Score Task

This features requires a Premium Subscription Run in Postman: Score Task

The Score Task API scores task achievement — how completely a spoken (or written) response fulfills a specific task, independent of its language quality. It complements the language scores from Score Speech: the task score reflects what the speaker communicated, while the language scores reflect how well they said it. The task score is continuous, so a partial response earns a partial score.

Score Task is available by invitation. Email [e-mail] to request access.

Task types

Choose a task type with the task_type query parameter. Each type has its own inputs and score range:

Task Type	Inputs	Outputs
describe-image	task_context: A model description of the image which is presented to the speaker. Max length: 1024 chars.	Task score on scale of 0-5.
retell-lecture	task_context: A model summary of the lecture which is presented to the speaker. Max length: 1024 chars.	Task score on scale of 0-5.
answer-question	task-question: The question presented to the user.	Task score on scale of 0-1 where 0 is incorrect and 1 is correct.

Audio or text, with or without language scores

• user_audio_file or user_audio_text — submit the response as audio, or as a text transcript you already have. With user_audio_text the task score is returned but speech scoring is skipped.

• include_speech_score — set 1 to also score pronunciation, fluency, grammar, vocabulary, and coherence (as in Score Speech); set 0 for the task score only. It is always 0 when user_audio_text is used.

All task types are available in English (en-us, en-gb), Spanish (es-es, es-mx), and French (fr-fr, fr-ca).

Request Format

The endpoint you use depends on the region of your subscription. For example, for US West the endpoint is https://api.speechace.co.

POST https://api.speechace.co/api/scoring/task/v9/json

Query Parameters

Parameter	Type	Description
key	String	API key issued by Speechace.
dialect	String	This is the dialect in which the speaker will be assessed. Supported values are: en-us, en-gb, fr-fr, fr-ca, es-es, es-mx.
user_id	String	Optional: A unique anonymized identifier (generated by your applications) for the end-user who spoke the audio.
task_type	String	The task_type to score. Supported types are: describe-image retell-lecture answer-question.

Request Body

Parameter	Type	Description
task_context	String	The context or model or model answer for the task presented to the speaker. Used in the following task-types: describe-image: a model description of the image retell-lecture: a model description of the lecture This must be provided in the same language as the one being assessed.
task_question	String	The task question presented to the speaker, used in task-type = answer-question. This must be provided in the same language as the one being assessed.
user_audio_file	File	file with user audio (wav, mp3, m4a, webm, ogg, aiff)
include_speech_score	String	Set to 1, to include scoring other aspects of the speech: Pronunciation, Fluency, Grammar, Vocab, Coherence. Set to 0 if you only want to receive the task score only.
user_audio_text	String	A text transcript of the speaker's response. Use this field instead of user_audio_file if you already have a transcript of the user's response and do not wish to re-transcribe an audio. Note: In this case, you will only be able to receive an overall task_score.

Request Examples

Example	Request Parameters	When to use
A. Describe image	task_type=describe-image task_context="<model description of the image>" user_audio_file=answer.wav include_speech_score="1"	Score how well the speaker describes a presented image or chart (0–5).
B. Re-tell lecture	task_type=retell-lecture task_context="<model summary of the lecture>" user_audio_file=answer.wav include_speech_score="1"	Score a spoken summary of a short lecture (0–5).
C. Answer question	task_type=answer-question task_question="<the question asked>" user_audio_file=answer.wav	Score a short spoken answer as correct or incorrect (0 or 1).

To score a written response instead of audio, replace user_audio_file with user_audio_text="<transcript>". Only the task score is returned in that case.

Response Examples

The overall task-achievement score is task_score.score; when include_speech_score=1, the language scores appear under speech_score exactly as in Score Speech.

