TOEFL's New 1–6 Band Scale, Explained

Every section — Reading, Listening, Speaking and Writing — is reported on a band from 1.0 to 6.0. Bands move in half-point steps: 3.0, 3.5, 4.0, 4.5, and so on. The scale is aligned to CEFR, the same reference framework used by IELTS and by most European language courses. Higher bands correspond to higher CEFR levels; a 1.0 is a very basic user and a 6.0 is a highly proficient one.

The bands are per section. There is no single raw number out of thirty behind each band, and the scale is not the old 0–30 divided by five. It is a new scale, and it should be read on its own terms.

Your overall score is the average of the four section bands, rounded to the nearest 0.5. That is the whole formula.

A worked example: suppose your report shows Reading 4.5, Listening 5.0, Speaking 4.0, Writing 4.5. Add them: 4.5 + 5.0 + 4.0 + 4.5 = 18.0. Divide by four: 18.0 ÷ 4 = 4.5. That average is already at a 0.5 step, so the overall band is 4.5.

Universities and immigration offices need time to update their published requirements. During the 2026–2028 transition period, your TOEFL score report shows three things: the new band per section and overall, your CEFR level, and a comparable legacy 0–120 score. The point of the legacy number is to let institutions that still list 0–120 requirements read your report without conversion.

This transition matters when you apply. Some programs have already updated their published minimums to the new bands. Others still list a 0–120 number. A few list both. Because ETS prints both on your report, you can give the admissions office whichever they ask for.

There is no single number that counts as a good TOEFL band. Requirements are set by each program. Undergraduate programs, master's programs and PhD programs at the same university often ask for different levels. Programs in English literature or law often ask for more than programs in mathematics or engineering. Section minimums are common, especially for Speaking.

Rather than aiming for a rumoured cutoff, look up the exact number your program publishes today. If it is on the 0–120 scale, use the legacy score on your report and confirm with admissions. If they list a CEFR level, use the CEFR line on your report. There is more detail on this on our dedicated page: /toefl/score-requirements.

Our diagnostic uses adaptive routing, the same idea the real test uses, to give you a calibrated band estimate. Early on, when we have only a few answers from you, we tell you the estimate has a wide margin. As you answer more, the margin narrows. We never quote a false precision.

For Speaking in particular, we do not fabricate a band. If you skip the recording tasks, we simply mark Speaking as not yet assessed. Your report shows exactly what evidence each band is based on.