How is the overall band score calculated?
Add up the band scores for the four skills and divide by four. The average is then rounded to the nearest half or whole band. For example, section scores of 6.5, 6.5, 5.0 and 7.0 average 6.25, which rounds up to 6.5.
Where do the section scores come from?
Listening and Reading each have 40 questions, and the number you get right is converted into a band. Writing and Speaking are assessed by an examiner against four criteria each, so a low mark on a single criterion pulls down the band for the whole section.
- Writing: Task Achievement (Task 1) or Task Response (Task 2), Coherence and Cohesion, Lexical Resource, Grammatical Range and Accuracy
- Speaking: Fluency and Coherence, Lexical Resource, Grammatical Range and Accuracy, Pronunciation
What does each band mean?
- Band 9: Expert user — full, fluent command of the language
- Bands 7–8: Good to very good user — effective command with occasional minor errors
- Band 6: Competent user — generally effective command despite some errors
- Band 5: Modest user — partial command of the language
- Band 4 and below: Limited user and below
What score will your institution ask for?
There's no single 'good' score. Undergraduate programmes often ask for 6.0–6.5 and postgraduate programmes for around 6.5–7.0, and some set a minimum for each section as well as an overall score. Take your target from the institution's official requirement, then measure how far you are from it.