TEF Canada and TCF Canada by the numbers
IRCC wants NCLC 7 in all four skills for the French-language bonus and most francophone pathways. How close are candidates when they sit a full-length mock? Here is what 2,091 scored listening and reading sections from 1,523 mock sittings on Mocko show. Aggregates only, no official results, and the method is on the page.
The short version
- About one in four scored listening and reading sections reaches B2. On the 699-point scale NCLC 7 starts partway into B2, so fewer than that would have reached NCLC 7 on the official test.
- Four in ten sections sit at A2 or below. The typical candidate sits their first full mock well before they are ready, which is arguably what a mock is for.
- When both comprehension sections are scored in one sitting, both clear B2 in 19% of TEF sittings and 23.1% of TCF sittings. Neither section is the systematic blocker: on TEF, listening is the lower of the two 52.1% of the time, a coin flip.
- TEF and TCF comprehension results land within a few points of each other. The data does not support calling either test easier on listening or reading.
- Repeat takers gain about a fifth of a band per section between their first and latest mock, over a median of three sittings and about a week. Mocks measure; they do not teach in seven days.
Where every section landed
The full distribution matters more than the B2 line. On every section the biggest single band is A2 or B1, and the shape is the same on both exams.
| Section | n | A1 or below | A2 | B1 | B2 | C1 | C2 | B2+ | A2 or below |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TEF Listening | 759 | 36 | 278 | 251 | 111 | 57 | 26 | 25.6% | 41.4% |
| TEF Reading | 942 | 38 | 320 | 366 | 157 | 47 | 14 | 23.1% | 38% |
| TCF Listening | 149 | 12 | 51 | 57 | 22 | 3 | 4 | 19.5% | 42.3% |
| TCF Reading | 241 | 4 | 111 | 69 | 50 | 3 | 4 | 23.7% | 47.7% |
Both comprehension sections in one sitting
The bonus needs every skill at NCLC 7, so one strong section is not enough. These are the sittings where listening and reading were both scored in the same full mock.
TEF Canada
490 sittings, 366 candidates- Both sections at B2 or above
- 19%
- Exactly one section at B2 or above
- 18.4%
- Both sections at A2 or below
- 23.1%
- Two or more bands between the two sections
- 10.8%
- Listening is the lower section
- 52.1%
TCF Canada
78 sittings, 55 candidates- Both sections at B2 or above
- 23.1%
- Exactly one section at B2 or above
- 21.8%
- Both sections at A2 or below
- 19.2%
- Two or more bands between the two sections
- 10.3%
- Listening is the lower section
- 49.4%
Read the last line carefully: the section that drags a sitting down is listening about half the time and reading the other half. Candidates who miss NCLC 7 on comprehension are not losing it to one predictable section. They are one to two bands short across the board.
First mock versus latest mock
Candidates with two or more full mocks of the same section, comparing their first and their most recent sitting. TCF groups are small; treat them as indicative.
| Section | Repeat candidates | B2+ at first | B2+ at latest | Below B2 first, B2+ latest | Improved | Dropped | Median mocks | Median days first to latest |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TEF Listening | 88 | 20.5% | 23.9% | 15.7% | 27.3% | 23.9% | 3 | 7.5 |
| TEF Reading | 134 | 24.6% | 28.4% | 15.8% | 33.6% | 22.4% | 3 | 6 |
| TCF Listening | 14 | 42.9% | 35.7% | 12.5% | 21.4% | 21.4% | 4.5 | 15 |
| TCF Reading | 20 | 10% | 30% | 22.2% | 30% | 10% | 4 | 9 |
A fifth of a band
TEF repeat takers gain 0.18 bands in listening and 0.21 in reading between first and latest mock. About a third improve, a quarter drop, the rest hold. That is measurement noise plus modest learning, not a transformation.
A week apart
The median gap between first and latest mock is six to eight days, over three sittings. Most candidates use mocks as a burst of practice, not as checkpoints spread across a study plan.