A. Describe image

{
  "status": "success",
  "task_score": {
    "type": "describe-image",
    "version": "0.2",
    "score": 5,
    "score_explanation": "The response provides a clear and accurate description of the data presented in the image, including the specific percentages for each year and the overall trend of continuous decrease in farm labor engagement. The information is well-organized and effectively communicates the key points of the bar chart.",
    "transcript": "This bar graph shows the percent of the U.S. workforce engaged in farm labor from 1840 to 1900. Starting in 1840 the figure was about 70%. It then falls gradually to around 60% in 1860, and down to about 50% in 1880. By 1900 it had decreased to under 40%. Overall there is a continuous decrease in farm labor engagement."
  },
  "quota_remaining": -1,
  "speech_score": {
    "transcript": "This bar graph shows the percent of the U.S. workforce engaged in farm labor from 1840 to 1900. Starting in 1840 the figure was about 70%. It then falls gradually to around 60% in 1860, and down to about 50% in 1880. By 1900 it had decreased to under 40%. Overall there is a continuous decrease in farm labor engagement.",
    "word_score_list": [
      {
        "word": "This",
        "quality_score": 100,
        "quality_class": "pass",
        "phone_score_list": [
          {
            "phone": "dh",
            "stress_level": null,
            "extent": [
              5,
              17
            ],
            "quality_score": 100,
            "word_extent": [
              0,
              2
            ],
            "sound_most_like": "dh"
          },
          {
            "phone": "ih",
            "stress_level": 1,
            "extent": [
              17,
              23
            ],
            "quality_score": 99.5,
            "stress_score": 100,
            "predicted_stress_level": 1,
            "word_extent": [
              2,
              3
            ],
            "sound_most_like": "ih"
          },
          {
            "phone": "s",
            "stress_level": null,
            "extent": [
              23,
              32
            ],
            "quality_score": 99.66666666666667,
            "word_extent": [
              3,
              4
            ],
            "sound_most_like": "s"
          }
        ],
        "syllable_score_list": [
          {
            "phone_count": 3,
            "stress_level": 1,
            "letters": "this",
            "quality_score": 100,
            "stress_score": 100,
            "predicted_stress_level": 1,
            "extent": [
              5,
              32
            ]
          }
        ]
      },
      "... (69 more)"
    ],
    "ielts_score": {
      "pronunciation": 8.5,
      "fluency": 8,
      "grammar": 6.5,
      "coherence": 5.5,
      "vocab": 6,
      "overall": 7
    },
    "pte_score": {
      "pronunciation": 90,
      "fluency": 85,
      "grammar": 62,
      "coherence": 42,
      "vocab": 52,
      "overall": 69
    },
    "speechace_score": {
      "pronunciation": 97,
      "fluency": 89,
      "grammar": 74,
      "coherence": 61,
      "vocab": 68,
      "overall": 79
    },
    "toeic_score": {
      "pronunciation": 190,
      "fluency": 180,
      "grammar": 140,
      "coherence": 110,
      "vocab": 120,
      "overall": 160
    },
    "cefr_score": {
      "pronunciation": "C2",
      "fluency": "C1+",
      "grammar": "B1+",
      "coherence": "A2+",
      "vocab": "B1",
      "overall": "B2"
    },
    "fluency": {
      "segment_metrics_list": [
        {
          "segment": [
            0,
            20
          ],
          "duration": 5.85,
          "articulation_length": 5.61,
          "syllable_count": 29,
          "correct_syllable_count": 29,
          "correct_word_count": 20,
          "word_count": 20,
          "speech_rate": 4.957264957264957,
          "articulation_rate": 5.16934046345811,
          "syllable_correct_per_minute": 297.43589743589746,
          "word_correct_per_minute": 205.12820512820514,
          "all_pause_count": 1,
          "all_pause_duration": 0.24,
          "mean_length_run": 5.61,
          "max_length_run": 5.61,
          "all_pause_list": [
            [
              566,
              590
            ]
          ],
          "ielts_score": {
            "pronunciation": 9,
            "fluency": 8,
            "grammar": 5.5,
            "coherence": 6,
            "vocab": 6.5
          },
          "pte_score": {
            "pronunciation": 90,
            "fluency": 83,
            "grammar": 40,
            "coherence": 50,
            "vocab": 57
          },
          "speechace_score": {
            "pronunciation": 99,
            "fluency": 88,
            "grammar": 60,
            "coherence": 67,
            "vocab": 71
          },
          "toeic_score": {
            "pronunciation": 200,
            "fluency": 180,
            "grammar": 110,
            "coherence": 120,
            "vocab": 140
          },
          "cefr_score": {
            "pronunciation": "C2",
            "fluency": "C1+",
            "grammar": "A2+",
            "coherence": "B1",
            "vocab": "B1+"
          }
        },
        "... (4 more)"
      ],
      "overall_metrics": {
        "segment": [
          0,
          70
        ],
        "duration": 21.81,
        "articulation_length": 19.75,
        "syllable_count": 115,
        "correct_syllable_count": 111,
        "correct_word_count": 67,
        "word_count": 70,
        "speech_rate": 5.27281063732233,
        "articulation_rate": 5.822784810126582,
        "syllable_correct_per_minute": 305.3645116918845,
        "word_correct_per_minute": 184.31911966987622,
        "all_pause_count": 7,
        "all_pause_duration": 2.06,
        "mean_length_run": 2.46875,
        "max_length_run": 5.61,
        "all_pause_list": [
          [
            566,
            614
          ],
          [
            893,
            935
          ],
          "... (5 more)"
        ]
      },
      "fluency_version": "0.7",
      "ielts_subscore_version": "0.4"
    },
    "asr_version": "0.17"
  },
  "version": "9.17"
}

