Goethe-Zertifikat B2 · marking
Each of the four modules is out of 100 points and is passed at 60 — each one on its own. This page shows how the examiners arrive at those points: in Lesen and Hören by counting correct answers, in Schreiben and Sprechen by grading criteria from A to E. The calculator shows what a result would be worth.
Pick a module. For Lesen and Hören, enter how many answers you got right; for Schreiben and Sprechen, choose a grade from A to E for each criterion. The calculator shows the points, the Prädikat (the grade in words) and what is missing for a pass.
Correct answers
18of 30
All 30 items count the same, whichever Teil they are in. A wrong answer costs nothing.
Result · Lesen
60of 100 points
Passed
Prädikat: ausreichend
3 more correct answers to reach “befriedigend”
The calculator reproduces the published points scales of the exam. It is not an official result: only the examiners at your exam centre award your points — and they decide which grade your answer deserves.
Lesen, Hören, Schreiben and Sprechen are marked separately and certified separately. Each module is out of 100 points and is passed at 60. Nothing carries over between modules: 95 points in Lesen do not rescue 55 in Hören.
A module you did not pass can be resat on its own, as often as you like, and the modules you passed stay passed. The certificate gives the points and the Prädikat for each module.
| Points | Prädikat |
|---|---|
| 90–100 | sehr gut |
| 80–89 | gut |
| 70–79 | befriedigend |
| 60–69 | ausreichend |
| 0–59 | nicht bestanden |
Both modules have 30 items — Lesen five Teile in 65 minutes, Hören four Teile in about 40 minutes. Each correct answer is worth a thirtieth of 100 points, about 3.33, and the result is rounded to whole points. 18 correct answers make exactly 60.
Correct answers → points
No points are taken off for a wrong answer, so never leave an item blank — a guess can only gain.
The Teile are not weighted: the three items of Lesen Teil 5 count exactly as much as three items of Teil 1.
Schreiben has two compulsory tasks: a Forumsbeitrag (a forum post) of about 150 words, worth 60 points, and a Nachricht (a message to a named person) of about 100 words, worth 40. Both are marked on the same four criteria, each with exactly one grade from A to E — there are no grades in between. What a grade is worth depends on the task.
Content, length and the language functions the task asks for — in the Forumsbeitrag, for example, giving and justifying an opinion — plus a register that fits the reader. An A needs all four Inhaltspunkte (content points) handled appropriately.
How the text is built — an introduction, a conclusion, a logical order — and how sentences and clauses are linked.
Range and control of vocabulary: how differentiated your words are, and whether slips get in the way of understanding.
Range and control of grammar — word forms and sentence structure, and in Schreiben spelling too.
| Criterion | A | B | C | D | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Erfüllung | 14 | 10.5 | 7 | 3.5 | 0 |
| Kohärenz | 14 | 10.5 | 7 | 3.5 | 0 |
| Wortschatz | 16 | 12 | 8 | 4 | 0 |
| Strukturen | 16 | 12 | 8 | 4 | 0 |
| Same grade throughout | 60 | 45 | 30 | 15 | 0 |
| Criterion | A | B | C | D | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Erfüllung | 10 | 7.5 | 5 | 2.5 | 0 |
| Kohärenz | 10 | 7.5 | 5 | 2.5 | 0 |
| Wortschatz | 10 | 7.5 | 5 | 2.5 | 0 |
| Strukturen | 10 | 7.5 | 5 | 2.5 | 0 |
| Same grade throughout | 40 | 30 | 20 | 10 | 0 |
If Erfüllung gets an E, the whole task scores 0 points — however good the Wortschatz and Strukturen. No other criterion sets a task to zero.
A text with fewer than half the required words gets an E in Erfüllung: under 75 words in the Forumsbeitrag, under 50 in the Nachricht. The same applies if the text misses the topic.
C in all eight grades adds up to 50 of 100 points — not a pass. B throughout comes to 75.
Sprechen is taken in pairs in front of two examiners; the short introduction at the start is not marked. Teil 1, the Vortrag (a prepared talk) with questions, is worth up to 44 points, Teil 2, the Diskussion, up to 40, and Aussprache (pronunciation) across both Teile up to 16. Here too every criterion gets exactly one grade from A to E.
Erfüllung, Kohärenz, Wortschatz and Strukturen mark your talk; in Sprechen, Kohärenz covers fluency as well. Fragen/Antworten marks how you answer the questions afterwards and whether you ask your partner a question yourself.
