IELTS Scoring System: What your band score means
On this page, you will read about the IELTS band score system, the formula utilized to determine your final exam grade.
IELTS scores range from 0 to 9. For each individual module - listening, reading, writing, and speaking - you will receive a separate score in addition to an overall band score. The average of all the skills is your overall band score. Let's take a look what some band scores mean:
Band 6: If you are a band 6, you are able to speak and write about circumstances you are familiar with. However, you find it difficult when dealing with a more challenging or complex subject. Additionally, you frequently make mistakes when you speak or write, and occasionally you find it difficult to understand what others are saying or writing in English.
Band 7: A band 7 indicates that you are a "good user" of the English language. When you talk or write, you rarely make errors. You can even deal with unfamiliar or complex issues using English language. Overall, you can interact with people in daily life without making too many errors.
Band 8: A band 8 score represents that you are a "very good" user of the English language. You occasionally make mistakes, especially while dealing with challenging or unexpected circumstances. Despite a few errors, you generally use the English language with confidence.
Band 9: A band score of 9 demonstrates that you use the English language fluently. This level is exceedingly difficult to get since it is so high. However, why not have a shot? Just follow the tips and apply the strategies that we have provided throughout the pages on this website. Specially, if you want to secure your high band in the writing part, make sure you check this for a sure shot.
Well, many people are unable to get a band 9 even though they are comfortable with using the English language. It could happen for a variety of factors. It might be because they could not deliver the specific response in the essay that they were expected to. Or, it might be some other reasons in other modules.
However, though the overall band 9 score is a superior English level and the most desired score for many students, just a band 9 might not necessarily mean a perfect English in real life.
How your score is calculated
Having discussed what each band score means, let's take a deep dive into a brief description on how the scores are calculated.
Your scores from all the four sections will be aggregated, and then the total number will be divided by 4. For example,
if your scores are,
Speaking 7.5
Listening 8
Reading 7
Writing 6.5
Your overall band score is {(7.5 + 8 + 7 + 6.5)/4} = 7.25 --------> 7.5
Let's give you a more detailed picture:
In each module (Listening, Writing, Reading and Speaking), you will be scored from 0 to 9. Your score will be rounded up or down to 0.5. That means,
if the fraction is less than 0.25, your score will be rounded down to the closest whole number.
For instance: If the average of your four individual scores is less than 7.25, but more than 7.0, your overall band score will be 7.0.
If the fraction is more than or equal to 0.25 and less than 0.5, your score will be rounded up to 0.5.
For example: If the average of your four individual scores is 7.25 or more than 7.25, but less than 7.5, your overall band score will be 7.5.
If the fraction is more than or equal to 0.5, but less than 0.75, your score will be rounded down to 0.5.
For example: If the average of your four individual scores is 7.5 or more than 7.5, but less than 7.75, your overall band score will be 7.5.
If the fraction is more than or equal to 0.75, but less than the nearest whole number, your score will be rounded up to the closest integer.
For instance: If the average of your four individual scores is 7.75 or more than 7.75, but less than 8.0, your overall band score will be 8.
Reading and Listening Band Scores
The number of correct answers is used to determine your listening and reading scores. Each of the components (listening and reading) will have a total of 40 questions. You do not lose marks for incorrect answers.
IELTS Reading Scores (Academic)
IELTS Reading Scores (GT)
IELTS Listening Scores
IELTS Writing Scores
For IELTS Writing assessment, 4 criteria are considered: Task Achievement, Coherence and Cohesion, Lexical Resource, and Grammar. In the Writing section, we discussed in detail what these criteria mean and how you can fulfil them.
IELTS Speaking Scores
Likewise Writing, IELTS Speaking also has 4 criteria: Fluency, Lexical Resources, Grammatical Range & Accuracy, and Pronunciation.
For more details about scoring for IELTS Speaking, check the official band score description.
Don't forget to check the following resources: