Results, certificates and retakes - FAQs
My results
- I've taken a Cambridge English exam. Can you tell me my results?
- How long will it take for me to receive my results/certificate?
- Can I see my results online?
- I've lost /forgotten my password – what can I do?
- I've lost my Candidate ID and Secret Number – what can I do?
- Can I see my exam papers?
- Can I see the marks I received in each paper?
- How are the papers marked?
- Do I have to pass all components/papers in order to pass the exam?
- What information is available about my results?
- What are the pass marks/range of percentages for my exam?
- Is there any information on the number of candidates getting different grades each year?
- How do marks/grades for different exams compare to each other?
- What marks are given to different papers?
- If, for example, papers have more than 40 available marks, how is my total out of 40 calculated?
- Is it impossible to achieve a Grade A in Cambridge English: Proficiency (CPE)?
- I need to take an exam and get the results very quickly (for immigration purposes, for example) – what can I do?
My Certificate
- I've lost my certificate. How do I get a new one?
- Is my certificate different if I take the paper-based or computer-based version of the exam?
- Is there a difference in my certificate if I take a ‘for Schools’ version of an exam?
- Can I pay for a Certifying Statement by Postal Order?
Retaking an exam
My results
I've taken a Cambridge English exam. Can you tell me my results?
Cambridge ESOL cannot advise individual candidates of their results. Please contact the exam centre where you took your exam, or use our online results service. If you have difficulty accessing the online results service or need to know your Secret ID and Candidate Number, please contact your exam centres directly.
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How long will it take for me to receive my results/certificate?
Cambridge English: Key (KET) |
Statements of Results are normally available online around 5–7 weeks after the exam for paper-based exams and two weeks after the exam for computer-based tests. You can see the exact release date on your Confirmation of Entry, which your centre should have provided you with. Please contact your centre if you have lost/not received this. Certificates are normally sent to exam centres within three months of the exam. Please contact your centre if you need to know the specific date. |
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Skills for Life |
Statements of Results are normally sent to exam centres around three weeks after the exam. Please contact your centre if you have not received your results. Certificates are normally sent to exam centres around six weeks after statements of results are released (around two months after the exam). Please contact your centre if you have not received your certificate. |
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Cambridge English: Young Learners |
Certificates are normally sent to exam centres around three weeks after the exam. Please contact your centre if you have not received your results. |
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Teaching Knowledge Test |
Certificates are normally sent to exam centres around two weeks after the exam. Please contact your centre if you have not received your results. |
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Can I see my results online?
You can view your results online as soon as they become available.
To access your results, follow these instructions:
1) Make sure you have the Confirmation of Entry from your centre containing your Candidate ID number and Secret number.
2) Go to https://cambridgeesol-results.org/Members/Login.aspx and click the Register button on the left hand side.
3) Enter the Candidate ID and Secret Number given to you in your letter.
4) Enter an email address where you can be contacted.
5) Provide your own password as instructed on the screen.
6) You will receive an email confirming registration to the website.
7) Once you have received this, go back to https://cambridgeesol-results.org/Members/Login.aspx and log in using the Candidate ID (provided in your letter) and the password (provided by you).
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I've lost/forgotten my password – what can I do?
If you forget your password follow these instructions:
1) Go to https://cambridgeesol-results.org/Members/Login.aspx and click the 'Forgotten your password?' link.
2) Enter the Candidate ID given to you in your letter and press 'Submit'.
3) An email will be sent to the email address you entered during registration confirming your password.
If you don't receive the email check the following:
- You are checking the same email account you were using when you created the account. You may have changed your email account to a new one without updating your details on the Cambridge ESOL results website. If you have a few email accounts, check them all to see if the reminder has arrived at any of them.
- That the password reminder email is not going into your 'Junk' or 'Spam' folder by opening it and checking for an email from Cambridge ESOL. If this does not work, try adding the following email address to your 'Safe Contacts': CambridgeESOL-results@cambridgeesol.org. Then try requesting the password reminder again.
If after following these steps you continue to experience problems, or you have lost your letter with your login details, please contact your exam centre who can provide you with your login details or a paper copy of your results.
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I've lost my candidate ID and Secret Number – what can I do?
If you have lost your Candidate ID and Secret Number, you must contact your examination centre.
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Can I see my exam papers?
Cambridge ESOL does not release your scripts under any circumstances. Our regulations state that your answers, and other work done by you as part of an examination, will not be released to you, your school or your centre. Information about your performance in individual exam papers is limited to what is contained in your Statement of Results.