B. Re-tell lecture

{
  "status": "success",
  "task_score": {
    "type": "retell-lecture",
    "version": "0.2",
    "score": 5,
    "transcript": "The lecture was about ecosystems. Ecology is the study of living organisms in an environment. An ecosystem has two factors. The first is biotic, the living things, which include producers, herbivores, carnivores, omnivores and detritivores. The second is abiotic, the non-living things in the environment."
  },
  "quota_remaining": -1,
  "speech_score": {
    "transcript": "The lecture was about ecosystems. Ecology is the study of living organisms in an environment. An ecosystem has two factors. The first is biotic, the living things, which include producers, herbivores, carnivores, omnivores and detritivores. The second is abiotic, the non-living things in the environment.",
    "word_score_list": [
      {
        "word": "The",
        "quality_score": 99,
        "quality_class": "pass",
        "phone_score_list": [
          {
            "phone": "dh",
            "stress_level": null,
            "extent": [
              8,
              14
            ],
            "quality_score": 98,
            "word_extent": [
              0,
              2
            ],
            "sound_most_like": "dh"
          },
          {
            "phone": "ah",
            "stress_level": 0,
            "extent": [
              14,
              17
            ],
            "quality_score": 100,
            "stress_score": 100,
            "predicted_stress_level": 0,
            "word_extent": [
              2,
              3
            ],
            "sound_most_like": "ah"
          }
        ],
        "syllable_score_list": [
          {
            "phone_count": 2,
            "stress_level": 0,
            "letters": "the",
            "quality_score": 99,
            "stress_score": 100,
            "predicted_stress_level": 0,
            "extent": [
              8,
              17
            ]
          }
        ]
      },
      "... (44 more)"
    ],
    "ielts_score": {
      "pronunciation": 8.5,
      "fluency": 8.5,
      "grammar": 6,
      "coherence": 7,
      "vocab": 7,
      "overall": 7.5
    },
    "pte_score": {
      "pronunciation": 90,
      "fluency": 90,
      "grammar": 47,
      "coherence": 67,
      "vocab": 66,
      "overall": 73
    },
    "speechace_score": {
      "pronunciation": 97,
      "fluency": 96,
      "grammar": 64,
      "coherence": 78,
      "vocab": 77,
      "overall": 81
    },
    "toeic_score": {
      "pronunciation": 190,
      "fluency": 190,
      "grammar": 120,
      "coherence": 160,
      "vocab": 160,
      "overall": 170
    },
    "cefr_score": {
      "pronunciation": "C2",
      "fluency": "C2",
      "grammar": "B1",
      "coherence": "B2",
      "vocab": "B2",
      "overall": "C1"
    },
    "fluency": {
      "segment_metrics_list": [
        {
          "segment": [
            0,
            5
          ],
          "duration": 1.92,
          "articulation_length": 1.68,
          "syllable_count": 10,
          "correct_syllable_count": 10,
          "correct_word_count": 5,
          "word_count": 5,
          "speech_rate": 5.208333333333334,
          "articulation_rate": 5.9523809523809526,
          "syllable_correct_per_minute": 312.5,
          "word_correct_per_minute": 156.25,
          "all_pause_count": 2,
          "all_pause_duration": 0.24,
          "mean_length_run": 0.84,
          "max_length_run": 0.87,
          "all_pause_list": [
            [
              95,
              98
            ],
            [
              179,
              200
            ]
          ],
          "ielts_score": {
            "pronunciation": 9,
            "fluency": 8,
            "grammar": 4.5,
            "coherence": 4,
            "vocab": 4
          },
          "pte_score": {
            "pronunciation": 90,
            "fluency": 83,
            "grammar": 23,
            "coherence": 20,
            "vocab": 20
          },
          "speechace_score": {
            "pronunciation": 99,
            "fluency": 88,
            "grammar": 49,
            "coherence": 44,
            "vocab": 44
          },
          "toeic_score": {
            "pronunciation": 200,
            "fluency": 180,
            "grammar": 80,
            "coherence": 50,
            "vocab": 50
          },
          "cefr_score": {
            "pronunciation": "C2",
            "fluency": "C1+",
            "grammar": "A1+",
            "coherence": "A1",
            "vocab": "A1"
          }
        },
        "... (4 more)"
      ],
      "overall_metrics": {
        "segment": [
          0,
          45
        ],
        "duration": 18.54,
        "articulation_length": 15.75,
        "syllable_count": 89,
        "correct_syllable_count": 82,
        "correct_word_count": 44,
        "word_count": 45,
        "speech_rate": 4.800431499460626,
        "articulation_rate": 5.650793650793651,
        "syllable_correct_per_minute": 265.37216828478967,
        "word_correct_per_minute": 142.3948220064725,
        "all_pause_count": 11,
        "all_pause_duration": 2.79,
        "mean_length_run": 1.3125,
        "max_length_run": 3,
        "all_pause_list": [
          [
            95,
            98
          ],
          [
            179,
            221
          ],
          "... (9 more)"
        ]
      },
      "fluency_version": "0.7",
      "ielts_subscore_version": "0.4"
    },
    "asr_version": "0.17"
  },
  "version": "9.17"
}

