achievement

Speaking raw = 2 \times GR + 2 \times LR + 2 \times DM + 2 \times P + 2 \times IC + 5 \times GA = 75 max

C1 Advanced: GR = Grammatical Resource, LR = Lexical Resource, DM = Discourse Management, P = Pronunciation, IC = Interactive Communication, GA = Global Achievement

Speaking raw = 2 \times GR + 2 \times LR + 2 \times DM + 2 \times P + 2 \times IC + 5 \times GA = 75 max

C2 Proficiency: GR = Grammatical Resource, LR = Lexical Resource, DM = Discourse Management, P = Pronunciation, IC = Interactive Communication, GA = Global Achievement

What Each Criterion Rewards

Criterion	Rewards	Loses marks for
Grammar and Vocabulary / Grammatical and Lexical Resource	Control of simple forms, attempts at complex ones, and vocabulary precise enough to give and exchange views.	Errors that obscure meaning; relying on the same few words.
Discourse Management	Extended contributions that stay relevant, with a range of cohesive devices. (Not assessed at A2 Key.)	Answers that stop after a phrase; repetition; drifting off the question.
Pronunciation	Being intelligible, with appropriate stress and intonation. An accent is not a fault.	Sounds or stress that make the listener work to understand.
Interactive Communication	Starting and responding, developing the conversation, and moving towards an outcome with little support.	Ignoring what the partner said; needing prompts from the examiner.
Global Achievement	The overall impression of how well you handle communication on the tasks set.	Frequent hesitation, very short turns, or not completing the tasks.

At A2 Key the analytic criteria are doubled and Global Achievement tripled, so the interlocutor’s single mark is worth a third of the speaking score. At B1 Preliminary it is doubled, at B2 First multiplied by four, and at C1 Advanced and C2 Proficiency by five.

Band Descriptors at A2 Key

Band	Grammar and Vocabulary	Pronunciation	Interactive Communication
5	Good control of simple grammatical forms; appropriate vocabulary for everyday situations.	Mostly intelligible, with some control of phonological features.	Maintains simple exchanges with very little prompting and support.
3	Sufficient control of simple forms; appropriate vocabulary for everyday situations.	Mostly intelligible despite limited control of phonological features.	Maintains simple exchanges despite some difficulty; needs prompting and support.
1	Limited control of a few forms; isolated words and phrases.	Very limited control; often unintelligible.	Considerable difficulty maintaining simple exchanges.

At every level bands 2 and 4 share features of the bands either side. The descriptors rise with each exam in the same way the writing scales do.

From Raw Marks to a Scale Score

Raw marks on each paper are converted to a score on the Cambridge English Scale. Cambridge publishes the raw marks that reach each CEFR boundary on its official practice tests. These are the only official figures; the conversion for a live exam is set for that exam version and is not published.

Exam	Raw marks available	Scale score: raw marks needed
A2 Key	45	140: 41 · 120: 27 · 100: 18 · 82: 10
B1 Preliminary	30	160: 27 · 140: 18 · 120: 12 · 102: 7
B2 First	60	180: 54 · 160: 36 · 140: 24 · 122: 14
C1 Advanced	75	200: 66 · 180: 45 · 160: 30 · 142: 17
C2 Proficiency	75	220: 66 · 200: 45 · 180: 30 · 162: 17

Estimate a Speaking scale score from a practice test

Exam Raw marks

Uses Cambridge’s published anchor points and a straight line between them. Live exams are equated session by session, so treat anything within 3 points of a boundary as borderline.

Between two published points the estimate is a straight line, which is what this formula does. r is your raw mark, and r₁, S₁ and r₂, S₂ are the published points either side of it.

S \approx S_{1} + \frac{r - r_{1}}{r_{2} - r_{1}} \times (S_{2} - S_{1})

A linear estimate only. It is a guide to where a practice result sits, not a prediction of the live exam.

How It Counts Towards the Result

The Speaking scale score is a quarter of the result at A2 Key and B1 Preliminary and a fifth from B2 First upwards. The overall score is the average of the skill scores, rounded to the nearest whole number:

Overall = \frac{R + W + L + S}{4}

A2 Key and B1 Preliminary: Reading, Writing, Listening, Speaking.

Overall = \frac{R + UoE + W + L + S}{5}

B2 First, C1 Advanced, C2 Proficiency: Use of English is the fifth score.

There is no minimum per skill. The grade is decided by the overall score:

Exam	Grade A	Grade B	Grade C	Level below	Reported range
A2 Key	140-150	133-139	120-132	100-119	82-150
B1 Preliminary	160-170	153-159	140-152	120-139	102-170
B2 First	180-190	173-179	160-172	140-159	122-190
C1 Advanced	200-210	193-199	180-192	160-179	142-210
C2 Proficiency	220-230	213-219	200-212	180-199	162-230

Each bar is the range an exam reports. The darkest band is Grade A, then Grade B and Grade C; the palest band is the certificate at the level below. Scores in the grey part are reported but carry no certificate.

Raising a Speaking Score

Answer the printed question in the long turn. Describing the photos without comparing or speculating caps Discourse Management.
Interact on purpose. Ask your partner what they think, pick up their idea, disagree politely. It is a whole criterion.
Keep talking to the end of the time. The interlocutor will stop you; stopping yourself early costs Global Achievement.
Paraphrase when a word is missing instead of stopping.

Sample answers with audio for every level are on the Cambridge Speaking samples page.

Kirill O'Nayd, Cambridge English exams expert

Written by Kirill O'Nayd

English test expert and educator at TestSucceed. He has spent years preparing candidates for Cambridge English Qualifications from A2 Key to C2 Proficiency, and taking apart how each paper awards its marks. See all TestSucceed preparation materials.