Which CELPIP® skill is hardest? What the published results show

What the data report publishes for each component

The test provider publishes a data report on its test takers for a year. The CELPIP General test has 4 components: Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking. For each one, the report gives the mean level and the share of test takers who reached certain levels. This article uses the mean, the share at CLB 9 or higher and the share at CLB 7 or higher. For how a CELPIP result is reported and how its levels relate to the CLB scale, see how CELPIP results work.

In Listening, the mean level was 8.22. 52% of test takers reached CLB 9 or higher, and 74.5% reached CLB 7 or higher. In Reading, the mean level was 7.21. 33.3% reached CLB 9 or higher, and 58% reached CLB 7 or higher.

In Writing, the mean level was 7.91. 29.8% of test takers reached CLB 9 or higher, and 80.4% reached CLB 7 or higher. In Speaking, the mean level was 7.76. 32.6% reached CLB 9 or higher, and 72.6% reached CLB 7 or higher.

Which skill comes out lowest depends on the measure

Reading has the lowest mean level, at 7.21, and Listening has the highest, at 8.22. Writing, at 7.91, and Speaking, at 7.76, sit between them.

At CLB 7 or higher, Reading again has the smallest share, 58%, and it is clearly below the others. Speaking has 72.6% and Listening has 74.5%. Writing has 80.4%, the largest share of any component at this level.

At CLB 9 or higher, the order changes. Writing has the smallest share, 29.8%. Speaking, at 32.6%, and Reading, at 33.3%, are close behind, so these components sit near each other. Listening, at 52%, is well above them.

So which skill is hardest depends on the level you are aiming for. By the mean, or by the share reaching CLB 7, Reading is lowest. By the share reaching CLB 9, Writing is lowest, just below Speaking and Reading. Writing stands out: more test takers reached CLB 7 or higher in Writing than in any other component, yet fewer reached CLB 9 or higher in Writing than in any other.

What the figures cannot tell you

These figures cover everyone who took the test that year, not any one test taker. A mean level sums up a large and varied group. Your own results may follow the same pattern, reverse it or look nothing like it. Someone who reads long documents at work all day may find Reading their easiest component. Someone who rarely writes in English may find Writing their hardest, whatever the averages say.

The report gives levels, not reasons. Nothing in these figures explains why the mean for Reading is lower, or why fewer test takers reached CLB 9 in Writing. Any explanation you read elsewhere is a guess unless the report itself makes it. The figures don't separate the possible factors, such as who took the test that year or how they prepared.

Each share describes its component on its own. These figures don't show how many test takers reached a given level in every component at once, and you can't work that out by combining the shares for each component. Be careful with small gaps too. At CLB 9 or higher, Writing, Speaking and Reading are so close that their order says little about which will be hardest for you.

What this means for how you prepare

You have to meet your target in every component. A strong level in one doesn't make up for a weaker level in another. IRCC sets what your immigration program asks for. Its rules change and have exceptions, and IRCC's page on language test results is the authority. For an overview, see CLB levels for Express Entry and citizenship. This article is general information, not immigration advice.

So the component furthest below your target deserves the most time, whether or not it is the one you expect. The published figures can suggest where to look first. If your target is CLB 7, they point to Reading as worth a careful check. If your target is CLB 9, check Reading, Speaking and Writing, not only the component with the lowest mean.

A pattern across all test takers is still only a guess about you. Test that guess with a full-length practice test under timed conditions. Then give the most time to whichever component falls furthest below your target. How to structure your CELPIP preparation covers planning in more detail. The Reading guide and the Writing guide describe how those components are built.

Checking your own gap with celpip9

celpip9 is an independent practice platform, not connected to, approved by or endorsed by the test provider or IRCC. If the test format is new to you, the test drive lets you try every mechanic of the test, untimed and unscored. These include single-play audio, the live word count and the recorder that starts and stops on its own. It needs a free account. Once you know the mechanics, a practice test measures your English rather than your surprise at the screen.

For Listening and Reading, celpip9 estimates a level from the number of correct answers, read through the approximate chart the test provider publishes. Its practice tests are not yet equated to the scale the test itself uses. So the estimate is shown as a range on the CLB scale, never as a CELPIP score or result. The methodology explains how the estimate is made, and what the estimate cannot tell you covers its limits. Among the things the trust panel marks as not yet measured is how well these estimates match the levels test takers later report.

Writing and Speaking are not scored on the site yet. Your responses are kept in the report but get no level, as the status page shows. Until then, compare your responses with the test provider's performance standards for Writing and Speaking, or ask a capable reader or listener to do so. Use your own words every time. The test provider warns that responses that are not original can put a result at risk, for example by having it cancelled. That is why celpip9 publishes no templates or set phrases.