One in six cross the line
Of TEF candidates below B2 at their first sitting, about 16% are at B2 or above by their latest. Crossing into the NCLC 7 band takes weeks of study between mocks, not more mocks.
Is TEF or TCF easier on comprehension?
Not in this data. TEF listening sits at 25.6% B2-plus against TCF's 19.5%; TEF reading at 23.1% against TCF's 23.7%. The gaps are inside what you would expect from two different candidate pools, and they point in opposite directions. The section shapes do differ, and that is where a personal preference should come from: see the section-by-section comparison.
Method
Population
Full-length TEF Canada and TCF Canada mock exams sat on Mocko and completed between 2025-09-11 and 2026-09-10. Quick tests, placement tests and single-skill practice are excluded. Staff and test accounts are excluded.
Unit of analysis
One scored section. A section's level is the rounded mean of its scored item-block levels (below A1 = 0, A1 = 1 … C2 = 6), which is exactly what the candidate's report shows. 2,091 sections from 1,523 sittings and 693 candidates.
Skipped sections
Sections with no response at all are excluded: TEF Listening 4.3%, TEF Reading 2.2%, TCF Listening 6.3%, TCF Reading 2.8% of attempted sections.
Scale
Listening and reading are multiple choice, scored deterministically against the key and projected onto a 699-point scale where A1 = 100 to 199, B1 = 300 to 399, B2 = 400 to 499. NCLC 7 on that scale starts at 434 (TEF listening and reading), 458 (TCF listening) and 453 (TCF reading).
Why no writing or speaking
Those sections are scored by Mocko’s AI engine, which was recalibrated in August 2026 (writing anchors) and again in August and September 2026 (speaking). The 12-month series would measure the engine as much as the candidates, so it is withheld until six months of stable scoring exist.
Caveats
Self-selected sample of people preparing for the official tests, many sitting a mock early in their preparation. Mock scores are Mocko’s, not the official examiners’. Repeat-taker comparisons include regression to the mean. Small TCF groups are marked as indicative.
Download, embed, cite
Everything on this page is published under CC BY 4.0. Reuse the numbers, the chart and the CSV with a link back to this page.
Files
Suggested citation: Mocko, “TEF Canada and TCF Canada mock exam statistics”, September 2026, https://mocko.ai/tef-tcf-statistics.
Embed the chart
<a href="https://mocko.ai/tef-tcf-statistics"><img src="https://mocko.ai/stats/tef-tcf-b2-share-2026-09.svg" alt="Share of TEF and TCF mock sections at B2 or above" width="760" height="360"></a>
The image carries its own source line. Keep the link so readers can find the method.
Questions about this data
Does B2 on a Mocko mock mean NCLC 7?
Not quite. On the 699-point scale Mocko reports, B2 covers 400 to 499, while IRCC’s NCLC 7 starts at 434 for TEF listening and reading and at 458 and 453 for TCF listening and reading. So the B2-or-above share here is the ceiling on how many sections would have reached NCLC 7, not the exact figure. Use the CLB converter to translate a specific score.
Why are writing and speaking missing?
Mocko’s writing and speaking scores come from an AI engine that was recalibrated twice in 2026 (writing anchors in August, and speaking scoring in August and September). The 12-month series for those sections therefore measures the engine as much as the candidates. We will publish them once six months of stable scoring exist. Listening and reading are multiple choice and scored deterministically, so their series is comparable across the whole window.
Are these official TEF or TCF results?
No. They are results on full-length mock exams sat on Mocko, scored by Mocko, by people preparing for the official tests. Mocko is not affiliated with Le français des affaires, France Éducation international or IRCC. The sample is self-selected: people who choose to sit a full mock, often early in their preparation.
Can I reuse these figures?
Yes. The numbers, the CSV and the chart are published under CC BY 4.0. Cite “Mocko, TEF Canada and TCF Canada mock exam statistics, September 2026” and link to this page.
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