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Can I see the marks I received in each paper?
No. Cambridge ESOL does not provide details of the specific marks that you achieve for each exam component. Cambridge ESOL views language proficiency in terms of your overall communicative ability. Our exams test overall communicative language ability, and each component provides a unique and equally weighted contribution to your final mark.
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How are the papers marked?
Different elements of each of the papers are marked in different ways:
Some questions, such as multiple-choice questions, are scanned by computer. Typically these are questions where a candidate fills in a small box (lozenge) to identify the answer, for example, A, B, C or D.
Questions which require a longer answer, for example a word or phrase, are marked by human markers who check to see if the answers are correct or not.
Writing tasks in Cambridge English: Preliminary (PET), Cambridge English: First (FCE), Cambridge English: Advanced (CAE), Cambridge English: Proficiency (CPE), Cambridge English: Business Preliminary (BEC P), Cambridge English: Business Vantage (BEC V), Cambridge English: Business Higher (BEC H), Cambridge English: Financial (ICFE) and Cambridge English: Legal (ILEC) are marked by experienced examiners. These examiners undergo rigorous training prior to the marking session and are closely monitored throughout the exercise by Team Leaders, who are in turn supervised by a Principal Examiner. Cambridge ESOL takes great care to ensure that the marking of all papers is fair and standardised.
In the case of Speaking tests, examiners undergo a standardisation session each year to ensure that they are assessing performances correctly. During the live test, two examiners are present, each of whom gives an independent assessment of each candidate’s performance. Examiners are also monitored on a regular basis by Team Leaders.
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Do I have to pass all components/papers in order to pass the exam?
No. It is not possible to pass or fail an individual paper. The final mark on which the grade is awarded is based on the aggregate score of all of the papers. If you perform poorly on one paper, you can compensate by performing well on the other papers.
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What information is available about my results?
For most exams you will receive a Statement of Results, which shows how you have performed in each paper. These are shown against the scale Exceptional – Good – Borderline – Weak, and indicate your relative performance in each paper.
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What are the pass marks/range of percentages for my exam?
The percentage of marks needed to achieve each grade may vary from session to session, depending on the precise difficulty of the individual papers which make up your exam. Detailed information is provided on your Statement of Results.
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Is there any information on the number of candidates getting different grades each year?
Yes, we provide this information going back several years.
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How do marks/grades for different exams compare to each other?
Cambridge ESOL cannot provide a direct comparison between exams due to the different design, purpose and format of each exam.
You can see how our different exams map to the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR), and the UK National Qualifications Framework here:
You can find information on research conducted to see how IELTS maps to the CEFR here:
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What marks are given to different papers?
To find out the number of marks given for each paper, go to the Information for Candidates document within the ‘Preparation’ tab of your chosen exam.
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If, for example, papers have more than 40 available marks, how is my total out of 40 calculated?
For each of the papers, the mark you are awarded is weighted to a mark out of 40 in this way:
Your score × 40 ÷ maximum number of possible marks.
This gives each paper in the examination equal importance. The weighted marks for each paper are then added together to give an aggregate score, and it is this score on which the grade is based.
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Is it impossible to achieve a Grade A in Cambridge English: Proficiency (CPE)?
Cambridge English: Proficiency (CPE) is the highest level Cambridge English exam. Grade statistics show that candidates do achieve Grade A when taking Cambridge English: Proficiency (CPE).
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I need to take an exam and get the results very quickly (for immigration purposes, for example) – what can I do?
If you need results quickly, you could choose to take a computer-based test as results are available two weeks after taking the test.
My certificate
I’ve lost my certificate. How do I get a new one?
You can find the information you need here:
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Is my certificate different if I take the paper-based or computer-based version of the exam?
No. Certificates do not state whether the exam was the paper-based or computer-based version. The certificates look exactly the same.
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Is there a difference in my certificate if I take a ‘for Schools’ version of an exam?
No. If you take Cambridge English: Key for Schools, Cambridge English: Preliminary for Schools or Cambridge English: First for Schools, you will receive the same certificate as candidates who have taken Cambridge English: Key, Cambridge English: Preliminary or Cambridge English: First.
The exams have exactly the same format, but the ‘for Schools’ versions have content aimed at school-age candidates.
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Can I pay for a Certifying Statement by Postal Order?
Yes.
Retaking an exam
Can I retake an exam if I fail or if I want to achieve a better grade?
Yes. You can retake exams as often as you want, although you cannot enter for the same exam twice in the same month.