C. Answer question

{
  "status": "success",
  "task_score": {
    "type": "answer-question",
    "version": "0.2",
    "score": 1,
    "transcript": "Jupiter."
  },
  "quota_remaining": -1,
  "speech_score": {
    "transcript": "Jupiter.",
    "word_score_list": [
      {
        "word": "Jupiter",
        "quality_score": 99,
        "quality_class": "pass",
        "phone_score_list": [
          {
            "phone": "jh",
            "stress_level": null,
            "extent": [
              8,
              17
            ],
            "quality_score": 98.66666666666667,
            "word_extent": [
              0,
              1
            ],
            "sound_most_like": "jh"
          },
          {
            "phone": "uw",
            "stress_level": 1,
            "extent": [
              17,
              23
            ],
            "quality_score": 94.5,
            "stress_score": 100,
            "predicted_stress_level": 1,
            "word_extent": [
              1,
              2
            ],
            "sound_most_like": "uw"
          },
          {
            "phone": "p",
            "stress_level": null,
            "extent": [
              23,
              35
            ],
            "quality_score": 100,
            "word_extent": [
              2,
              3
            ],
            "sound_most_like": "p"
          },
          {
            "phone": "ih",
            "stress_level": 0,
            "extent": [
              35,
              38
            ],
            "quality_score": 100,
            "stress_score": 100,
            "predicted_stress_level": 0,
            "word_extent": [
              3,
              4
            ],
            "sound_most_like": "ih"
          },
          {
            "phone": "t",
            "stress_level": null,
            "extent": [
              38,
              41
            ],
            "quality_score": 99,
            "word_extent": [
              4,
              5
            ],
            "sound_most_like": "t"
          },
          {
            "phone": "er",
            "stress_level": 0,
            "extent": [
              41,
              62
            ],
            "quality_score": 100,
            "stress_score": 100,
            "predicted_stress_level": 0,
            "word_extent": [
              5,
              7
            ],
            "sound_most_like": "er"
          }
        ],
        "ending_punctuation": ".",
        "syllable_score_list": [
          {
            "phone_count": 2,
            "stress_level": 1,
            "letters": "ju",
            "quality_score": 97,
            "stress_score": 100,
            "predicted_stress_level": 1,
            "extent": [
              8,
              23
            ]
          },
          {
            "phone_count": 2,
            "stress_level": 0,
            "letters": "pi",
            "quality_score": 100,
            "stress_score": 100,
            "predicted_stress_level": 0,
            "extent": [
              23,
              38
            ]
          },
          {
            "phone_count": 2,
            "stress_level": 0,
            "letters": "ter",
            "quality_score": 100,
            "stress_score": 100,
            "predicted_stress_level": 0,
            "extent": [
              38,
              62
            ]
          }
        ]
      }
    ],
    "ielts_score": {
      "pronunciation": 9,
      "fluency": 8,
      "grammar": 4,
      "coherence": 4,
      "vocab": 4,
      "overall": 0
    },
    "pte_score": {
      "pronunciation": 90,
      "fluency": 83,
      "grammar": 20,
      "coherence": 20,
      "vocab": 20,
      "overall": 10
    },
    "speechace_score": {
      "pronunciation": 99,
      "fluency": 88,
      "grammar": 44,
      "coherence": 44,
      "vocab": 44,
      "overall": 0
    },
    "toeic_score": {
      "pronunciation": 200,
      "fluency": 180,
      "grammar": 50,
      "coherence": 50,
      "vocab": 50,
      "overall": 0
    },
    "cefr_score": {
      "pronunciation": "C2",
      "fluency": "C1+",
      "grammar": "A1",
      "coherence": "A1",
      "vocab": "A1",
      "overall": "A0"
    },
    "score_issue_list": [
      {
        "source": "overall",
        "status": "warning",
        "short_message": "response_too_short",
        "detail_message": "The response is less than 20 words."
      }
    ],
    "fluency": {
      "segment_metrics_list": [
        {
          "segment": [
            0,
            1
          ],
          "duration": 0.54,
          "articulation_length": 0.54,
          "syllable_count": 3,
          "correct_syllable_count": 3,
          "correct_word_count": 1,
          "word_count": 1,
          "speech_rate": 5.555555555555555,
          "articulation_rate": 5.555555555555555,
          "syllable_correct_per_minute": 333.3333333333333,
          "word_correct_per_minute": 111.1111111111111,
          "all_pause_count": 0,
          "all_pause_duration": 0,
          "mean_length_run": 0.54,
          "max_length_run": 0.54,
          "all_pause_list": [],
          "ielts_score": {
            "pronunciation": 9,
            "fluency": 8,
            "grammar": 4,
            "coherence": 4,
            "vocab": 4
          },
          "pte_score": {
            "pronunciation": 90,
            "fluency": 83,
            "grammar": 20,
            "coherence": 20,
            "vocab": 20
          },
          "speechace_score": {
            "pronunciation": 99,
            "fluency": 88,
            "grammar": 44,
            "coherence": 44,
            "vocab": 44
          },
          "toeic_score": {
            "pronunciation": 200,
            "fluency": 180,
            "grammar": 50,
            "coherence": 50,
            "vocab": 50
          },
          "cefr_score": {
            "pronunciation": "C2",
            "fluency": "C1+",
            "grammar": "A1",
            "coherence": "A1",
            "vocab": "A1"
          }
        }
      ],
      "overall_metrics": {
        "segment": [
          0,
          1
        ],
        "duration": 0.54,
        "articulation_length": 0.54,
        "syllable_count": 3,
        "correct_syllable_count": 3,
        "correct_word_count": 1,
        "word_count": 1,
        "speech_rate": 5.555555555555555,
        "articulation_rate": 5.555555555555555,
        "syllable_correct_per_minute": 333.3333333333333,
        "word_correct_per_minute": 111.1111111111111,
        "all_pause_count": 0,
        "all_pause_duration": 0,
        "mean_length_run": 0.54,
        "max_length_run": 0.54,
        "all_pause_list": []
      },
      "fluency_version": "0.7",
      "ielts_subscore_version": "0.4"
    },
    "asr_version": "0.17"
  },
  "version": "9.17"
}

Response fields

• task_score.type — the task_type that was scored.

• task_score.score — the task-achievement score (0–5 for describe-image and retell-lecture; 0 or 1 for answer-question).

• task_score.transcript — the transcript used to score the task.

• speech_score — present when include_speech_score=1; pronunciation, fluency, grammar, vocabulary, and coherence, interpreted exactly as in Score Speech.

task_context / task_question vs. relevance_context. Relevance is binary and high-level — it judges only whether a response is on-topic (TRUE/FALSE). Task achievement is more nuanced — it scores how well the response addresses the specifics of the task. Use relevance for open questions with no single right answer; use task achievement when a specific, complete answer is expected (e.g. "What does this business chart tell us?").