Interaktion takes the place of Kohärenz: whether you open, keep up and close the conversation and respond to what your partner actually says.
Sentence melody, word stress and individual sounds, marked once across both Teile. An A means no noticeable deviations; a B, audible ones that do not impair understanding.
An E in Erfüllung sets that Teil to 0 points, whatever the other criteria say.
| Criterion | A | B | C | D | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Erfüllung | 8 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| Kohärenz | 8 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| Wortschatz | 8 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| Strukturen | 8 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| Fragen/Antworten | 12 | 9 | 6 | 3 | 0 |
| Same grade throughout | 44 | 33 | 22 | 11 | 0 |
| Criterion | A | B | C | D | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Erfüllung | 10 | 7.5 | 5 | 2.5 | 0 |
| Interaktion | 10 | 7.5 | 5 | 2.5 | 0 |
| Wortschatz | 10 | 7.5 | 5 | 2.5 | 0 |
| Strukturen | 10 | 7.5 | 5 | 2.5 | 0 |
| Same grade throughout | 40 | 30 | 20 | 10 | 0 |
| Criterion | A | B | C | D | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aussprache | 16 | 12 | 8 | 4 | 0 |
The totals of 44, 40 and 16 points are printed on the mark sheet. That the 12-point scale belongs to Fragen/Antworten is our reading of how the sheet is laid out — Felix and this calculator both count it that way.
Felix, our AI examiner, does not mark Aussprache: a transcript carries no sound. His Sprechen result is therefore out of 84 points and tells you how many Aussprache points you would still need for 60.
Schreiben and Sprechen are marked by two examiners, independently of each other. Your result is the average of the two, rounded to whole points — half points round up.
If only one of the two Schreiben marks is below 60 points and the average is below it too, a third examiner marks the paper.
The Sprechen examiners are not told your results in the written modules, so a strong Lesen cannot make your speaking look better — or a weak one make it look worse.
Lesen and Hören are marked against an answer key; in the digital exam the platform does it automatically.
In the Modellprüfungen (full mock exams) you take Lesen and Hören under the real time limit and get your points by the same conversion. Schreiben and Sprechen are marked by Felix, our AI examiner, on the criteria and tables above — one grade per criterion, each backed by your own words. His result is an estimate for your practice, not an official one. Felix comes with Exam Prep and Complete Prep; with an account and a confirmed email address you see one preview of the marking per module.
60 of 100 points — in every module you take. In Lesen and Hören that means 18 of 30 correct answers; in Schreiben and Sprechen, 60 points from the grades on the criteria. Each module is passed or failed on its own.
No. There is no compensation between modules: with 95 points in Lesen and 55 in Hören, Lesen is passed and Hören is not. You then resit only Hören — as often as you need to.
12 of 30. With 18 correct answers you have exactly 60 points; 17 correct answers make 57 points, and the module is not passed. A wrong answer costs nothing beyond that, so answer every item.
Under half the required length — fewer than 75 words in the Forumsbeitrag or 50 in the Nachricht — Erfüllung gets an E, and under the zero rule the whole task scores 0. If that happens to the Forumsbeitrag, the Nachricht can bring at most 40 points: not enough to pass.
Not if it is a C everywhere. C in every criterion comes to 50 points in Schreiben and 50 in Sprechen — the line is 60. You need a B in several criteria, or better grades where the scale pays most: Wortschatz and Strukturen in the Forumsbeitrag, for example, are worth 16 points each at A.
Aussprache is worth 16 of the 100 points and is judged on sentence melody, word stress and individual sounds. An A means no noticeable deviations; a B allows audible deviations as long as they do not impair understanding. An accent that does not get in the way of understanding is therefore still a B — 12 of 16 points.
It uses the points scales and rules the exam publishes: the conversion for Lesen and Hören, the zero rule, the pass line at 60. What it cannot do is judge your answer — which grade your text or your talk deserves is decided by the examiners. It helps you understand the marking; it is not an official result.
DeutschCertPrep is an independent preparation service. We are not affiliated with, authorised by or endorsed by the Goethe-Institut, telc gGmbH, ÖSD or the BAMF, and we do not issue certificates. “Goethe-Zertifikat”, “telc” and “ÖSD” are trademarks of their respective owners and are used here only to name the exams our material prepares for. Felix’s marking is a practice estimate, not an official exam result.
